Je ne suis pas Charlie

A week or so ago a woman in Idaho thought it was reasonable to take a loaded, unlocked gun in her purse when she took her two year old son to Walmart and then leave the purse within reach of the child.  As we know those decisions resulted in her death from a bullet fired from the gun by the boy.  Upon hearing of this event I failed to find great sympathy in my heart for the woman.  I certainly don't think she deserved it, but her own contribution to her demise was so great that I can't summon much concern. 

Now some cartoonists in France have been murdered and I find myself pretty much fresh out of sympathy.  Clearly the cases are not the same.  In the cartoonist case the killing was intentional and there was more of it.  But there was one very important parallel.  The French were practicing the principal of free speech and by so doing affirming and defending this right.  I don't know it for a fact, but I think it is likely, that the woman in Idaho was not in fear for her life that afternoon, but her decision to carry a gun to Walmart was an affirmation of her right to do so. 

Here's what I affirm.  Just because one has a right to do something stupid or offensive doesn't mean that it should be done.  I don't think I've ever seen a Charlie Hebdo cartoon, but the reporting seems universal that their style was aggressive, and insulting to all their targets.  To me insulting religious beliefs is quite different from insulting political thought and behavior or entertainers or other public figures.  I happen to find the evidence for a caring God to be pretty scant and unconvincing.  But I think religious beliefs are beyond proofs and at the same time capable of inspiring wars and great suffering.  For both these reasons we should try hard to tolerate the beliefs of other however misguided they may seem.  Mocking Mohammad, mocking Buddha,  Mocking Jesus Christ should not be done unless there is some VERY  strong reason to think that such mocking will somehow improve something.  Mocking religious beliefs just for the fun of it is STUPID. 

Je ne suis pas Charlie.