We couldn’t believe our ears and eyes last night.
We were watching the PBS Newshour, one of our nightly favorites. The segment was a follow-up on the assassinations of journalists at the Charlie Hebdo newspaper in Paris.
As the world reacted, PBS chickened out.
From the transcript:
JUDY WOODRUFF: Many news organizations, including the PBS NewsHour, have decided not to show the cover. The paper is printing up to three million copies.
French Muslim leaders today criticized the showing of representations of Mohammed, an act considered blasphemy by most Muslims. But they urged their followers to respect the right to free expression.
The declaration came with comment. Without explanation. Without justification.
Meanwhile, cartoonist Darryl Cagle, formerly of Honolulu, has been distributing post-Charlie Hebdo cartoons. His website has now been hacked, and has been “down” for most of the last 24 hours. I hope that it’s “up” and available right now.
Cagle also penned a fine column, “Cartoonists and Red Lines,” bemoaning self-censorship by editors in American media. I couldn’t read it on his website on Tuesday night, because the site was still down. I found it reprinted elsewhere.
“Like blaming a rape victim for her “provocative dress,” many press pundits blame the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists (and the Danish cartoonists before them) for crossing “red lines,” and inviting trouble,” Cagle wrote.
In France, the heroic Charlie Hebdo cartoonists lampooned issues that are important to their French audience, with Muslim extremists at the top of their lampoon-list. Cartoonists respond to intolerance with ridicule. Typically, timid editors respond to intolerance with too much restraint.
There should be no “red lines,” just good judgment. Editors should show more bravery. The cartoonists are already brave; we need more editors who cover our backs.
Stop asking cartoonists about red lines. Ask editors about red lines. Ask the editors to be more brave.
Cable has also aimed criticism at American newspapers that have largely eliminated editorial cartoons and staff cartoonists, while now praising the bravery of the French cartoonists who became victims of this vicious attack. And he names names.
Awe to PBS and the PBS Newshour for censorship without justification or explanation.
When the next PBS fund appeal arrives, we’ll be taking this into account.
Discover more from i L i n d
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
The idea that the French solidarity march was to support free speech is a sham. Only some speech is protected in France or here in the US. In France – and other European states – it is a crime to deny the Holocaust, but not other genocides. France now deploys 10,000 soldiers and 5,000 police to protect “Jewish sites”. Meanwhile 26 places of worship for Muslims have been attacked and 34 have been threatened. The solidarity rally in Paris was attended by a who’s who of enemies of free speech and independent journalism. Those hoping the mainstream media would highlight this hypocrisy were disappointed. Greenwald addresses this in his post today which proves this point. https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/01/14/days-hosting-massive-free-speech-march-france-arrests-comedian-facebook-comments/
Sometimes I do wonder what year it will be (2200, 2350, 5500, 22950) when all humans look back at this “god” stuff and laugh.
Close relatives of Chimpanzees have trouble perceiving their big universe and their little brains. thus, they invent “god”. this helps to reduce frustration and panic.
unsurprisingly, “god” has some very weird ideas that tend to change over time.
Exodus 22:16
“If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife.”
Deuteronomy 22:30
“A man is not to marry his father’s wife; he must not dishonor his father’s bed.”
It seems very reasonable for a news outlet to choose not to offend by not reproducing the Charlie Hebdo cartoons. No justification is necessary.
While the murders are horrific, and while free speech should be defended, there is also nothing saying that offensive material has to be reproduced or an excuse given why not. That the Charlie Hebdo cartoons are offensive is not in dispute. A “like” if it were possible on the first comment above.
Darryl Cagle has the courage to tout the Charlie Hebdo cartoons originating at a safe distance halfway around the globe. But Cagle also had the courage to publish his own cartoons about the most highly controversial issue right where he was living, here in Hawaii. I’m sure he took a lot of abuse from people calling him a racist — maybe he even got death threats — because of his cartoons directing enormous sarcasm toward OHA, the Akaka bill, and racial entitlement programs. I included six Darryl Cagle cartoons as the last 6 pages (# 95-100) in my testimony to the Department of Interior in August 2014 regarding the Advance Notice of Proposed Rule-Making for creating a Hawaiian tribe. I believe they were all originally published in MIDWEEK 10-15 years ago.
http://big09.angelfire.com/ConklinTestmnyDOI081514RulesChangeHawnTribe.pdf
So how come you’re not posting any- like the really good R Crumb one I sent you via email. Babaaawk? It’s okay if you are :>)
Andy, my January 11th post included a link to the Crumb drawings.
