Tumblr please

Alright just so we’re clear.

Nobody ever said that muslims have to apologize for anything.

The French muslim community and all the other French citizens are hand in hand right now. Nobody ever said anything about muslims being in fault. I’m saying this after spending the day on social media, reading papers, listening to interviews and walking in the streets of Marseille aka the French city where the 13th and 14th districts have a mayor coming from the far-right party.

Tumblr is dealing with this story as if we were in the US. I said it once, I’ll say it again: as surprising as it sounds, we’re not the US.

I know that if you look for them, you’ll find French people on Twitter blaming the muslim community. But please, don’t make a generality out of it. I’ve seen conflicts tearing the French society apart for years and I had never seen such unity in our country.

Don’t spread lies. Don’t spread what you think people are thinking, because you’re so wrong. Come and see what it’s like on the the French side of social medias.

Nobody wants muslims to apologize. Nobody wants their religion to be attacked.

Everybody wants justice for the policemen, the journalists, the families, the people gathered in this building on the 7th. Everybody wants protection and safety for the muslim community.

And while we’re at it, freedom of speech is important. I don’t care about what you have to say but if you’re ready to face the consequences, say it. Guaranteeing freedom of speech is the only way to prevent censorship. There are so many newspapers I can’t agree with in France, like Minute, the far-right party newspaper (them again), which is very seriously islamophobic and homophobic and deeply problematic. But they have the right to say whatever they want, as long as they respect the law. And in no way they should fear for their lives. The only way to kill a newspaper is to not read it. As long as there are people who want to express their opinions, not matter how far they are from yours, they have the right to express them.

Don’t confuse freedom of speech with political correctness.

Please, please think about all that.

EDIT: this needs to be said. My goal with this post is not to make you believe that the muslims will have it easy. This doesn’t change, because the oppressive minority is still here. What I am saying is that when it will happen, they’ll be supported, listened to, protected by this majority and not ignored or worse, blamed by it.

EDIT 2: what I said about the US comes from my reaction to this post. I realized after writing all this that there are many ways to interpret my words. Also, I’m sorry, I generalized a reaction while saying in the very same post that it shouldn’t be done. What I meant is that the kind of reaction presented in the post above is totally different from what happens in France.

Long story short: please listen to the French when it comes to information (I’m not asking you to believe them without condition, make your own opinion on the matter) and know that the French muslim community is supported and not let down.