Across the world, “Je suis Charlie,” has become a trending phrase. It has allowed anyone with an Internet connection to show his or her solidarity for the victims of the attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
However, the deaths of the 12 victims in the attacks have been manipulated to represent much more than free speech, and the solidarity being shown for the victims, for some, has come to represent support for the exact opposite cause: infringement of speech and expression.
This means “Je suis Charlie” is more multifaceted than it initially appears. So before retweeting or reposting it without a second thought, individuals should consider how the phrase has become muddled with anti-free speech implications.
Groups such as Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West (PEGIDA) have been using the attack as a vehicle to promote their anti-Islamic and anti-immigrant agendas. By claiming support for the victims and holding signs at rallies saying “Je suis Charlie,” PEGIDA members are using their right to freedom of speech to advance their views against immigrants and against immigrants’ right to freedom of religion.
PEGIDA’s movement, which was founded in 2014, seeks to stop the spread of Islam in Europe. And through protests and demonstrations, they’ve been gathering a following of supporters. Since October 2014, when the first PEGIDA protest was held, garnering 350 supporters, the rallies have only multiplied in size. The most recent Monday protest in Dresden, Germany gathered an estimated 25,000 supporters, showing the power of the Charlie Hebdo attack to mobilize the group.
And while many may regard the PEGIDA protesters as radical outliers, the growing number of PEGIDA supporters should be enough cause for concern. There should be concern for the ability of this group to become a racist powerhouse, echoing historical patterns of coalitions like the Nazi Party, which destroyed minority rights. And there should be concern that PEGIDA is using victims who died while protecting freedom of speech as martyrs to advocate for precisely the opposite .
PEGIDA members, and others that feel called to action, must remember why the attack served as such a wake-up call for so many. Freedom of speech is seen as a right, something that can’t be taken away in the 21st century. But PEGIDA is working to make this right a privilege for all those considered outliers, such as immigrants who it believes are invading Germany. And despite being renounced by German officials, such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Dresden Mayor Helma Orosz, PEGIDA is still allowed to protest and voice its anti-Islamic views precisely because of its right to freedom of speech.
Which is why the whole conundrum is absurd: The organization is blinded by its desire to abridge the rights of others, unable to see that the only reason it is allowed to exist is because of these rights.
So the next time you see “Je suis Charlie,” don’t blindly believe that supporting the victims of the attacks means supporting free speech. Because for a growing number of individuals across the globe, using “Je suis Charlie” means making freedom of speech a privilege, not a right.