Couple of comments:
1) The topic of Mohammad being artistically depicted and how Muslims perceive these images is a complex one and is worthy of its own discussion. This article gives you an idea.
http://news.yahoo.com/charlie-hebdos-cover-more-complicated-truth-depictions-muhammad-221100022.html;_ylt=AwrSbmsLx7ZUXVQATL3BGOd_
2) Coming to grips with the reality that a significant chunk of Islamic viewers will find the Charlie Hebdo magazine cover offensive, PBS and other media outlets need to ask themselves if there is sufficient news value to justify displaying the image in question. It’s a judgement call, with no absolute right or wrong decision. Every organization will have their own answer. I mean, if a vandal spray painted an obscene image onto a church’s mural of Jesus, is it censorship for a newspaper to decline publishing a photo of something that many Christians would find profane? Is such a photo necessary to report the story?
This whole thing about depictions of Muhammad is totally ridiculous. The fact is that the prophet lived circa 600 CE and no one knows what he looked like, so how would you know. There are some physical descriptions but they either were published centuries after he lived or are so fanciful as to be totally useless. So for Muslims to get all insulted by a generic depiction of some vaguely ethnic looking man with a beard and turban is nuts. It could be any one of millions of men who fit that description. Even if it is labeled Muhammad there are probably 10 million men in the Muslim world with that name. So how about concentrating on what is important rather than killing each other over cartoons.
@Marilyn Mick – it is true that some countries in Europe make Holocaust denial a crime and also have communal libel laws. So? They aren’t the USA. The Holocaust happened in Europe and was implemented by Europeans including French collaborators who rounded up and deported French Jews with much fervor. So it is appropriate that this is a very sensitive issue for the Europeans and many countries have passed laws, that go against our cherished freedom of speech. So, what is your point?
If you missed Marilyn Mick’s point, then read the link she shared. The link’s main point is the obvious abundance of religious hypocrisy today:
“anti-Muslim speech is perfectly great and noble while anti-Jewish speech is hideously offensive and evil”
Too many people have a paranoid Us vs. Them minds, and they make bad decisions. I prefer the following:
Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace…
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one.
(Unfortunately, this gentlemen was murdered by an America freak.)
http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/28/showbiz/mark-chapman-parole-denied/
Oops- sorry… I must have missed the link at the bottom.
No I did not miss her point at all.
For the past decade, it has been French Muslims who have been behind the extensive rise in anti-Semitism in France, including violent anti-Semitism, murders, physical assaults, destruction of Jewish property, and threatening intimidation. Maybe you missed all the anti-Semitic rallies with swastikas and chants of “death to the Jews.”
And France has a very mixed history with regards to anti-Semitism. It was the first European country to emancipate the Jews and make them full citizens, however it is also home to the famous Dreyfus affair as well as extensive collaboration with the Nazis during WWII.
This is appropriately a very sensitive subject for the French.
And by the way, no Muslims were killed last week for being Muslim but 5 of the 17 people killed last week in Paris were Jews and 4 of those 5 were killed solely because they were Jews.
@ Get a Life – Muslims are “nuts” for not seeing things the way you do. But of course!
Houston, I think we have made contact with the center of the universe.
@ Nala 007 & “t” – No country has a monopoly on failings when it comes to protecting human rights. No religion is free of hypocrisy when it comes to excercising tolerance of other faiths. Finger pointing and arguing about who’s worse. Does any of it bring us closer to ending injustice and violence?
Allen N. –
Way too many Americans pound their chests and claim their country is the greatest.
Way too many Americans also live in denial over serious problems in America (hence, the shootings that we read about nearly every day.)
This is why it has taken America so long to deal with racism, mistreatment of women, religious molestation, rape, discrimination, gay-bashing and scores of other serious issues. America has long called itself the leader of the free world. The worst leaders are defensive leaders; they refuse to listen to critics. Defensiveness is one of America’s biggest problems, along with arrogance and ignorance. North Korea also has these problems, but I’m not talking about North Korea right now.
Hence, I criticize my country and I will continue to point out America’s serious problems. I am not going to write a 20-page comment about all of the world’s problems when no one will read it. lol
@Allen N – I am not doing what you just accused me of above. I am merely explaining why France has stict laws about Holocaust denial and why there is considerable concern in France today about this tide of anti-Semitism. This was in response to Ms Mick’s criticisms. That’s all.
@Nala007 – A tide of anti-Islam will not reduce a tide of anti-Semitism; all we get is another stupid war and zero improvement. that is all.