"Some language used by African-Americans among themselves would be grossly insulting if used by a white person. And so on."



Well, unless Charlie Hedbo was a devout Muslim, or Theo Van Gogh was a Jew who saw his family gassed, it is exactly white people having fun over the "N"-word getting whipped or raped.



The great tragedy here is that there was not such an outcry over the totally innocent in that store who were murdered, and hundreds of prior incidents, but rather only over the satirists.



If the author is concerned over what the message to peaceful Muslims is, it is this:



"If the French, if the West, really were concerned about the outrages of the Jihadists, the murder of complete innocents--murdered only for their religious identity--should have set off the great protests. But oh no, hardly a peep. [Obviously, peaceful Muslims couldn't dream of getting any greater sympathy generated.] -- Ah, but kill a few people who made it their mission in life to humiliate the most sacred values of Muslims, and millions take to the street and heads of state, too, march forth. -- Well, that rather says not how terrible the West thinks the Jihadists are, but rather seems to say how much importance is placed on humiliating Islam*. "



Is that how the French and the West as a whole intend to win over peaceful Muslims? No, the anti-Muslim feeling might be understood by the Muslim community as a natural reaction and call for the peaceful majority to visibly stand up to the Jihadists who blacken their faith's name to prove that they do not support them. However, this type of reaction--only, "Je suis Charlie?!"



--Its THAT which deserves a natural counter sentiment on the part of the general Muslim population that "Je suis djihadiste."



We in the West really need to get our heads screwed on straight before we urinate on people's deepest values when we don't have much but crepe Suzette and crumpets to offer in their place. This, lest we continue to needlessly give excuses for the Jihadists to proclaim to other Muslims, when they remove those heads from our shoulders.



*{Or Judaism, but despite the rants about Jews and Israel, everyone knows they have nothing to fear from making fun of Judaism any more than making the rants. Frightened mice--and Charlie Hebdo was at least not that--can here continue to play the big brave righteous heroes.}