Charlie Hebdo: Gun attack on French magazine kills 12

[Hermit]

Ayup, XC. Perspective.

The reaction to the deaths of twelve French citizens is amazing, both in the press and by individuals. Meanwhile, the population of an entire township is massacred by religious fanatics somewhere somewhere in Africa. At least 2000 humans dead. A few articles appear, but nobody puts up "Je suis Baga" posters or avatars. Baga? Who is that? Oh. A town. Thanks for the info. No Caucasians there, though, so, :shrug: .

[Xamonas Chegwé]

Ayup, XC. Perspective.

The reaction to the deaths of twelve French citizens is amazing, both in the press and by individuals. Meanwhile, the population of an entire township is massacred by religious fanatics somewhere somewhere in Africa. At least 2000 humans dead. A few articles appear, but nobody puts up "Je suis Baga" posters or avatars. Baga? Who is that? Oh. A town. Thanks for the info. No Caucasians there, though, so, :shrug: .

I know. I was thinking exactly the same thing earlier. No oil in that part of Nigeria either. So no airstrikes for them.

[cronus]

Ayup, XC. Perspective.

The reaction to the deaths of twelve French citizens is amazing, both in the press and by individuals. Meanwhile, the population of an entire township is massacred by religious fanatics somewhere somewhere in Africa. At least 2000 humans dead. A few articles appear, but nobody puts up "Je suis Baga" posters or avatars. Baga? Who is that? Oh. A town. Thanks for the info. No Caucasians there, though, so, :shrug: .

I know. I was thinking exactly the same thing earlier. No oil in that part of Nigeria either. So no airstrikes for them.

No journalists, black or white, is the deciding factor concerning coverage. No easy lines of communication in the wilds of Africa given there are bands of armed men massacring folks rather than a regular police force on duty. Can you blame journalists for going to the oil areas where they are safely embedded and protected by coalition forces whilst getting footage of the best explosions for war-porn newz?

[pErvinalia]

Ayup, XC. Perspective.

The reaction to the deaths of twelve French citizens is amazing, both in the press and by individuals. Meanwhile, the population of an entire township is massacred by religious fanatics somewhere somewhere in Africa. At least 2000 humans dead. A few articles appear, but nobody puts up "Je suis Baga" posters or avatars. Baga? Who is that? Oh. A town. Thanks for the info. No Caucasians there, though, so, :shrug: .

It's all part of the same problem... i.e. the religion. Why do people act surprised when a religious nutjob kills people in the west, when there are whole countries of religious regimes that perform nuttery every single day?

[JimC]

Ayup, XC. Perspective.

The reaction to the deaths of twelve French citizens is amazing, both in the press and by individuals. Meanwhile, the population of an entire township is massacred by religious fanatics somewhere somewhere in Africa. At least 2000 humans dead. A few articles appear, but nobody puts up "Je suis Baga" posters or avatars. Baga? Who is that? Oh. A town. Thanks for the info. No Caucasians there, though, so, :shrug: .

Perspective in terms of eurocentric reporting, sure, but that massacre, clearly the work of Islamic extremists, cuts across the argument of XC that deliberate murder for religious purposes is so rare as not to be significant...

[pErvinalia]

It seems clear that local Muslim populations have become more radicalised over the last decade or so. And it's easy to see how this will continue to happen. So while it definitely is a fairly rare occurrence, where's the logic to say that it will remain so? The other point is that terrorism has an effect far larger than an equivalent number of deaths via some other route. That's kind of the point of terrorism. So it's not just about "dying" in a terrorist attack. It's about dealing with the shit that comes with it. And the reality is, conservatives are going to want to deal with the problem with more authoritarian and draconian security measures. I think liberal thinkers need to tackle this problem from the other side. Reduce the prevalence of religious twaddle in our societies.

[Tyrannical]

Ayup, XC. Perspective.

The reaction to the deaths of twelve French citizens is amazing, both in the press and by individuals. Meanwhile, the population of an entire township is massacred by religious fanatics somewhere somewhere in Africa. At least 2000 humans dead. A few articles appear, but nobody puts up "Je suis Baga" posters or avatars. Baga? Who is that? Oh. A town. Thanks for the info. No Caucasians there, though, so, :shrug: .

And they weren't shot by Caucasian police officers while resisting arrest either

[pErvinalia]

We're so lucky you pop in from time to time to drop inane comments.

[piscator]

So rEvo dons his pith helmet and sets off on a world tour to inform people they would all be a lot better off if they just dropped this religious ballyhoo?

[Thumpalumpacus]

Avoid religion, I say. In fact, we need to eviscerate it in the west.

For every person killed by a religious nutjob there are dozens killed in robberies. And far more than that killed by family or friends in arguments. And WAY more than that killed in car accidents.

Perspective.

But robbery and fights and car accidents aren't an ideology. There's a clear difference here that you seem unwilling to see.

I'd rather keep the freedom of conscience and take the occasional casualties, m'self.

[pErvinalia]

Where's the "freedom of conscience" in pretending that Islam hasn't had it's enlightenment moment? Where's the freedom of conscience in pretending that religion has a mandate on morality? What the hell is "freedom of conscience" anyway?

[pErvinalia]

So rEvo dons his pith helmet and sets off on a world tour to inform people they would all be a lot better off if they just dropped this religious ballyhoo?

Well, there's not a lot we can do about other countries. Bombing mosques, a la Seth, isn't really the smartest idea.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Where's the "freedom of conscience" in pretending that Islam hasn't had it's enlightenment moment? Where's the freedom of conscience in pretending that religion has a mandate on morality?

Who is pretending either of those things? I'm not. Come down from the ceiling, Ringo, and sing us a song.

What the hell is "freedom of conscience" anyway?

I learnt how to use Google. You can, too.

[JimC]

What we can do is come down hard on the fundamentalist mosques where firebrands preach jihad from the pulpit...

[pErvinalia]

Where's the "freedom of conscience" in pretending that Islam hasn't had it's enlightenment moment? Where's the freedom of conscience in pretending that religion has a mandate on morality?

Who is pretending either of those things? I'm not. Come down from the ceiling, Ringo, and sing us a song.

What the hell is "freedom of conscience" anyway?

I learnt how to use Google. You can, too.

A wiseass, eh? There's the door, champ.