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[UPDATE: Some people have misread this to think I am blaming the cartoonists for the attacks. That was not my intention at all; the terrorists are 100% to blame -- it all starts with them. What I am addressing are some of the vile comments and yes, a few very ugly, hateful cartoons against all Muslims that have come out over the past week in response to the shootings. All of this plays right into terrorists' hands of baiting the West, stirring up culture war, and furthering their agenda of recruitment. I see a return to a Bush-era, post-9/11 mentality, and that's a movie I just can't stand to watch again. If a desire for de-escalation and greater distinction between terrorism and Islam makes me blasphemous, then maybe I am, in my own strange (and thankfully lower-stakes) way, Charlie Hebdo.
Also: the use of "Religion X" was not done out of fear of terrorists, as some have suggested; that didn't even occur to me. The cartoon is intended as a parable so that we can get around preconceptions.
For the record, here's a roundup of cartoons about Charlie Hebdo I edited.]
While recent displays of unity have been heartening, several mosques were attacked around France after the Charlie Hebdo massacre as well as a Jewish supermarket, and the nation has quickly ushered in its own version of the Patriot Act. Will things continue to get worse, or will humanity find a way to break the cycle of terrorists baiting us all into extremism?
Here's a link to the Cartoonists Rights Network International, mentioned in the cartoon.
Follow Jen on Twitter at @JenSorensen