#alternate alternate New York Post WordPress.com Thanks for contacting us. We've received your submission. Back to Reading * News * Metro * Page Six * Sports * Business * Opinion * Entertainment * Fashion * Living * Media * Tech * Real Estate * Sub Menu 1 + Photos + Video + Covers + Columnists + Horoscopes * Sub Menu 2 + Classifieds + Subscribe * Sign in In The News: hillary clinton iran lamar odom 2016 presidential election new york mets Sections Search ____________________ (search) Sign in / Register New York Post Share this: * Facebook * Twitter * Google * WhatsApp * Email * Copy * Rich Lowry Rich Lowry Opinion Share this: * Facebook * Twitter * Google * WhatsApp * Email * Copy * Writers’ wrongs — a lunatic boycott of PEN’s Charlie Hebdo award By Rich Lowry * View author archive * follow on twitter * Get author RSS feed Name(required) ____________________ Email(required) ____________________ Comment(required) ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Submit » April 27, 2015 | 9:26pm Modal Trigger Writers’ wrongs — a lunatic boycott of PEN’s Charlie Hebdo award Charlie Hebdo editor Stephane Charbonnier, also known as Charb, in September 2012. Charb was killed in the January 2015 terror attack on the satirical French weekly. Photo: AP Photo MORE FROM: Rich Lowry Rich Lowry The sad, shocking truth about the Republican establishment Oregon 'patriots' aim at government oppression ... hit bird-lovers Dumping America's mental-health woes on the cops Good riddance to 2015 --- the year of hysteria Washington Irving's Christmas gift to America If there is any group of people on the planet who should feel solidarity with the slain editors of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, it is writers. Appropriately enough, the writers group PEN America is giving its annual Freedom of Expression Courage Award to the French publication now synonymous with martyrdom to free speech. Yet the award has become controversial, attacked by a group of writers who presume to lecture murder victims on not provoking their murderers. These dissenters are an unabashed fifth column undermining PEN America’s devotion to free expression so as to carve out a safe space for Islam from the barbed speech inherent to a free society. They oppose the killing of the Charlie Hebdo journalists — thanks, guys — but otherwise agree with the jihadis that the publication was out-of-bounds. “A hideous crime was committed,” novelist Peter Carey generously concedes, “but was it a freedom-of-speech issue for PEN America to be self-righteous about?” This is like saying, to use the example of another PEN awardee, the jailed Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova, “Sure, it’s a terrible miscarriage of justice for Ismayilova to be behind bars, but should we really get all huffy about it?” Obviously, if you are going to have an organization committed to fighting for free speech, you should be “self-righteous,” to use Carey’s phrase, about violations of free speech, especially when journalists are gunned down for things they draw and write. The root of the objection to honoring Charlie Hebdo is that the magazine’s staff was massacred by the wrong kind of terrorists for attacking the wrong religion. If the publication’s equal-opportunity offenders had been assaulted by right-wing extremists for their savage mockery of anti-immigrant politicians, or opponents of gay marriage or Catholicism, surely the dissenting writers would be all for recognizing Charlie Hebdo. As short-story writer Deborah Eisenberg argued in a long letter to the executive director of PEN, satirizing Catholicism is fine because it “has represented centuries of authoritarian repressiveness and the abuse of power.” Islam in modern Europe, in contrast, “has represented a few decades of powerlessness and disenfranchisement.” This is a version of Garry Trudeau’s argument that Charlie Hebdo was “punching downward” against the defenseless, when satire should punch up against the powerful. This is a bizarre notion of power. The weapon of choice of Charlie Hebdo’s cartoonists was the pen; the