Two disturbing and catastrophic incidents happened yesterday. In Paris, the headquarters of the satirical magazine, Charlie Hedbo was attacked by 3 terrorists, where 12 cartoonists/journalists were murdered and several others injured. One of the perpetrators has surrendered to the police and the other two suspects are still at large. In the US, outside the Colorado branch of The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, an explosion was heard, but there were no fatalities. The FBI are now looking for a middle aged man in his forties.
The murder of 12 cartoonists/journalists in Paris is an abhorrent and heinous crime. The bombing of the NAACP building in Colorado is an abhorrent and heinous crime. Within the next few days, there will be even more breaking news and more deliberations over these harrowing events. There are other main broadcasters such as Al Jheezera, that cover a more even ground when it comes to its choice of reportage. But the choices of editors in the newsrooms now has to compete with social media as more breaking news will be covered on social media platforms.
Combined with that, there will now also be a debate about freedom of speech and whether religion deserves to be satirised in this way. There is a hash tag on social media, namely #JeSuisCharlie meaning I am Charlie, that supports the freedom of speech movement. If both sides are respected and listened to, there could be an understanding on both sides as to whether one has the right to offend and critique a religion or are some issues just too sensitive to be debatable. We are now at a crossroads where we have to decide whether the pen is mightier than the sword.
