Pamela Geller, Breitbart: PEN Runs Out: Six Members Withdraw From Gala After Award for Charlie Hebdo

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The editors and cartoonists at the French satirical news weekly, Charlie Hebdo, died for these cretins. Because they took a stand for freedom, they were slaughtered in cold blood. And these vultures pretend to inhabit the higher ground. They inhabit a cave from which they ought never to emerge.

“PEN Runs Out: Six Members Withdraw From Gala After Award for Charlie Hebdo,”
Pamela Geller, Breitbart, April 28, 2015

In a stunning rebuke to the very idea of journalistic freedom, freedom of expression, and the whole objective of art, six writers have withdrawn as literary hosts at PEN’s annual gala. This year’s Freedom of Expression Courage Award was bestowed upon the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which stood up against the imposition of Sharia in the West – something every journalistic publication should be doing. And because they took a stand for freedom, they were slaughtered in cold blood.

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The New York Times reported Sunday that “the novelists Peter Carey, Michael Ondaatje, Francine Prose, Teju Cole, Rachel Kushner and Taiye Selasi have withdrawn from the gala, at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan. Gerard Biard, Charlie Hebdo’s editor in chief, and Jean-Baptiste Thoret, a Charlie Hebdo staff member who arrived late for work on Jan. 7 and missed the attack by Islamic extremists that killed 12 people, are scheduled to accept the award.”

Incredibly, one of the individuals who withdrew, Peter Carey, asked, “A hideous crime was committed, but was it a freedom-of-speech issue for PEN America to be self-righteous about?” He said that the award stepped beyond the group’s “traditional role of protecting freedom of expression against government oppression.”

But that is exactly what the award did. It recognized Charlie Hebdo’s courage in expressing ideas that go against Islamic rule. Calling PEN’s choice “self-righteous” is the pot calling the kettle black – except that Mr. Carey’s self-righteousness is a craven, cowardly capitulation.

Carey added: “All this is complicated by PEN’s seeming blindness to the cultural arrogance of the French nation, which does not recognize its moral obligation to a large and disempowered segment of their population.” Jaw-dropping. Talk about the hunchback who can’t see his own hunch. What about the “cultural arrogance” of the Muslim gunmen who committed murder to express the hegemony of their culture over French culture?

The handwringing by these writers over “France’s vulnerable Muslim minority” is galling. These cowards don’t mind the magazine’s claim to offend all parties. Their obsession is “specifically for racist [Islam is not a race] and Islamophobic provocations.” While their colleagues are executed and beheaded, these urbane savages are sharpening the executioners’ knives. It’s monstrous on every level.

This is related to the directive of the Society for Professional Journalists’ determination never to link Islam and terrorism, even when discussing the terrorist acts committed by Muslims in the name of Islam. Back in January 2010, I wrote a piece for Breitbart exposing the sharia-compliant policies of professional journalists. The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) issued this directive a couple of weeks after 9/11; for sheer propaganda, their “Diversity Guidelines” are hard to beat. In fact, the enemy who attacked our country in an attempt to bring it down may just as well have been writing the narrative. And now, these novelists are reflecting the same impulse: after a jihad terror attack, they jump to see Muslims as victims. The Charlie Hebdo cartoonists quintessentially represent what PEN should be all about: people taking risks, and even giving their lives, to defend liberty. Instead of lionizing them, Peter Carey, Michael Ondaatje, Francine Prose, Teju Cole, Rachel Kushner, and Taiye Selasi are siding with their killers.

These craven clowns are not the exception. They’re the rule. Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau said last Sunday on NBC News: “I certainly wouldn’t draw pictures of the prophet.” In other words, he readily submits to sharia blasphemy laws and bows to violent intimidation. And he does it all in the name of “tolerance.”

Tolerance when applied to evil is a crime. The Charlie Hebdo jihad massacre was pure, unadulterated evil. Its victims are martyrs for the freedom of speech, which is the cornerstone of free society. Without the freedom of speech, including the freedom to offend, the people in power can work their will unopposed. The freedom of speech is the foundation of Western civilization and any civilization that respects human beings. Peter Carey, Michael Ondaatje, Francine Prose, Teju Cole, Rachel Kushner, and Taiye Selasi are throwing it away with both hands.

