After “We are Charlie,” “We are Samuel”? Five years after the massacre of the staff of the weekly paper Charlie Hebdo in central Paris, the murder of a middle school social studies school teacher in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, a modestly prosperous exurb southwest of the French capital, has hit the nation of Voltaire and Émile Zola in the guts of its self-image.
The two great champions of tolerance and free expression may take some small comfort from the large crowds who gathered across the country on Sunday to express their grief and indignation at the decapitation, by a young Muslim, of Samuel Paty, the 47-year-old teacher and father assassinated near his school for teaching his students about freedom of expression.
Reportedly, M. Paty’s class has included a unit for the past several years on the subject of freedom of expression, its meaning and history, and, as in recent years, he used the case of Charlie Hebdo to show his students how freedom of the press can indeed by offensive to some, which (his lesson was intended to teach) is a good reason why it works — and must be protected.
As in past years, the teacher explained the nature of the unit to his classes (eighth and ninth graders) in advance, and said he would permit students who might be too deeply offended (notably by Charlie’s admittedly vulgar cartoons depicting the Prophet of Islam, which had provoked the murders of its editors) that they could take a break outside during this class.
But one student complained to her father, who went on a rant that was circulated, with the help of a radical mosque, on social media. He called the teacher a racist Islamophobe thug who must be stopped, and also complained to school authorities, who heard him out, investigated, and told him the teacher was not doing anything out of line. Meanwhile, a young enthusiast in a large town in Normandy (not very far away) saw the videos and, aware of the Islamic State and Qaeda’s instructions to kill infidels wherever they are (these have been circulating for years), decided to answer the call. He went to the school armed with kitchen knives and a “air-soft” gun and money to persuade a kid to point out the teacher, and did the deed. The cops arrived too late, but soon enough to track him down and shoot him.
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See Also:
(1) Paris Mosque Apologises For Sharing ‘Fatwa’ Video Prior to Islamic Beheading Attack
(2) Samuel Paty’s beheading: Students paid by terrorist to identify teacher
(3) No Deal & Scotland (Effie Deans)
(4) Nicola Sturgeon vs Trump: POTUS will NOT recognise an independent Scotland warns analyst
(5) Manchester lockdown warning: Army ready to enforce new measures after Andy Burnham refuses
The mosque apologizes for posting all the personal information about this innocent infidel it could, including his home address? This from the mosque leader responsible…“Nobody, really nobody, could imagine, on October 9 when I posted it, that it would end with this killing,” #1 Liar #2. Stupid. It doesn’t matter though. An innocent teacher is dead. His executioner is dead. It’s a wrap.
But what does matter is that there’s somebody who should have very probably known. The French Gendarmerie. But then again….“Nobody, really nobody, could imagine”.