I'm genuinely surprised at how much you've managed to affect me, Charlie. You are something so far away, so non-existent to me, you have had absolutely nothing to do with my life until just about a week ago. You have managed to make me think and reflect and even cry for what has happened because of you.
I have thought and thought for days on end about you and I can't help it because everyone is talking about you and yet I can't agree with most of the people you have seemingly influenced, no matter how eloquent or rational or admirable they may be, because to me you have done something wrong and the damage you have done seems so large that it's just difficult to bear. Maybe this is what you wanted, though. This continuous talk about you and this giant shift of thinking towards defending what you have stood for. Although now that I think about it, I don't really understand what you stood for. Humor? You weren't funny at all. Bravery? You're just a piece of paper making fun of people. Loyalty? You insulted pretty much everyone. What was the message you were sending? I don't know, but I guess that's just me. Other people seem to think you had a solid enough message to defend and by that, I mean millions of people. Is the message supposed to be that you should be allowed to be rude to others and make fun of what they love? We were taught not to do that when we were in kindergarten.
"Your mama so fat ....." "DON'T bring my mom into this, that's really rude" "Well, she IS" *fist fight starts*
Are you saying that it's okay now that you're all grown up and you're paid to do it anyway? I don't think it's okay at all because the consequence was much much much more severe. It wasn't a fist fight, it was death.
Maybe I'm missing the point. But nevertheless, it's quite amazing - all you are is pieces of paper and you have managed to change so many things.
You've shattered my pristine, sheltered little world by showing me that the religion I practice has been so terribly twisted by some people that they used it to justify murdering someone over itty bitty pieces of paper. Just because of your so-called "message", these twisted people decided that you should pay the ultimate price but now it's probably made millions think that people like me are just like them. We are all the same - violent and cruel and dangerous, we believe in weird things and we should be stopped.
I'm not the best practicing religious little Muslim girl around but I am slowly trying to find my way. You've made me see that another person who's probably like me, just slowly trying to find their way to Islam, isn't going to have it as easy as I do. They could get attacked for something they wear on their head, they could get shunned by their friends because of what they believe in, they might not get a job because of a law against them and their religion; all these things I can do comfortably here where I live. Lucky for me, I'm not from where you are. I live all the way on the other side of the world where it's fine to be a Muslim and for once, I am proud of identifying as a Muslim. I would like to think that if I were living in France as a Muslim, if I were in those Charlie Hebdo stained shoes, I would be brave enough to stand up for my religion and for what I believe in. I'd risk having all these dangerous things happen to me because the right thing to do is to defend my religion. But I also think that if I were truly in those shoes, I would just duck down and hide because it's so much safer and I just want to live in this world as peacefully and as problem-free as possible. But at the very least you've made me think about this. At least you've made me realize that yes, I identify as a Muslim and I want people to know that I am a Muslim. Now I know that my religion is definitely a part of my identity after all and if you have managed to upset me this much, Charlie, that means it's a big part of my identity. You haven't shaken my faith but possibly strengthened it and that makes me one step closer to becoming a better Muslim. You've succeeded in something, Charlie but I don't know if that's what you were going for.
Did you even know what you were going for?
Maybe not, but you're really making lots of people think. Good for you, I hope it was worth it.