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G. Gardiner
G. Gardiner
8 years ago

Memo to self: Never buy another book by Peter Carey, Michael Ondaatje, Francine Prose, Teju Cole, Rachel Kushner, or Taiye Selasi …

… and persuade all my friends and acquaintances to likewise boycott the work of those craven cowards.

Dr. Doomsday
Dr. Doomsday
8 years ago
Reply to  G. Gardiner

by whom?

LEE
LEE
8 years ago
Reply to  G. Gardiner

They’re already forgotten!

JacktheRipper
JacktheRipper
8 years ago

Man o man, these unprincipled-principled objectors sure know how to look foolish. Do they give Oscars for this kind of senseless grandstanding?

Every time I see this kind of madness in defense of islam I shudder. And I thank my lucky stars we have a Pamela Geller to turn to, and a Spencer, and a Wilders. Thank g-d the world is blessed with good people who aren’t afraid to lead the well-intentioned masses to the light of reason and human decency. And I suppose these “novelists” feel they’re doing the right thing. And we should be concerned about this, that educated people can see standing in defense of tyranny & terror as something noble.

I’d rather be a nobody that stood for right action than a best selling author who wears a dunce cap for religious bigotry and hate.

Myriam
Myriam
8 years ago

The stench of necrosis in the halls of academia is but the symptomatic odor of the death of critical moral reasoning in universities across the Western world.

‘Well-educated’ or ‘well received’ as some may be, in this dark age of inversion it all to often means nothing (nothing good anyway).

How did we get to this point in history where the so-called ‘well-educated’ promote the irrational as rational and decry those who would seek to tell the truth as bigoted or phobic?

In the early 20th century C.S. Lewis foresaw this very outworking when he witnessed a creeping subjectivism corrupting the tradition of critical thought at Oxford university. This famous christian apologist and professor expressed a deep concern that emerging scientific concepts, like Einstein’s theory of relativity and Darwin’s theory of evolution, were being irrationally applied to argue against a biblical view of man. Lewis saw the absolute moral authority of the judeo-christian G-d being cast aside in favor of the emerging ascendancy of mans subjective reason, and Lewis feared this would not bode well for the future.

Nietzsche had already lamented G-d was dead and that we had killed him. Lewis was now arguing that the subsequent rebellion towards the moral authority of G-d, to inform man’s reason, would lead to a new dark age.

This wretched rebellion has led to over a century of horror as those, with competing claims of subjective moral legitimacy and authority, seek to organize society according to their own perverted philosophies. Whilst the average man in the street might not think G-d is dead, most of those in power certainly do and into the breach political Islam has emerged claiming the false ‘absolute’ authority of their demon god to rule us all.

Political Islam has sought to plunge it’s sword into our soft Western underbelly for decades and has gained traction precisely because we jettisoned our best defense – the absolute moral authority of G-d to unequivocally state what is right and what is wrong.

Now soft minded men like Peter Carey and Trudeau, can falsely claim the moral high-ground, alongside countless others in this debate, because of the moral bankruptcy and relativism that now exists among our artistic, intellectual and political elite.

People like Geller, Spencer, Wilders, Murray and others are so courageous and brilliant and we can be too 🙂 We can lead from below in the trenches of everyday life where I find more and more people asking questions and speaking out their fear. Ordinary people – hairdressers, medical personnel, property managers who describe being intimidated and excoriated by moderate Muslims who demand special treatment based on Sharia. Many do not understand why they are being abused and more and more I find myself in daily conversation with people who are bewildered about what they see in the news or what they have experienced, when simply trying to provide service to a Muslim customer.

For example a hairdresser recently disclosed she’d been screamed at by a woman in a hijab who demanded she was not to serve any men whilst she was getting her hair done. Female friends in customer service positions have also described Muslim men yelling at them – telling them to ‘shut-up’ and demanding that they ‘show respect’. I even had one person state she felt guilty of racism for even thinking about objecting to one Muslim’s outrageous demands.

The moral cowards refusing to attend PEN would not doubt applaud this sense of guilt and self-censoring and see us all bend the knee. I therefore suggest the academy is dead but the mind of the so-called ‘ordinary’ person is not – so it is to ourselves we must now look.

G. Gardiner
G. Gardiner
8 years ago

Now Salman Rushdie has called them “six pussies” lacking character.

“This issue has nothing to do with an oppressed and disadvantaged minority,” he wrote in an email to AP. “It has everything to do with the battle against fanatical Islam, which is highly organised, well-funded, and which seeks to terrify us all, Muslims as well as non-Muslims, into a cowed silence.

