From the absurd claim that there are “no-go zones” in European cities where only Muslims venture, to the very deaf whining that Muslims must condemn the Jan. 7 Charlie Hebdo murders (they do, they have, they are), some reactions to the tragedy in Paris have been foolish.
Free speech is one of the super core, ultra core, American principles, as we all know. So the idea that anyone would kill over a cartoon is repellent. Looking for pictures to go with this column, I found an image of a march in Pakistan, and men holding a banner saying the surviving cartoonists should be hung. I was offended. That feeling of righteous indignation could lead us in a wrong direction.
"It's never OK for the government to say, 'you can't say that.'"