Le glas sonne dans toutes les églises de France en hommage aux trois victimes de l'attentat dans la basilique de Nice. (-Midi Libre) The death knell is ringing in all the churches of France in homage to the three victims of the attack in the basilica of Nice. (pictured: Catholic church in St. Cyr-sur-Mer)
* * *
Many of you woke to the news of France's latest, most horrific terrorist attack (the fourth in under 6 weeks). Two women and one man were knifed to death this morning in Nice, only a half-mile from the 2016 truck attack in the same Mediterranean city.
The French government immediately put the country under a plan vigipirate (anti-terrorist security alert), at its highest degree. This comes on the eve of the nation's second lockdown.
Adding to the shock are the details behind the murders (certain info will be left out): it took place in a church. One of the victims, an elderly woman, was praying when she was killed. The second woman, who fled, wounded, to a nearby business, died after asking medics for a favor:
Dites à mes enfants que je les aime. Tell my children I love them.
The tears France is shedding and the pain the world is feeling is echoed in le glas: the death knell began ringing at 3 pm this afternoon. Here, on the eve of le confinement, as we process the news, one can't help but ask, How could this tragedy have been avoided?
One answer might be: By keeping quiet! After all, if the cartoonists at Charlie Hebdo hadn't drawn…and if the teacher, Samuel Paty, hadn't lectured, had President Macron not spoken out–in the name of freedom of expression–no one would have been offended and thus enraged.
But we all know that isn't the answer, and that the answer isn't as simple as that.
While I am the last person to know the answer, I have a few questions. Is freedom of speech sans exception? Or, is it like the French grammar rule that states: there is an exception to every rule. If so, what is the exception? There must be an exception.
To the victims in Nice: Restez en paix.
Discover more from French Word-A-Day
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Beautifully and thoughtfully expressed. I think it is time that the whole world takes stock of its current hate-talk and attitudes – particularly where they can get away with it on social media platforms such as FaceBook and Twitter. We need leaders who show compassion and strength of good character, and help to inspire their nations to treat all people with much more love and respect in their daily lives. It does not matter what religion we may be, there is no room for murdering anyone – for any reason. Sometimes, I feel that our current world is so reactionary, hate-filled, self-obsessed and just loves to “whip up a storm”, that it is hard to remember that the vast majority of us are beautiful human beings and endeavour to
love thy neighbour as thyself. We must honour Freedom of Speech, not abuse it.
Keeping quiet and not giving up freedom is not the solution because Islamic is just a bloodthirdty ideology, they will keep searching excuses for killing people. They have been regularly killing innocent people in all Western countries, the victims are mostly people who even do not read a newspaper. And they kill each other in Islamic countries like mad dogs without any reason. The solution is taking hard action against any kind of religious extremism by governments and educating people against it.
Keeping quiet and giving up freedom is not the solution because Islamic extremism is just a bloodthirdty ideology, they will keep searching excuses for killing people. They have been regularly killing innocent people in all Western countries, the victims are mostly people who even do not read a newspaper. And they kill each other in Islamic countries like mad dogs without any reason. The solution is taking hard action against any kind of religious extremism by governments and educating people against it.
☮️ “All we are saying…is give PEACE
a chance” (J.L.)I stand with FRANCE
Sorry for all of you in France. Very sad.
Beautiful people. Kind and Welcoming.
I need to keep focusing on the good. Too
Much right now.
Patty … Canada
Likely not, but we seem to make them up anyhow.
We might be offended, we might think cartoons featuring Christ were in terrible taste (there are many!) — but we would not use that as an excuse to murder! Different cultures…though I fear there are more and more jihadists, or whatever they might be called, in the United States as well.
My heart is bleeding for France and for all persecuted Christians around the world. Christianity is first and foremost about love and sacrifice: Luke 23:34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
We should not be surprised by what is happening as man is not without sin, but we should be horrified enough to take action to keep spreading the Word of God – a message of love and sacrifice and ultimately, a sure hope – through our speech and always with love and mercy just the way Jesus spoke.
Debra, the situations you cite were from the Dark Ages, many centuries ago! We are now in the 21st century and to cite what happened 6 – 7 century and more ago to justify this is totally insane on your part!
So, we set up separate rules for different people? No depictions of Mohamed for Muslims, otherwise it’s OK to kill you for it? What world did you come from? Just drawing a portrait of Mohamed is considered sacrilegious to Muslims. What world they are from is another question. No, Muslims need to understand that there is Freedom of Expression in the world and learn to live with it. Many of their customs have no bearing on their religion/way of life and have come about because no one challenged what different mullahs instituted over the centuries. They need to adjust to the world as it is, not the world needs to adjust to their ancient and insane interpretations of their religion.
Let them continue to render havoc such as the slaughter of innocents and pretty soon, there will be another Crusades.
This Christian thinks it’s fine for people to be angry when their or my beliefs are mocked – and that anger does not justify murdering anyone.
Hi Kristi,
What happen in France is horrible and unjustifiable. There are many good comments by your readers. There are fanatics everywhere and they are not just religious ones but right wing and left wing ones. The world is in a very uncompromising place right now. Everyone is for himself/herself and not thinking about “love your neighbor as yourself and love God with all your heart soul and mind”.that is a Christian concept but a good one. There is no justification for taking someone’s life. We have seen too much of that in the US lately.
The world is in a shambles, with the Covid and the lockdowns, people losing jobs, not being able to pay rent, buy food, etc. People are at wits end.then here we are in the US also dealing with the election.
