Dutch political cartoonist Ruben L. Oppenheimer reacted to Wednesday’s Paris massacre with a cartoon that illustrates the power of the pencil
In response to the cowardly actions of the armed gunmen who attacked the satirical French newspaper Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday, cartoonists around the world have produced a series of powerful drawings. The best, in our view, was created by a Dutch political cartoonist named Ruben L. Oppenheimer.
Our Picture of the Week, which was shared by Oppenheimer on Twitter, shows a gun pointed at thirteen sharpened pencils along with the hashtag #CharlieHebdo. It clearly shows the defiance of the press against terrorists and the need to stand upto those who attempt to silence free speech and expression.
Of the ruthless cowards behind this most heinous crime, United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki-moon commented:
“It was a direct assault on a cornerstone of democracy, on the media and on freedom of expression”.
He is right and part of our liberty is the right to mock, offend and question the beliefs of others within the limits of democractically decided law. This is exactly what the staff of Charlie Hebdo stood for and the actions of these barbarous murderers will never extinguish that.
The pencil is indeed mightier than the gun and today we join with all who are of that belief. The twelve innocent victims of yesterday’s massacre will not be forgotten.
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