“These six writers have made themselves the fellow travellers of that project. Very, very bad move.”

The voice of truth and reason. The world should listen to it.

paendragon
paendragon
8 years ago
Reply to  G. Gardiner

Must’ve been a good day for Rushdie – he’s still vacillating over islam.

Daniel Diamond
Daniel Diamond
8 years ago

Pamela ,it was amiss of you not to include this in your article.

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/apr/27/salman-rushdie-pen-charlie-hebdo-peter-carey

The author called writers who had objected to the award, including Peter Carey, Michael Ondaatje and Francine Prose, ‘Six Authors in Search of a bit of Character’

“The award will be given. PEN is holding firm. Just 6 pussies. Six Authors in Search of a bit of Character,” Rushdie wrote on Twitter on 27 April, having the day before told the New York Times that the authors – who include Peter Carey, Michael Ondaatje and Francine Prose – were “horribly wrong”.

paendragon
paendragon
8 years ago
Reply to  Daniel Diamond

Must’ve been a coin-toss for Rushdie – he can’t make up his mind about islam.

The_Infidel_01
The_Infidel_01
8 years ago

Can there be an award made for cowardly journo’s?
Categories could be.
1/ craven dhimmi
2/ hypocrite of the year.
3/ supporting the enemy aka the traitor award.
Please add some other categories.

Lynn
Lynn
8 years ago

I can’t even believe what I’m reading! It’s utter madness! How dare anyone side with those nut jobs who murder in cold blood over a friggin’ cartoon!

Myriam
Myriam
8 years ago

Very witty!

qwert
qwert
8 years ago

Islam is better than other religions. If you’re against a certain population, do not attack all followers of the religion. I support that you are against terrorism, but making fun of the Prophet Muhammad is a hurtful attack against all Muslim people. You’re attacking thousands of innocent Muslim people. And if you think that this is freedom, then I have freedom to hate and berate you, Pamela Geller.

s
s
8 years ago

Islam is better than other religions. If you’re against a certain population, do not attack all followers of the religion. I support that you are against terrorism, but making fun of the Prophet Muhammad is a hurtful attack against all Muslim people. You’re attacking thousands of innocent Muslim people…. And if you think that this is freedom, then I have freedom to hate and berate you, Pamela Geller.

s
s
8 years ago

Islam is better than other religions. If you’re against a certain population, do not attack all followers of the religion. I support that you are against terrorism, but making fun of the Prophet Muhammad is a hurtful attack against all Muslim people. You’re attacking thousands of innocent Muslim people…. And if you think that this is freedom, then I have freedom to hate and berate you, Pamela Geller.

s
s
8 years ago

Islam is better than other religions. If you’re against a certain population, do not attack all followers of the religion. I support that you are against terrorism, but making fun of the Prophet Muhammad is a hurtful attack against all Muslim people…. You’re attacking thousands of innocent Muslim people.. And if you think that this is freedom, then I have freedom to hate and berate you, Pamela Geller.

s
s
8 years ago

Islam is better than other religions. If you’re against a certain population, do not attack all followers of the religion. I support that you are against terrorism, but making fun of the Prophet Muhammad is a hurtful attack against all Muslim people…… You’re attacking thousands of innocent Muslim people. And if you think that this is freedom, then I have freedom to hate and berate you, Pamela Geller.

s
s
8 years ago

Islam is better than other religions. If you’re against a certain population, do not attack all followers of the religion. I support that you are against terrorism, but making fun of the Prophet Muhammad is a hurtful attack against all Muslim people. You’re attacking thousands of innocent Muslim people…… And if you think that this is freedom, then I have freedom to hate and berate you, Pamela Geller.

s
s
8 years ago

Islam is better than other religions. If you’re against a certain population, do not attack all followers of the religion. I support that you are against terrorism, but making fun of the Prophet Muhammad is a hurtful attack against all Muslim people. You’re attacking thousands of innocent Muslim people., And if you think that this is freedom, then I have freedom to hate and berate you, Pamela Geller.

s
s
8 years ago

Islam is better than other religions. If you’re against a certain population, do not attack all followers of the religion. I support that you are against terrorism, but making fun of the Prophet Muhammad is a hurtful attack against all Muslim people. You’re attacking thousands of innocent Muslim people.., And if you think that this is freedom, then I have freedom to hate and berate you, Pamela Geller.