The world/people are very fragile right now. I don’t have an answer but I pray that all will normalize, whatever normal is. We need to have Peace throughout the world. Is that unattainable? Is that a dream? Most likel’y 😕
Peace, Kathleen
Deport them, they are not fit to live amongst the civilized French. They are NWO invaders.
Le coeur voyage à Nice aujourd’hui.
Thank you Suzanne. Well said, as well as so many other posts here.
Thank you for posting and addressing this. There is no room for violence anywhere in the world and yet it continues and worsens. Violence in the name of religion sickens me. Unstable people with access to weapons is a bad recipe for disaster. Live on France. I still love you.
We certainly would not behead people over it. We Christians have had to see “art” work of Christ peeing, copulating and other disgusting things and we aren’t allowed to even protest it because the artists have free speech and we have to accept it. Charlie Hebdo was warning about this. They were not mocking Islam, they were making it crystal clear what radical Islam is.
I believe it is Armand Gamache, a fictional character in Louise Penny’s novels, that suggests those three questions be asked before speaking. (Maybe others have said it as well.) There is great wisdom in those questions, regardless of religious, political, racial or cultural differences. And it applies to our actions as well. Our freedoms are to be defended but also exercised with wisdom, charity and responsibility.
Amen to that, Deborah!
J’adore les libres de Louise Penny! I wish inspector Gamache was real!
Well said….
No need to speculate . . . this is how French Catholics reacted to an offense to their religion (more controversial than a mere cartoon):
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/18/andres-serrano-piss-christ-destroyed-christian-protesters
Bon Courage Kristi 🇫🇷
This violent response was obviously inexcusable and disproportionate to what was said. I am personally tired of having to be so careful about what you say and who might be offended. Where do we draw the line for freedom of speech?
John:
We Christians regularly see profane gestures against our religion. Statues of Christ on the cross and of the Virgin have been shown throughout the world being urinated upon. We hope to forgive; we hope to educate; we hope not to kill. There are no excuses. Universal humanism must be embraced by all.
If it is NOT an act representing the Muslim Religion,, when can we expect to hear from the mullahs and imams throughout the world, condemning these terrorist acts?
Dearest Insightful Kristi,
Your questions regarding Communication are so thought-provoking. And needed!
Years ago, standing outside La Sainte Chapelle innocently talking about our tickets, the Frenchman behind us must have overheard our American accents. He sneered with disgust and gritted the words, “You like George Bush, don’t you?” We were shocked and so were the people from Toulouse standing behind him who felt the need to apologize for him! What causes such vitriol? Words and images, no doubt. Words have more power than a gun. (Are we not campaigning against bullying on the Internet?) And pictures communicate a thousand times greater an instant impression. I am an artist, and, of course, relish freedom of expression, but when art is mostly made to insult, stir up, and create mass anguish, a line must be drawn.
When I was a child, transistor radios were a new hand-held invention, and so was the 10-inch TV. If our President at the time (Eisenhower) who had just traded in his combat boots for the White House, had any notion these would become highly effective means of weaponry to fester fear, incite riots and war, or to motivate terrorists, what would he have said? What would he have said about intentionally ‘poking the bull’ in Parisian cartoons?
Discrimination, discretion, respect for all, and most importantly, love one another!
Blessed are the Peacemakers.
My heart goes out to all of France and the whole world. ❤️🙏❤️
For example, no violence in the Crusades or the Inquisition?
Bonjour John,
Christians have LONG been subjected to ridicule and mean-spirited criticism. Consider “art” work where the Blessed Mother is smeared in feces. Consider a crucifix submerged in a jar of urine, also passed off as “art”. Your criticism of nonchalant is truly ill-founded. If you are not a Christian, then you have not experienced these things and so do not know first hand.
We have rights to freedom of speech; but does that mean that we must exercise them without the filters of any love of neighbor? The failure goes back to how we are raising the young, in my opinion. Respect is dying; selfishness is becoming exponential. I think Charlie Hebdo was mean-spirited and I would never stoop to such vile satire, but the reality is that free speech must remain.
A quote I learned in French class in high school, from Voltaire: Je n’approuve pas un seul mot ce que vous dites, mais je defenderai jusque a la morte votre droit de le dire.
Peace.
Apples for apples, Robert. The violence of the Crusades was on both sides. The Inquisition was condemned by the Church. We’re talking about now. Is it right for terrorists to behead now because of history from 1095-1492? Do they get a pass? It’s OK?
There are many good and heartfelt comments to your post Kristi and I echo many of them. My heart goes out to La France for this despicable and inexcusable act of violence. Je prie pour ton paye. Bon courage.
I agree with you, Edward!! In today’s world, that is probably the case. Unfortunately, religions have, throughout the history of mankind, taken turns launching violent campaigns against “infidels”, non-believers. It’s about accruing power and influence and dominance. It’s seems to be the nature of humans.
Is a cartoon depicting a spiritual perhaps offensive? Yes. Does it require such a violent response to make your point? No.
Our world is hyper-sensitive to offenses! I’m not sure when this occurred or what to do about it, other than to treat others the way you want to be treated on a one-on-one basis. Start with your neighbors, fellow shoppers, those you encounter wherever you are. It’s worth a try!
There have been LOTTTTS of defaming plays, paintings, performances, and movies over many years and continue to this day…….the difference is we Christians kill the offending person or person and especially don’t behead a person for defaming our Christ!
OOOPS…typo…..should be NOT KILL the offending person…..
Absolutely! Christians are being killed in Europe, North Africa, various countries south of the Sahara, the middle east and elsewhere awful …
A film I like, some believed it was blasphemous, ‘The life of Brian’ BUT I have not heard of anyone killed for their association with it.
French people CANNOT be blamed for this terrorism – we sympathise and support nos amis les Francais!