Je Suis Charlie !

1/10/2015


                  " Je Suis Charlie,"  meaning " I Am Charlie," this amazing phrase has gone viral around
                  the world and on twitter several million twitters a minute, it shows the world can unite
                  in the face of terrorisim and horror.....

                                                                          Joe..........

Because plenty of media , liberty of the speech, but, but, why for  just the liberty of media? There are many lost souls of any kind for  nothing, with no media

1/10
             Yes Harry I agree, I also agree that not everyone is bad but you don't
             kill people because you don't like what they said...

                                                          Cheers.Joe:D

We have lost our freedom of speech now.  All people in America worry about is their freedom to carry a gun.  They don't care that their speech has to be politically correct.  What gives?

1/10
              Alice..
                            Would you check your e mail....URGENT !

                                             Joe

I don't know how christian people could receive  mockeries of  Jesus or  blasphemous cartoons about Christians people or their boys' names. I just know that it is very easy make provoke against young jobless people who feel belong nowhere - not being anyone. I don't know  either - is a satire Provo or not in the liberty view of liberty of speech. I just know it sounds a little bit as racist

http://ordinary-gentlemen.com/blog/2015/01/09/satire-is-not-provocative-except-in-the-way-that-it-is-supposed-to-be

Excellent article, Harry. It outs the whole thing into perspective. Thank you for the post.

I am a full-blooded Spaniard, Argentine by birth, and an American by choice and by the grace of my adopted country that I love above all others on Earth. Today, however, without a doubt, Aujourd'hui, je suis français!

1/10

                            To those who want to do destruction to civilized people
          I say .........The Pen is mightier than the sword !.

                                          Joe.............

The madness has many names. 
 The madness  and madman and mad woman too, that phenomenon occurs everywhere, it's increasing madness and could be says it's  a new form of our time black box, Everywhere could read and hear  how someone go to  school and start to shoot people there, with the awful result of  victims, all them innocents, One could also faced a knife in the street to be stabbed by a bystander- there is never any explanation or  apology of such sort of violence. But never I have heard such sort of madmen called as 'terrorist', just a madness.
But what difference is between a terrorist and a madness? And are the terrorist more dangerous than madman? Both of them kill people-just those innocent people -not- for example, to blow up any bridge

1/11

                                        Harry..

                                                    How true !

                                                    Cheers..Joe

Victor D. Lopez wrote:

I am a full-blooded Spaniard, Argentine by birth, and an American by choice and by the grace of my adopted country that I love above all others on Earth. Today, however, without a doubt, Aujourd'hui, je suis français!

Please translate for me.  Thanks.

Alice, for future you may go to Google and type in "translator."  It gives a box in which you type whatever language you wish and it will translate to whatever language you wish.  It's great fun! It is a literal translation but at least is close to the meaning.

I think that what harry is saying is that there is not much difference between a terrorist and a madman.  Both are mad men.  Harry, I hope I have that right. 
The fact that religion or beliefs makes not much difference.  Both are insane and both are dangerous to society.

Love, Betty

1/11

                               Betty...

                                            BRAVO...............

                                            Cheers........Joe

Alice,

 "Aujourd'hui, je suis français!"


Today, I am French.

I agree Betty.  There are atrocities being committed every day without much attention.  I would like to see world leaders unite with the ongoing genocide in the M.E. 
I applaud the demonstrations in Paris showing the world united against terrorism; however it should not be selective. 
As indicated on other posts, killings occur everywhere.  Killing is not limited to designated terrorists.  Men, women and even children pull the trigger and kill.  I don't think taking away their toys is the only answer/solution nor is there a common cause.  There are accidents as well as temporary insanity that can result in death.  It is the pre-planned assaults that are the most dangerous.  Whether they are religious or politically motivated, they are evil.  History records Religious Fundamentalists performing acts of terror.  Currently the attention is drawn to radical Islamic fundamentalists.  Fanaticism is no justification.  Religious beliefs are a personal thing and should not to be forced on anyone.  We fought for religious freedom.  I interpret that also to mean "to be free from religion" if one so chooses.  No dogma should be forced on anyone.  Cults decide on a ritual, the manner of dress, how and when to perform sex, etc., and in my view is nuts. 
The only weapon we have to stop violence is with our voice.  We are aided by the I-Net and much is being done/said about current events.  Saying nothing implies agreement.  Being afraid of criticism or being intimidated stifles many voices.  If one believes in just one life, then make it mean something.  A person who isn’t criticized isn’t doing or saying anything.  Stand for something and let that something be for the good of mankind.  We have many concerns.  Some of them involve our health, short and long-term.  Although our environment and our security is a concern, we can’t be afraid to live.  Who knows if we will get a second chance at life?

