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Boston is Charlie
By adamg on Wed, 01/07/2015 - 7:37pm
At 6 p.m., about 75 French citizens in Boston and supporters gathered at the French consulate on St. James Avenue for a vigil in memory of the victims of the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris and to declare their support for the free expression of ideas.
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Vive la France!
Vive la France!
God Bless the Victims
Without freedom of the press and speech and the courage of journalists we are doomed. Journalists and cops have one thing in common they are willing to go to battle with the forces of evil. The execution of the wounded cop was sickening.
Agreed. And all I could think
Agreed. And all I could think about is the ongoing debate over "the militarization of police". That poor officer was armed only with a handgun, and look at the tremendous amount of firepower that he succumbed to, in the hands of unspeakable evil.
I don't know what the answer is, but my heart broke for that police officer, and I thank them everywhere for trying to protect us.
Not to take anything away from his sacrifice
But the debate over militarization of police is really about situations in the US and doesn't refer to attacks by heavily armed militants.
I disagree Adam. This could
I disagree Adam. This could happen anywhere at any time. In fact, I'm more surprised the United States hasn't suffered a similar terrorist attack. Now I feel like It's only a matter of time. The last thing I want to see is a Boston cop executed on a downtown street like this.
Like this one 20 years ago in the Boston area?
I think it qualifies: http://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/31/us/anti-abortion-killings-overview-gun...
Religious extremist decides to go on a murder spree. Yep.
Actually, the armed guard was wounded - but two receptionists were killed.
In NYC, all that deranged gunman needed was a pistol to take out a pair of officers. Firepower isn't everything.
Good point, Adam
Yes.
Anyone interested in how France and the US compare in preventing homicide per 100,000, here is some info compiled by the World Bank. Sadly, the US does not compare well to the other First World countries. Hell, the US does not compare well to Sri Lanka and Tonga.
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/VC.IHR.PSRC.P5
US has a far less homogeneous
US has a far less homogeneous population compared to other countries.
Actually,
they appear sorted alphabetically, making it a bit tough to compare them easily. Quick glance tells me central and south America appears to be a friggin train wreck.
The Middle East, however, appears quite peaceful, as befitting nations that follow Islam, The Religion of Peace.
There is hope. The President of Egypt (Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi) called for a rethinking of the tenets of Islam that cause this violence.
But that was last week...
"Prior to Paris terror attack, Egyptian president warned imams of dangers of extremism."
http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/01/07/paris-terror-shooting-a...
We shall see.
I was there
I was there. I'm sorry it wasn't better attended. We stood silently for a while; somebody (maybe the consul?) came out and thanked us for our support; there were a few interviews with media, and we dispersed.
An attack on journalists, writers, artists, and editors is a pretty direct attack on civilization itself. To hell with the people who did it.
I hope there is another event, indoors, soon
Perhaps the French Library could sponsor one? The subfreezing weather deterred many people (including me, I'll admit).
any attack on ANYONE is an attack on civilization
Stop pretending that some people's lives are worth more than others. Any crime against a person is a crime against society; that's why our government holds people accountable for crimes against people.
Police officer's lives are not worth more than "civilians."
Artist's lives are not worth more than accountants.
Etc.
I for one am happy to see that France understands how to respond to an event like this - by charging full-steam doing what these people were attacked for doing.
Not all acts of violence have the same impact.
That's why they call it terrorism. A guy in the mob getting whacked by one of his colleagues doesn't have the same impact as a three year old who is killed by a pipe bomb while attending the circus.
You can say it as many times as you want, but facts matter. People should and do react differently depending on the circumstances surrounding an act of violence.
Nice to see support for the
Nice to see support for the French here in Boston!
Just don't mention who killed
Just don't mention who killed them or why. Hold your sign and be self-satisfied at no cost.
What happens in Vegas ...
I guess it isn't news in your book when a couple of white Cliven Bundy followers go on a rampage, kill two cops and some non-cops, etc.
Or when the NAACP office in Colorado was bombed on Tuesday. Nope.
You do realize that one of the Paris policemen was also a Muslim, no? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2901681/Hero-police-officer-exec...
None of this neatly fits your worldview, though.
I can look things up!!!
"the FBI was exploring a wide range of motives, including the possibility that the NAACP building was not the target of the attack.
"It has also not yet been determined if the motive was a hate crime, domestic terrorism, a personal act of violence against a specific individual, or other motive as there are numerous individuals and entities tied to the building in the vicinity of the explosion," Sanders said in an email to The Times."
"Bundy told the Los Angeles Times on Monday that he did not know the suspects."
"Bundy's son, Ammon Bundy, told the Associated Press on Monday that the shooters were asked to leave the ranch in the spring after spending a few days there. He described the couple as "very radical.""
None of this neatly fits your worldview, though.
Meanwhile, in Syria, ISIS
killedbeheaded a street magician for being a street musician. Apparently they called it 'un islamic'.http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/isis-behead-street-magician-ente...
So, the cop being a Muslim really didn't matter. He was killed by psychotic radical islamic assholes.
And ...
Psychotic, radical white supremacist assholes kill, too.
"No doubt the suspects had some kind of ideology along the lines of militia and white supremacists" http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/06/09/las-vegas-police-sh...
The problem isn't the religion or the cause. The problem is extremism.
Refocus, dude.
Agreed
Why let a few million bad apples spoil the bunch?
When its your neighbor
When your neighbor is brutally murdered in cold blood by a religious zealot terrorist, you start to realize that extremist religionists have a lot in common with one another, and less so with other adherents of their stated religion.
How is this much different from what John Salvi did to my neighbor Shannon twenty years ago? It isn't, really. These guys represent that cop they murdered about as much as Salvi represents most Catholics.
So you're from Brookline?
So you're from Brookline? That explains EVERYTHING.
Seriously, bro?
Speaking strictly for myself, I'm pretty vocal in my condemnation of the murderous, totalitarian ideology that is Islamism, to the extent that I'm sure it puts me slightly at risk for reprisals.
But I also understand the difference between a somber, silent vigil whose purpose is to mourn the loss of victims, and an energized, angry rally to demand action, and I'm not crude or disrespectful enough to try to bring the latter into the former.
tl;dr: Cram it.
It was a vigil in memory the victims
Not a protest of their murders. I don't think it's appropriate to mention the murderers at a victim's memorial, personally.