JE SUIS CHARLIE vigil at the Newseum in DC

Guest post by Bruce Guthrie

The Wednesday attack on the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical weekly newspaper, set off a torrent of email traffic supporting the freedom of the press.  By 1pm, a vigil had been scheduled that night at the Newseum:

In light of the horrendous attack that killed 12 people in Paris today, let's get together to stand peacefully in support of Charlie Hebdo and for freedom of the press. Bring your pencils and pens. #jesuischarlie

It was a bitterly cold night here in DC and vigils are always held outside for some reason but sometimes you just gotta go.  So I did.

On the way, I ran into another vigil near the Navy Memorial Metro stop.  They said they were with the All Souls Church, a Unitarian community, but I wasn't really interested in a religious response to the violence so I moved on quickly.

I was early and initially only a few people including the lead organizers, mostly French, were there.  They handed "JE SUIS CHARLIE" -- "I am Charlie" -- papers to people as we showed up.  Among those filming were Newseum staff who said we were free to go into the museum for heat and bathrooms if we wanted to.  I heard their atrium jumbotron said "JE SUIS CHARLIE" and I wanted to film it so I went through security.  Pretty quickly, the rest of the folks started coming in too.

There, we warmed up and the organizers explained to the cameras why we were assembling -- to stand up for freedom of the press -- and that the Newseum -- which has the First Amendment emblazoned on its Pennsylvania Avenue side entrance -- was the ideal place to do it.  They had no idea how many people were going to show up but it was easily several hundred folks which I thought was pretty impressive for an instant event on a very cold night.

We then went back outside.  Once we had reassembled, the names of the terrorist victims were read.  The crowd chanted "JE SUIS CHARLIE" in solidarity with each name.

People continued to mingle, arrive, and depart.  I noticed Chistine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, had come to support her countrymen and the cause as well.

I was relieved that I never heard the word "Muslim" during the event.  The focus was on freedom of the press, not the repressive elements out there trying to suppress it.

I felt better having gone.

More pictures on http://www.bguthriephotos.com/graphlib.nsf/keys/2015_01_07_Je_Suis_Charlie

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Bruce Guthrie
Photo obsessive
http://www.bguthriephotos.com

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Je Suis Charlie by Steve Artley

I offer my quickly rendered tribute to the satirists of Charlie Hebdo. Rather than a cleverly glib commentary, here I offer a serious statement. I proudly stand in plain view and loudly utter the phrase, "je suis Charlie (I am Charlie)!" This is what editorial cartoonists do; stand and show ourselves. On every one of our rendered opines we proudly inscribe our names for all to see. Yes, I drew this. Yes, I wrote this. I said this. Me, an individual with a voice. And, I published it, sent it to my syndicate, posted it on the Internet for all the world to see.

The cartoonists killed in the Paris attack today were not hiding unseen in the bushes. Unlike their murderers, the people killed were not nameless clandestine cowards who hide their identity under balaclavas and secret themselves away into hiding after perpetrating extreme violence on unarmed targets. They didn't use guns or bombs. No weapons were among their tools, nor were threats of violence issued. They openly drew pictures that lampooned, that provoked thought, that made a statement through satirical renderings. For that they were gunned down.I appeal to those who cherish freedom to stand united against these cowards, against those who aid them and against those who applaud them. Silence allows them to flourish, so speak out. Let your voices be heard, your pencils unsheathed, your keyboards tapped. ‪#‎JeSuisCharlie‬ ‪#‎CharlieHebdo‬

- Steve Artley