Originally Posted by Guest_1001 Originally Posted by

Anyone's death is a tragedy but am I the only one not surprised to see this happen? France has some horrible laws when it comes to freedom of religion, especially for Muslims; religious symbols are banned in schools (for all religions) while Muslim women have it even worse due to the French ban on face coverings. Marseilles also tried to institute a ban on religious symbols at civil partnerships but that wasn't passed. I see people posting Voltaire's "I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it", but I don't think they've considered doing or saying the same for downtrodden religious people wanting to express their religious beliefs. Bear in mind that many Muslim women fled the Middle East due to oppressive laws governing what they can or cannot wear yet France did the same thing.



I don't feel so strongly about religious satire that I don't have sympathy for the victims, of course, but people have been quoting Stéphane Charbonnier's "I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees". I can't help but wonder how he thinks mocking an already-marginalised group is being "on his feet" or catering to them is being "on his knees". Kicking oppressed groups when they're down certainly requires being on your feet to do though ...