s
s
8 years ago

Islam is better than other religions. If you’re against a certain population, do not attack all followers of the religion. I support that you are against terrorism, but making fun of the Prophet Muhammad is a hurtful attack against all Muslim people..You’re attacking thousands of innocent Muslim people. And if you think that this is freedom, then I have freedom to hate and berate you, Pamela Geller.

s
s
8 years ago

Islam is better than other religions. If you’re against a certain population, do not attack all followers of the religion. I support that you are against terrorism, but making fun of the Prophet Muhammad is a hurtful attack against all Muslim people. You’re attacking thousands of innocent Muslim people.And if you think that this is freedom, then I have freedom to hate and berate you, Pamela Geller.

s
s
8 years ago

Islam is better than other religions. If you’re against a certain population, do not attack all followers of the religion. I support that you are against terrorism, but making fun of the Prophet Muhammad is a hurtful attack against all Muslim people. You’re attacking thousands of innocent Muslim people.And if you think that this is freedom, then I have freedom to hate and berate you, Pamela Geller.

s
s
8 years ago

Islam is better than other religions. If you’re against a certain population, do not attack all followers of the religion. I support that you are against terrorism, but making fun of the Prophet Muhammad is a hurtful attack against all Muslim people. You’re attacking thousands of innocent Muslim people.And if you think that this is freedom, then I have freedom to hate and berate you, Pamela Geller.

s
s
8 years ago

Islam is better than other religions. If you’re against a certain population, do not attack all followers of the religion. I support that you are against terrorism, but making fun of the Prophet Muhammad is a hurtful attack against all Muslim people. You’re attacking thousands of innocent Muslim people .. And if you think that this is freedom, then I have freedom to hate and berate you, Pamela Geller.

s
s
8 years ago

Islam is better than other religions. If you’re against a certain population, do not attack all followers of the religion. I support that you are against terrorism, but making fun of the Prophet Muhammad is a hurtful attack against all Muslim people. You’re attacking thousands of innocent Muslim people. .And if you think that this is freedom, then I have freedom to hate and berate you, Pamela Geller.

s
s
8 years ago

Islam is better than other religions. If you’re against a certain population, do not attack all followers of the religion. I support that you are against terrorism, but making fun of the Prophet Muhammad is a hurtful attack against all Muslim people. ..You’re attacking thousands of innocent Muslim people. And if you think that this is freedom, then I have freedom to hate and berate you, Pamela Geller.

s
s
8 years ago

Islam is better than other religions. If you’re against a certain population, do not attack all followers of the religion. I support that you are against terrorism, but making fun of the Prophet Muhammad is a hurtful attack against all Muslim people. ..You’re attacking thousands of innocent Muslim people. And if you think that this is freedom, then I have freedom to hate and berate you, Pamela Geller.

s
s
8 years ago

Islam is better than other religions. If you’re against a certain population, do not attack all followers of the religion. I support that you are against terrorism, but making fun of the Prophet Muhammad is a hurtful attack against all Muslim people. You’re attacking thousands of innocent Muslim people. ..And if you think that this is freedom, then I have freedom to hate and berate you, Pamela Geller.

s
s
8 years ago

Islam is better than other religions. If you’re against a certain population, do not attack all followers of the religion. I support that you are against terrorism, but making fun of the Prophet Muhammad is a hurtful attack against all Muslim people. You’re attacking thousands of innocent Muslim people. ..And if you think that this is freedom, then I have freedom to hate and berate you, Pamela Geller.

s
s
8 years ago

Islam is better than other religions. If you’re against a certain population, do not attack all followers of the religion. I support that you are against terrorism, but making fun of the Prophet Muhammad is a hurtful attack against all Muslim people. You’re attacking thousands of innocent Muslim people. ….And if you think that this is freedom, then I have freedom to hate and berate you, Pamela Geller.

s
s
8 years ago

Islam is better than other religions. If you’re against a certain population, do not attack all followers of the religion. I support that you are against terrorism, but making fun of the Prophet Muhammad is a hurtful attack against all Muslim people/….. You’re attacking thousands of innocent Muslim people. And if you think that this is freedom, then I have freedom to hate and berate you, Pamela Geller.

hadenough48
hadenough48
8 years ago

Throughout history a little gang of murderer’s can take over an entire country. All they need are useful idiots and cowards like we have here and lying animal farm news force like MSLSD and the rest.

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