weapon of choice of their assailants was the firearm. Charlie Hebdo was indeed punching up against violent forces who had succeeded in cowing the less courageous. Radical Islam compels fear and forces self-censorship in a way no other religion has done in the West in a very long time. So what if Charlie Hebdo was courageous, Eisenberg asks. Its journalists wasted their courage on “a parochial, irrelevant, misconceived, misdirected, relatively trivial and more or less obsolete campaign against clericalism.” What they did was like jumping from a roof, or having sex with a wild boar. These acts, though, are utterly pointless. Charlie Hebdo had a clear, specific rationale — refusing to submit to rules of expression set out by illiberal fanatics. If Charlie Hebdo’s “campaign” were truly so obsolete, all of its journalists would be alive today to hear the morally obtuse scolding from Deborah Eisenberg and her compatriots. Eisenberg has it easy. No one will ever try to kill her over “The Girl Who Left Her Sock on the Floor,” “Revenge of the Dinosaurs” or any of her other stories. She gets to compare Charlie Hebdo to Der Stürmer from a nice perch at the School of Arts at Columbia University, where the most courage anyone will ever have to demonstrate is reading fiction without the appropriate trigger warnings. The martyred editor of Charlie Hebdo, Stephane Charbonnier, famously said, “I prefer to die standing than live on my knees.” The PEN dissenters believe he belonged on his knees. Share this: * Facebook * Twitter * Google * WhatsApp * Email * Copy * Filed under charlie hebdo , free speech , pen america Share this article: Share this: * Facebook * Twitter * Google * WhatsApp * Email * Copy * Read Next The campus crusade to 'safely' squelch speech Read Next The campus crusade to 'safely' squelch speech Most Popular This Week 1 Suspects claim teen was having sex with father before alleged gang rape Suspects claim teen was having sex with father before alleged gang rape 2 The brutal secrets behind 'The Biggest Loser' The brutal secrets behind 'The Biggest Loser' 3 Nursing home boss bought winning Powerball ticket for worker Nursing home boss bought winning Powerball ticket for worker 4 Your penis pics are bush league Your penis pics are bush league 5 Dad was so drunk, he couldn't report daughter's gang rape Dad was so drunk, he couldn't report daughter's gang rape 6 Here's what Sean Penn agreed to do to party with El Chapo Here's what Sean Penn agreed to do to party with El Chapo Share Selection Columnists John Podhoretz Here's what Sean Penn agreed to do to party with El Chapo Rubio's last-minute theatrics make it a three-man GOP race Bob McManus Here's what Sean Penn agreed to do to party with El Chapo The Cuomo budget: pandering, mischief --- and five golden rings Benny Avni Here's what Sean Penn agreed to do to party with El Chapo The only real solution to the endless North Korea crisis SEE ALL COLUMNISTS Editorials [king_abdullah_ii.jpg?quality=100&strip=all&w=260&h=174& #038;crop=1] Inviting foreigners to intervene in US elections The rape of the US Marine Corps: a lunatic drive for 'fairness' Chris Christie's revenge on 'Jersey Shore' Trending Now on NYPost.com 70,731 Writers’ wrongs — a lunatic boycott of PEN’s Charlie Hebdo award Bill Clinton's pardon of fugitive Marc Rich continues to pay big 43,850 Writers’ wrongs — a lunatic boycott of PEN’s Charlie Hebdo award Peeved Aaron Rodgers: Coin-flip bungle was a 'debacle' 28,155 Writers’ wrongs — a lunatic boycott of PEN’s Charlie Hebdo award Awkward, pandering spectacle of Hillary Clinton trying to ‘be real’ Today's Cover Covers for January 17, 2016 Covers for January 17, 2016 Covers for January 16, 2016 Covers for January 16, 2016 Covers for January 15, 2016 Covers for January 15, 2016 Covers for January 14, 2016 Covers for January 14, 2016 Browse covers archive More Stories Now On Page Six Donald Trump’s brother Robert emerges Now On Decider Is 'Making A Murderer' A Bunch Of Lies? Steven Avery's Ex Says Yes Now On IAF 2:49 Martin O’Malley Is The Coolest 2016 Presidential Candidate