This Is Overdue

   I should have mentioned this last week. I didn't, mainly because the situation was still evolving. Last week, as we know, terrorists attacked the Paris office of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, and a kosher market near the heart of the City of Lights. When all was said and done, 17 people had been killed. 3 suspects were also gunned down by police, while a 4th is still at large.
   Why? On the surface, it's over the paper's satirical portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad. The Islamic faith forbids such portrayals, satirical or not. At least that's what the gunmen claimed at the time.
   The reaction to the events of last week was simple: Shock and outrage. Even the vast majority of Muslims have condemned the attack, saying such acts are not part of their religious beliefs. In fact, cartoons in many Muslim or Islamic papers targeted not the dead at Charlie Hebdo, but terrorism.
   There was a memorial march in Paris and many other cities around the world, with people holding up signs saying "Je suis Charlie", or I am Charlie.
   As a member of the mass media myself, I was just as shocked as most of us when the attack happened last week. I've spent 35 years in radio, more than 33 of those in newsrooms, and, like so many, my thought was the attack targeted free speech, just as much as the people in that Paris office were targeted by the attackers.
   This week, Charlie Hebdo will publish 3 million copies of their paper. And they will again lampoon the Prophet. I'm hoping this time there will be no revenge attack in response.

TTFN