The biggest threat to French free speech isn't terrorism. It's the French.
[online as The biggest threat to French free speech isn't terrorism. It's the government.
The murders at Charlie Hebdo, while tragic, aren't the problem.]
By Jonathan Turley
Washington Post January 11 2015
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University.
Jeff Danziger is a syndicated political cartoonist with the Rutland Herald and the Montpelier Times Argus.
A guest post by cartoonist Dale Rawlings.
I've been seeing some serious hand wringing from people over the Charlie Hebdo story decrying the content of the cartoons. Usually it goes along the lines of "No one deserves to die over cartoons but they're borderline racist" or "They're just so damned offensive" or "It's not even good satire. They're so juvenile and have no sophistication" etc... The trouble with supporting freedom of speech is that to TRULY be a supporter of freedom of expression is to stand in solidarity of those expressions that aren't so nice and easy to defend. It's really easy to stand in support of that speech you agree with -but far harder to defend something you don't personally like, disagree with, or just find to be ugly. But this is what it means to be an advocate of freedom of speech. Do you honestly think the ACLU liked what the Klan stands for or has to say when they defended their rights to free speech? THIS is the price we pay for freedom of speech.
When those rights of expression come under threat of violence then standing up in solidarity for that freedom of expression becomes not only essential, but mandatory. If you waver those extremists will take that as a sign of weakness and embolden them to take similar measures to squelch speech that offends them.
I have even seen some people laughably suggest in this debate that criticizing religion or religious figures should be exempt from protection so as not to offend someone's religious beliefs where anything similar happens in the future. Think about that for a minute. That would protect the Westboro Baptist Church, Al Sharpton, and the Church of Scientology from being ridiculed and satirized and that is a losing scenario for everyone. If your beliefs can't stand up to ridicule and you feel they need special protection from that ridicule, then maybe your faith in your belief system just isn't as strong as you think.
Je suis Charlie
Discuss.
CLICK HERE! to join us for this very special book launch event. Pre-order your book, meet the author and get it signed and receive a limited edition complimentary Richard Thompson print.
Just want to Buy The Book: CLICK HERE
"The Cartoonist's Cartoonist". Join us January 24th, from 1:00pm-4:00pm for a special presentation, meet and greet, and book signing with the author of "The Art of Richard Thompson", Nick Galifianakis, as he talks about his friend and genius cartoonist, Richard Thompson.
Schedule:
12:30 – 1:00pm Networking
1:00 – 2:00 Presentation by Nick Galifianakis
2:00 – 2:30 Lunch Break Networking
2:30 – 3:00 Screen Documentary
3:00 – 3:30 Interview by Charles Solomon
3:30 – Book Signing
Richard Thompson is a genius illustrator and cartoonist most known for his comic strip Cul de Sac and the illustrated poem "Make the Pie Higher". He has received numerous awards for his illustrations including National Cartoonists Society's Magazine and Book Illustration Award, the Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year from the National Cartoonists Society, and many others Thompson's illustrations have appeared in U.S. News & World Report, The New Yorker, Air & Space/Smithsonian, National Geographic and The Atlantic Monthly, and other notable publications.
"Very few cartoonists do so much, so well. Richard is a wonderful writer and one of the rare ones who can write truly unique, hilarious characters. He's drawn incisive caricatures, lavish illustrations, and one of the most beautiful comic strips I've ever seen. And just when you think it couldn't be better, sometimes he paints the stuff. Richard has the extra-deluxe, jumbo-size skill set. It's an inspiring body of work." ~Bill Watterson
Nick Galifianakis is an award winning American cartoonist and artist. Since 1997, he has drawn the cartoons for the nationally syndicated advice column, Tell Me About It, for the Washington Post and illustrated the book "Tell Me About It: Lying, Sulking, Getting Fat… and 56 Other Things NOT to Do While Looking for Love". He's also illustrated a number of books and was nominated by the National Cartoonists Society for the 2006 Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year in the Newspaper Illustration category and in 2012 won the Reuben Award for Advertising Illustration. In 2010, he published the book, "If You Loved Me, You'd Think This Was Cute: Uncomfortably True Cartoons About You."
"Indeed, among those who "know," it has long been considered a crime, even a sin, that a book featuring the breathtaking range of Richard Thompson's work has not existed before now. That inexcusable absence is due mostly to the fact that Richard's talent is in direct proportion to his stubborn unwillingness to self-promote. Quietly creating in the pre-dawn hours against a soundtrack of classical music in a tiny studio, while consuming food of decidedly negligible substance (usually from a bag or Styrofoam box), contented to measure himself artistically only against himself, has always meant more to Richard than publicly shouting, "Look at me!" ~Nick Galifianakis
NOTE: This event will repeat at the CTN animation eXpo this Nov 20-22, 2015.
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| Michael Cavna, P&P owner, Nick Galifianakis |
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| Moderator Michael Cavna |
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| Co-writer David Apatoff (in blue) with his wife the author Nell Minnow |
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| Gene Weingarten realizing he's going to have to talk |
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| Britt Conley, who massaged and color-corrected all the scans |
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| Gene Weingarten recounting his stalking of Bill Watterson |
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| Nick G thanking everyone who worked on the book |
We turn to yesterday's tragic shooting at the Paris offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which left 12 people dead. With: Kevin "KAL" Kallaugher, editorial cartoonist for The Economist magazine of London and The Baltimore Sun and winner of the 2014 Thomas Nast Award for cartooning on international affairs. KAL's recently published retrospective is titled Daggers Drawn: 35 Years of Kal Cartoons in The Economist.
– Noelene Clark
Named the Outstanding Cartoonist of 2010 by the National Cartoonists Society, Richard Thompson is best known for his syndicated series, Cul de Sac. But his work encompasses much more, and in this colorful career retrospective, six of his peers present the different facets of Thompson's art. Join Galifianakis, Washington Post cartoonist and author of If You Loved Me, You'd Think This Was Cute, Weingarten, Pulitzer-winning journalist who writes The Washington Post's "Below the Beltway" column, and Apatoff, an illustration scholar whose recent work includes a biography of illustrator Robert Fawcett. They will be interviewed by Michael Cavna, writer, artist, and lapsed cartoonist now producing The Washington Post's "Comic Riffs." (Andrews McMeel)
C-Span's Washington Journal January 8, 2015
Jack Ohman, president of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists, spoke by phone about cartoonists' response to the shooting at French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, in which 12 people died. He also discussed the possible implications for freedom of expression.
