The Charlie Hebdo attack was not, repeat NOT about cartoons.

[riqster]

https://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2015/01/14/the-charlie-hebdo-attack-was-not-repeat-not-about-cartoons/

[/blockquoteeat NOT about cartoons.
It was about terror, period. That’s what terrorists DO, remember. Terrorists terrorize. They can invent reasons for specific targets, yes, and they can claim responsibility, blame their victims and so on, but at sevens and last, terrorists cause terror. If Charlie Hebdo hadn’t printed some tasteless satirical ‘toons, the terrorists would not have done nothing: no, they’d have found a different target and claimed a different justification for their heinous actions. Because terror is what these mutts do.

Thnk about it: what do the Alfred P. Murrah building, the Manchester city center, the Tokyo subway and a Parisian magazine have in common? Apart from being terrorist targets, they have not one damned thing in common. But they were all attacked, weren’t they?

So don’t waste your time suggesting cartoonists tone down their work, don’t ban veils, don’t respond to any of the stated pretexts for any individual terrorist actions. In fact, don’t take any actions at all to placate the beasts: it will do no good. The only sure way to deal with terrorists is twofold: one part of it is relatively easy, the other is very difficult.

Part Number A: Capture or kill those terrorists who are actively involved in planning and carrying out terrorist acts. That’s not exactly easy and it sure as hell ain’t safe or pretty, but it’s straightforward police and military work. Lots of governments are engaged in this useful activity right now.

Part Letter 2: Get rid of the REASONS people become terrorists or support terrorists in the first place. This is fiendishly difficult work, and it won’t be accomplished anytime soon, but we need to start working on it. Terrorists are made, not born; and for what reasons are they made?

Terrorists are made because of inequality and injustice, which are used by unscrupulous motherf***ers to radicalize previously sane people via propaganda and desensitization. If there are no starving, marginalized or abused individuals to manipulate, there will be no terrorists made, because the raw materials won’t exist.

This is something not many people and almost no governments are actively doing, because it is enormously expensive and involves painful soul-searching on the parts of the oppressors (something oppressors are loathe to do). It ALSO involves the oppressors no longer being, well, oppressors. And how often do you see that happen?

How often do you see a Bashir Al-Assad or a Jamie Dimon voluntarily give up their holds on power and wealth? How often do you see such scumbuckets relinquish their death grips on the collective throats of those people they oppress, rob, starve, and manipulate? Ever seen it done? NEVER. But it must be done, and it is the only cure for terrorism. Remove the root cause, and you remove the effect.

So cartoon all you want, wear what you want, eat what you want, blaspheme all you care to. None of these things will make things any more or less safe. Because terrorism isn't going away if you don’t offend people. It’ll only go away when there are no more terrorists.

[Fred Sanders]

1. Did Paris world leader fake phot-op "march" attendee Saudi Arabia whip the blogger again yet?

You know, because they went to Paris with other world leaders to defend freedom of speech and show that terrorism will be defended by countering with more and more free speech?

Isn't that why they were there?

Let the lashing of the blogger with the blasphemous website begin immediately, why wait for another Friday?

[Surya Gayatri]

2. Wish I could K/R this a dozen times...

[riqster]

3. Thanks.