The Terrorist Attack Of A Satirical Newspaper In France Is Exactly The Reason I Was Glad "The Interview" Wasn't Mass Released In Theaters

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/01/07/shooting-reported-at-office-satirical-french-newspaper/

FoxNews- Black-clad gunmen shouting "Allahu Akbar!" stormed the Paris offices of a satirical publication known for lampooning Islam Wednesday, killing 12, including its editor, three political cartoonists and a police officer whose cold-blooded murder at close range was captured on a disturbing video.

The masked, Kalashnikov-toting shooters moved with military precision, and then escaped following the 11:30 a.m. attack at Charlie Hebdo, the publication known for challenging Muslim terrorists with a 2011 caricature of Prophet Muhammed on its cover and which recently tweeted a cartoon of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and were being sought.



​First of all, it's a sad day. Obviously it's a sad day when innocent people die, something that has become far too common an occurrence this day in age. It's also a sad day when innocent people die over, of all things, a joke. A couple drawn out cartoon images in a magazine whose job it is to be polarizing for humor's sake. It's just the society we live in now. You can't say anything without offending someone, even if what you are saying was meant in jest. 

This is exactly why I said a widespread premiere of the movie "The Interview" would be bad a idea, despite a large percentage of Americans thinking otherwise. I get it. We're the United States. We feel as though we can do what we want, even if it means making a cinematic parody of the murder of a world leader. However, call me overly cautious, but I would rather be safe than sorry. All it takes is one. All it takes is one person with a hero complex. All it takes is one pissed off American born person of North Korean ancestry. All it takes is one gun. One bullet. One innocent life taken. And had that happened, would it really be worth it? Is there any single life out there that equates in worth to a shitty Seth Rogan comedy? So while Kim Jung-Un and North Korea aren't exactly Al Queda and the Islamic State, I think I would rather they save the gay jokes and poop comedy for a movie that doesn't draw the ire of an international lunatic.

I'm not here to say that what happened in Paris was the fault of the magazine. I am saying that I, personally, wouldn't publish a cartoon with the headline "Still No Attacks In France" after my country has received multiple threats from an organization that has a history of terrorism. Especially after attacks of the same manner had already been restrained. It's just not worth it. For the hundreds of times it doesn't end in mass homicide, there could always be the one time that it does. As much as I like a good politically incorrect joke, maybe they could have been a little more subtle about it. I like living my life without fear much more than I like an over the top religious joke. After all, we are talking about a radical Muslim group, not poking fun at the priesthood and their proclivity for pedophilia.

It is sad that it has come to this. That jokes can't be jokes. That being offended could mean loading a gun. That somehow, in the minds of these savages, innocent human lives are collateral damage for a couple of caricatures. That the inability to laugh at oneself could so easily translate to mass murder. It is truly baffling when things of this nature happen. Literally moments after a joke was published and you have a bunch of guys with firearms running up in your office. Almost as if they were sitting there cleaning their guns and refreshing their Twitter feed waiting for the proverbial third strike. I think it's important we use this morning's tragedy as a lesson. I'm not of the opinion that people should be censoring themselves, I think that is fairly evident, but they also shouldn't be baiting anarchist groups that historically have no appreciation for human life. My heart goes out to the families and friends of the deceased. I can't even wrap my head around how you even begin the grieving process after such a needless catastrophe.