I have a confession to make: I have very deep criticisms about this site, its writers and readers. Some days I log on, browse the front page and the recommended list, gauge the general tone of the site, and then log off because I think you're all a bunch of idiots.
Does that offend you? It certainly should. Because I'm painting an entire community with a broad brush and ignoring all the amazing things about it. And even more offensive is that it is highly likely that when I say "you're all idiots," I'm not actually talking about you, dear reader, but rather just a few people amongst the thousands here.
So the problem may not be all of you, right? It's more likely that I am the problem, but it doesn't stop me from offensively calling ALL of you idiots.
But what if I actually DID call all of you, each and every person here, an idiot? Well, first I'd be banned. Then, depending on how I wrote the diary, I might become a dkos legend, like ErinF or RealityBias.
You know what wouldn't happen?
I wouldn't be killed. Mocked, ridiculed, maligned? Yes.
Alive?
Also yes.
I get that people were legitimately offended by not only the cartoons of Charlie Hebdo, but of some cartoons here. And that is okay.
I'm offended by a ton of shit, all of which I wish would cease to exist, none of which ever will. Part of being politically active, and more to the point, part of being a minority, is accepting that if one wants to be offended, one needs to not look far to find offense.
This is not to say that we all just need to grow up and learn to accept that we'll often be offended.... but, actually, I guess that it is.
Let me quote my own comment here (edited for obvious reasons):
I've been the target of hate speech for decades and for more reasons than being gay, but let me make this clear: if, say, someone walked into the Westboro Baptist church tomorrow and gunned down twelve members, I would stand, unequivocally and without hesitation, with the Phelps family.
If this surprises ANYONE, it shouldn't.
The right to expression, even that which deeply offends us, is and always should be absolute. People are DEAD because they offended someone. That is the issue. That that is being overshadowed by what they said is damning to everyone engaging in the topic.
Again, I say this as someone who is practically ALWAYS on the receiving end of hate speech. No one, NO ONE, should fear for their life because of their artistic expression. We collectively damn societies that foster such an atmosphere, then debate whether there should be limits in more civilized nations whenever something tragic happens.
Fuck that. I don't care who was offended by fucking cartoons. The people who'd prefer to silence the offensive through laws rather than violence are the same as those who have silenced them. They're just not violent, so they consider themselves more virtuous.
I'm
offended by the people who say they are not Charlie. I'm offended to my core that people would take this opportunity to chastise a dead person for their artistic expression.
I don't care if you found the cartoons racist or Islamaphobic or anything else. Art that doesn't offend at least someone isn't really art at all.
But you know what? Even though I am deeply offended by those who have chosen to start a debate about what constitutes "hate speech" in the face of people dying because of their artistic expressions, if you were gunned down for the things that offended me, I would still stand with you, rather than the violent perpetrators who harmed you.
That this is even a question offends me.
So you can say you're not Charlie all you want, but to me, you're ALL Charlie.
Your opinions may piss me off, they may make me dislike you, they might offend me, frustrate me, or even fucking degrade me.
But I will stand, now and forfuckingever, for your right to offend me.
Like it or not, you're all Charlie. Whether I respect your opinions or not is irrelevant. I respect your right to express your opinion no matter how offensive or petty I may think it is.
Nothing will change that for me. No amount of intimidation will change that belief, and nothing will stop me from supporting your fundamental right to raise my goddamn hackles.
I'd rather live my life on the offense than live a life where no one dare speak words that may offend others.