Charlie Hebdo has never been known for being subtle or the least bit tactful. This is probably why in the past 5 years, the magazine which purportedly celebrates “free expression” has suffered the fate of an attack on its office- one attack leaving 12 of its staff dead.
The incident catapulted the magazine to international prominence with the memorable “Je Suis Charlie” hash tag going global. This was despite the fact that the magazine brought the attack upon itself by repeatedly mocking Muslims and the Prophet Muhammed.
It’s latest form of “free expression” is a distasteful cartoon depicting the wreckage of a plane, ostensibly mocking the plane crash which occurred in Sinai on Saturday.
A Russian airliner which was heading to St. Petersburg from Egypt crashed, leaving all 224 passengers dead. The plane crash has been linked to a bomb which was reportedly placed in the hold of the plane before take off.
If the claim by ISIL is taken seriously, then this is for all intents and purposes a terrorist attack, the same fate which befell Charlie Hebdo and for which they sought public sympathy.
It is more than a bit disturbing that a magazine with such a history would turn around and make a mockery of a similar terrorist attack. One is prompted to ask the people at Charlie Hebdo, “where does free speech begin to consider the sensibilities of human beings?”