Extremism, whether religious, political, gender-based, or cultural, always leads, according to Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell, to a condition Jung called "enantodromia, or "running toward the opposite."   Campbell expands on Jung's concept by applying it to cultures and groups as well as individuals.  He proposes that the reason for this phenomenon is a worldview that insists on dualityies, with seeing the world in terms of either/or, black/white, good/evil, right/wrong.  He points out that nothing is ever 100% one or the other.  He refers to Jung again and the concept of the Shadow. The dark side of our personalities that we keep hidden, not only from others, but from ourselves as well.  We insist compulsively that evil and other traits we see as negative are "out there," a part of the "other," yet our insistence is due more to a fear that we are wrong, that we are not always "right."  Because we cannot see beyond this dualism, we repress that shadow side of our selves, and to keep it repressed, we focus on the evil other and make war on it.  The answer lies in moving beyond duality, and realizing that there is no black and white, but many shades of grey, and in recognizing that many of our admirable qualities come from an ability to be assertive.  As Abe said in his post, to stand up for what we believe in and be openly critical of things we perceive as being wrong.  So long as we can remain objective, and grasp that all our perspectives are limited, and remember that nothing is ever all one or the other, speaking up can often lead to a broader understanding, and that understanding can move us from the extreme poles toward the center - the source of compassion.

In situations like the Charlie Hebdo attack, which the OP was about, we have a fundamentalist group that cannot bear to see or hear criticisms of its  beliefs and its founder - a perfect example of a severely repressed shadow, to the point of madness, as Harry said.

I don't know if followers of such an extreme view can be reached, but what we can do is to speak to the more reasonable minds in all groups, minds which are opening to a concept of oneness, of community and of seeing that there is something whole behind the apparent dualities, minds that can convince those who might be headed in the direction of madness and terrorism.

Just me, again.

1/13

                        I just saw this the new Hebdo Magazine cover, don't you think this
    would make the situation worse ! 
                                                                      Cheers..Joe

"Tout est Pardonne" All is forgiven.

Seems to me that the terrorists aren’t afraid of bombs, guns or armies, but feel threatened by cartoons!!

I remember in the Bush years following 911 how we whispered our criticisms, certain that our phones and homes were bugged because any criticism of the Bush administration was considered a threat to the nation and anti-patriotic.  It was the first time I ever felt that I could not speak my truth in my country.  For me, speaking my truth is to do so with respect.  I am more "politically correct" than many of my contemporaries, very schooled in the lessons of not offending any specific group.  Even so, we would whisper in public places.  It was a difficult time to live in this country, a lesson in what freedom of speech really means and how important it is.  I remember being at dinner with new acquaintances and hearing one make a remark with which I agreed but would not have said myself.  We connected through our eyes. 

It is freedom of speech that allows for information dissemination.  Propaganda flows when speech is denied.

I object to a lot of what I see and hear as inappropriate, disgusting, not really funny, in poor taste, etc. etc. but will defend the right of those who see it a different way to have access to their type of information dissemination so far as it does not harm children and the helpless who cannot speak for themselves and lack discernment.

Alice,

Sorry but I did not check in for awhile and just saw your question to me. As Shelagh kindly translated,  "Aujourd'hui, je suis français!" means "Today I am French!" I do not speak French and had to look  it up. I hope I got it right.

This comment was made by Malek Merabet, brother to Ahmed Merabek, French police officer slain in the attack on Charlie Hebdo, according to CNN report.  It bears repeating:

Quote :

"I address myself now to all the racists, Islamophobes and anti-Semites," he said. "One must not confuse extremists with Muslims. Mad people have neither color or religion."I want to make another point: Don't tar everybody with the same brush, don't burn mosques -- or synagogues. You are attacking people. It won't bring our dead back, and it won't appease the families."

1/14

                              This man is on helluva human being , I applaud him
           he is a gentleman and he is correct, I would love to meet him
           over coffee and have a nice long conversation and say I wish
           all human beings would get along , were all the same...

                                                     Cheers.....Joe