New York Post * Twitter * Facebook * Google Plus * 2015 Blessing of the Animals * Apps Help & FAQ * Columnists * Community Guidelines * Contacts * Customer Service * Fantasy Football Draft Calculator * Home Delivery * Home Delivery FAQ * Jobs * NYCFC Giveaway Terms * NYCFC Giveaway Thank You * Page Six Fashion Sweeps Terms * pagesixfashionsweeps-thank-you * Privacy * Privacy * Recommended for You * Reset * RSS Feeds * Search * Terms of Use * Terms of Use * Test Page * The Pascalizer * Verify © Copyright 2016 NYP Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved Terms of Use | Privacy * Sections & Features + News + Real Estate + Page Six + Tech + Sports + Media + Metro + Photos + Entertainment + Video + Business + Alexa + Opinion + Covers + Fashion + Horoscopes + Living + Classifieds * Apps, Alerts & More + Email Newsletters + Apps for iOS and Android + RSS Feeds + NYPost Store + Home Delivery o Subscribe o Manage Subscription o Customer Service * Help/Support + Customer Service + Search + Contact Us o Letters to the Editor o Newsroom Contacts o Reprints o Careers * Advertise + Media Kit + Contacts Post Digital Network * * * * © 2016 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES Powered by WordPress.com VIP IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-TWX9Z9 Send to Email Address ____________________ Your Name ____________________ Your Email Address ____________________ _________________________ loading Send Email Cancel Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Email check failed, please try again Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Copy Share URL: ____________________ Copy Link Sign Up / Sign In Sign In // Sign Up With your existing account from... With your existing account {* loginWidget *} Use an account with your email address Or with a NYPost.com account {* #userInformationForm *} {* traditionalSignIn_emailAddress *} {* traditionalSignIn_password *} {* traditionalSignIn_signInButton *}{* traditionalSignIn_createButton *} {* /userInformationForm *} Sign Up / Sign In Sign In // Sign Up Welcome back, {* welcomeName *} {* loginWidget *} Or use NYPost.com account Sign Up / Sign In Sign In // Sign Up Welcome back Welcome back, {* welcomeName *} {* #userInformationForm *} {* traditionalSignIn_emailAddress *} {* traditionalSignIn_password *} {* traditionalSignIn_signInButton *} {* /userInformationForm *} Use an account with your email address Or use another account Almost Done! Please confirm the information below before signing in. Please confirm the information below. {* #socialRegistrationForm *} {* socialRegistration_emailAddress *} {* socialRegistration_displayName *} {* socialRegistration_ageVerification *} By clicking "Sign In", you confirm that you accept our terms of service and have read and understand privacy policy. {* backButton *} {* socialRegistration_signInButton *} {* /socialRegistrationForm *} Almost Done! {* #registrationForm *} {* traditionalRegistration_emailAddress *} {* traditionalRegistration_password *} {* traditionalRegistration_passwordConfirm *} {* traditionalRegistration_displayName *} {* traditionalRegistration_captcha *} {* traditionalRegistration_ageVerification *} By clicking "Create account", you confirm that you accept our terms of service and have read and understand our privacy policy. {* backButton *} {* createAccountButton *} {* /registrationForm *} Create a new password Forgot Password? Don't worry, it happens. We'll send you a link to create a new password. {* #forgotPasswordForm *} {* traditionalSignIn_emailAddress *} {* backButton *} {* forgotPassword_sendButton *} {* /forgotPasswordForm *} Create a new password Sent! We've sent an email with instructions to create a new password. Your existing password has not been changed. We've sent an email with instructions to create a new password. Close Account Already Exists {* mergeAccounts *} {* backButton *} Sign in to complete account merge {* #tradAuthenticateMergeForm *} {* traditionalSignIn_emailAddress *} {* mergePassword *} {* traditionalSignIn_signInButton *} {* /tradAuthenticateMergeForm *}