Twelve people, including some talented cartoonists at the editorial office of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris, France, were senselessly slaughtered.
Their offenses: creating so-called blasphemous caricatures of the prophet Muhammad.
We often talk about the enormous "power of the pen" in journalism.
But sometimes we forget about the consequences of that power. And we disregard how a few deranged others might respond to it.
The Charlie Hebdo cartoonists had poked fun and ridicule at Muhammad. Some, I'm told, had even drawn him in unflattering sexual poses (distasteful but their journalistic right).
How dare they insult Muhammad??!! (Who's been dead, by the way, for some 1,400 years).
Their drawings doomed them. Murderous terrorists, believing the cartoonists had crossed a sacred line, invaded their editorial offices and within minutes left behind a trail of blood, screaming and panic.
Today, the people of France (and free spirited souls worldwide) have united on behalf of freedom of expression.
"Je suis Charlie!"
I've said it before: the greatest profession in the world is journalism.
A free and rambunctious, aggressive, untamed, unpredictable press is the cornerstone of democracy. (Okay, maybe someone else said that before I did, but you get my point.)
Condolences to the families of those slain at the offices of Charlie Hebdo. And a curse on the murderers. May their souls burn in everlasting Hell. And while they're burning, I hope they have to eat their own poop.
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