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Should we all be Charlie?

1/19/2015

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The shooting of the staff of the Charlie Hebdo magazine by Muslim extremists was an abhorable act of savagery and an affront to free speech. As a result of this, the magazine and its slain staff have been elevated to the status of martyrs with many proclaiming “Je suis Charlie” (I am Charlie). Such was the groundswell of support for the magazine (which barely sold 30,000 issues and was headed for bankruptcy) that it sold one million copies of the latest issue and is printing more. But I wonder: is this the way we should react when free speech is threatened or attacked regardless of the content and the nature of such free speech?

Charlie Hebdo is a hardcore left-wing magazine. Most of its articles deal with issues like the economy, social justice, culture, politics and so forth. Charlie has even raised its voice against the discrimination that Muslims experience in France. The problem is that several of its articles and cartoons have involved a very brutal form of satirical humor that has been extremely offensive to many groups, not only Muslims.  Consider the following cartoon that was published by Charlie in 2012 regarding the opposition of Catholics in France to gay marriage, which proclaims that a vocal opponent of gay marriage at the time, Cardinal Vingt-Trois, had three fathers; the father, the son, and the Holy Ghost, which are featured having sexual relations.
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This cartoon created uproar within the catholic French community, but others felt it was justified due to the intense campaign against gay marriage led by catholic groups which many considered homophobic.

There is no doubt that Charlie had a right to publish this cartoon, as well as the cartoons of the prophet Muhamad. The question, however, is whether it was wise. Taking the example of the above cartoon, many Christians are for gay marriage, but a cartoon like the one above offends almost all Christians. Similarly the vast majority of Muslims are against terrorism, but a cartoon ridiculing their most prominent religious figure or their holy book will offend almost all of them. This is my beef with Charlie’s approach, even if they have a right to follow it.

But what to do now when Charlie’s right to free speech has been so brutally repressed? Buy the new issue with yet another Muhamad cartoon in the cover and declare in solidarity “Je suis Charlie”? For reference let’s check some cases closer to home here in the US where free speech was attacked.

The publisher of the pornographic magazine Hustler, Larry Flint, went through several obscenity trials and was shot and paralyzed from the waist down in 1978 by a white supremacist who was angered because Hustler featured an issue of a black man having sex with a white woman. So in support of free speech should we have bought the magazine? In 1987 the artist Andres Serrano took a photograph of a small crucifix immersed in a glass of his own urine (Piss Christ). The photograph went on to cause scandals when it was exhibited at galleries with the artist receiving death threats and losing grants to pursue his work. In support of his free speech should we have bought copies of the photograph and attended his exhibitions? In 1992 the band Body Count put out an album containing a song written by their lead vocalist Ice-T, called “Cop Killer”, which describes in expletive-riddled terms how an individual fed up with police brutality sets out to kill police officers. The backlash against the artist and the record company was so great that the album was reissued with the song removed. To defend free speech should we have bought the original album? My answer to these questions is “No”. You can support free speech without necessarily supporting a specific artist, even when their free speech is under attack.

I believe Charlie Hebdo has its heart in the right place. It addresses valid issues that others may miss or shy from addressing, and it has paid a high price for doing so. In no uncertain way I condemn the despicable killing of its staff, which should not be tolerated or allowed to become a muzzle for free speech. However, I will not be buying the new issue. “Je ne suis pas Charlie” (I am not Charlie). I believe that what they do can be done in a way that generates less heat and more light.

What do you think?


                                    ***

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The Complete Beatles Experience: Britain’s Finest!

1/19/2015

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I went to see Britain’s Finest, an act that bills itself as the best Beatles tribute band. As expected most of the crowd were old fogies on a nostalgia trip like me, but I was surprised to see many young people too. The beginning of the show started with the music of the Ed Sullivan show (which introduced the Beatle to the US), and when the curtain lifted, the four lads dressed in the classic Beatle’s gear from the sixties made their appearance and begun playing all the early favorites including “She loves you”, “I want to hold your hand”, “Help”, “A Hard Day’s Night”, “Can’t Buy Me Love” and so forth. In between songs they added funny comments spoken with a British accent that got the crowd laughing (e.g. “we now want to play a song that we composed recently about fifty years ago”). They ended the first part of the concert with the song “Twist and Shout” which got everyone clapping and dancing.
The next part of the show is the one I was interested in. Most tribute bands merely imitate the original band, which of course is the whole point, but to me this does not have a lot of artistic merit. However, the Beatles stopped touring in 1966. As a result of this, and with the exception of the “Let it Be” rooftop concert in the eponymous movie and the fab four’s solo efforts, we have no idea how the Beatles would have played many of their later songs live. This meant that the members of the tribute band would have to actually create what a Beatles concert would have been like. And this they did magnificently.

The second part of the show was preceded by sitar music played over the loudspeakers, and when the curtains lifted the band appeared in full Sergeant Pepper’s regalia playing, of course, “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and then easing into “With a Little Help from my Friends” with the vocals sung by the drummer who played the part of Ringo. This section of the concert featured songs including “Come Together”, “Hello Goodbye”, “Penny Lane”, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and a costume transition of the band members to the Abbey Road phase of the Beatles. The guy who played Lennon donned a wig, round glasses, and sang an acoustic version of “Strawberry Fields”. The guy who played Paul also sang “Yesterday” and “Blackbird” to the delight of the audience, and the guy who played George sang the second most covered Beatle song (after “Yesterday”) “Something”. The show ended with the audience singing and clapping to “Get Back”, and the band came back for an encore where they sang “Hey Jude” joined by all the audience.

I left the venue with the feeling that I had attended a concert by the real act hearing the legendary music that is still listened to today even by the new generations.

Beatles 4 Ever! R.I.P. John and George


                                    ***

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