You are not Charlie, but does this justify your cowardice?

In the inevitable (but still unpleasant) chorus of those who want to set themselves apart from the support to the victims of the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack, one voice stands clearly and loudly out of the chorus. It is the voice of Jacob Canfield, who speaks from the columns of the Hooded Utilitarian blog. Here is the link to the article. I warn you before you click the link: it is not your usual "I wish to state my disagreement with this kind of satyre" article. This one is gross. And what follows is gross, too. And not suitable for work. You were warned.

So, Mr. Canfield joins the ranks of those who consider the Charlie Hebdo cartoons racist. He was not the only one. Although I am not French I live in Paris, and from a French perspective (which is quite likely to be more informed on the subject than Canfield's perspective) it is clear that the cartoons are NOT racist. But this is not the point: we are celebrating the victims because they represented freedom of speech, so I, as a member of the "I am Charlie" spontaneous campaign, stand for Mr. Canfield's right to write as much of his bullshit as he wants on the Hooded Utilitarian. After all, it's them who will enjoy the stink.

However, Mr. Canfield is not content to end his article this way:

Nobody should have been killed over those cartoons.
Fuck those cartoons.

which is maybe a little vulgar, but it is a legitimate opinion on the subject (about which the author knows jack, I would add).

Nope, he is not content. As in the main body of his post Canfield does not find any better way to stress his (wrong) opinion than indulging in a well-placed, totally gratuitous ad hominem attack:

Charb, Hebdo’s murdered editor, he comes across as a racist asshole. - See more at: http://www.hoodedutilitarian.com/2015/01/in-the-wake-of-charlie-hebdo-free-speech-does-not-mean-freedom-from-criticism/#sthash.MDRFSqAj.dpuf

Charb, Hebdo's murdered editor, comes across as a racist asshole.

Now, I understand that calling someone a 'racist asshole' after their murder is a callous thing to do, and I do not do it lightly...

You do not do it lightly????? Seriously, man?

What the fuck of a need did you have to insult the person instead of the opinion? At netiquette school were you absent the day they explained the "Attack the idea, never the person" principle? Or does your netiquette include only political correctness? Would your fingertips have suffered severe abrasion if you had pushed the "back" button and rewritten the phrase as "Charb made the racist comments that follow"? [which is still wrong, but at least less arrogant on your part]

Man you have written a totally unnecessary offense (spiced with vulgarities) about a man whose corpse was still warm. Don't fucking try to pretend that you had no alternative except the personal attack in order to express your ideas.

How the hell do you think that Charb's fiancée would have reacted, if she had read it the day after his death (and she might well have read it...)? Did you stop one second to think of this before spouting your Holy Wisdom, Smart Guy?

You did not do it lightly my ass.

You enjoyed insulting that dead man, you jackal.

But hey, I wish to give you the benefit of doubt. Maybe you were in good faith and you really thought that this kind of comment was acceptable, if you took the time to explain that "you did not do it lightly".

So let us make a little experiment. Let it apply the "I do not do it lightly" principle to the Canfield family instead of the Charbonnier family. Here is a statement I wish to make public, here on my blog, exploiting my sacrosanct freeedom of speech:

JACOB CANFIELD'S GRANDMA GIVES HEAD
TO ALL OTHER CORPSES IN THE CEMETERY.

Now I know that this might sound gross and callous,
but believe me, I really do not say it lightly.

So hey, here I have put my freedom of speech to good use. What about insulting a deceased person I never knew personally? What about the feelings of her relatives and family? What about decency? No problem here, man, because I added "I do not say it lightly" after the insult to the dead person. According to Jacob Canfield, that disclaimer fixes all.

Now Jacob Canfield, little disgusting coward of a jackal, I am here waiting for you to comment. I am waiting for a complaint about the personal attack, about the vulgarity, about the unfairness, about the disrespect.

I want you to come here to my blog and complain.

Just to make you reflect on a little fact.

The fact that the person you insulted on your blog no longer has the privilege of replying.

Nobody should have been killed over those cartoons.
Fuck those cartoons.
- See more at: http://www.hoodedutilitarian.com/2015/01/in-the-wake-of-charlie-hebdo-free-speech-does-not-mean-freedom-from-criticism/#sthash.MDRFSqAj.dpuf

Nobody should have been killed over those cartoons.
Fuck those cartoons.
- See more at: http://www.hoodedutilitarian.com/2015/01/in-the-wake-of-charlie-hebdo-free-speech-does-not-mean-freedom-from-criticism/#sthash.MDRFSqAj.dpuf

Nobody should have been killed over those cartoons.
Fuck those cartoons.
- See more at: http://www.hoodedutilitarian.com/2015/01/in-the-wake-of-charlie-hebdo-free-speech-does-not-mean-freedom-from-criticism/#sthash.MDRFSqAj.dpuf

Nobody should have been killed over those cartoons.
Fuck those cartoons.
- See more at: http://www.hoodedutilitarian.com/2015/01/in-the-wake-of-charlie-hebdo-free-speech-does-not-mean-freedom-from-criticism/#sthash.MDRFSqAj.dpuf