Samantha Chaffin

Editor-in-Chief

A student, a friend, a girlfriend, an employee, a journalist, a daughter, a granddaughter, an animal lover, an Idahoan, a constitutional proponent, a human being… the list goes on.

I am a lot of things, as were the 12 people who lost their lives in Paris on January 7, 2015 during the massacre that unfolded at the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo.

Beyond their identities as journalists, comics, satirists or whatever other title one might provide, those 12 people were unique human beings with more to offer than their work for Charlie Hebdo. Regardless of that, it was their work and nothing more that served as the deciding factor to end their lives.

These individuals were killed in terrorist attacks that aimed to suppress freedoms that we in the United States, and many in other countries, enjoy and often even take for granted. Because their work, directly or indirectly, was offensive, their lives were free for the taking.

Obviously, in places like the United States where First Amendment rights like freedom of speech and freedom of the press have been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court on countless occasions, most citizens don’t believe that being offended warrants the slaying of the offender.

Unfortunately, the situation at Charlie Hebdo served as a painful, terrible reminder that, though we are far from alone in our belief, not everyone is with us, either.

In addition to the 12 individuals who were killed in the initial attack at Hebdo, many more have died in further attacks and situations throughout France in the days to follow.

Their deaths brought the loss of not only Hebdo employees, citizens, and supporters of free speech, however offensive, but the deaths of individuals who were more.

In life, they were more than just one quality, more than just Charlie. The death of those qualities and identities can never be truly avenged.

Their deaths, however, were for Charlie, as the trending hashtag states—for the freedom of speech and press they exercised. That said, avenging their deaths requires us all to stand by Charlie. It requires us to support the publication of news, cartoons, satire and everything in between, whether we deem it distasteful, offensive, or otherwise.

These attacks were not only an attack on the individuals and their lives, but an attack on the freedoms they practiced and thus it affects all of us.

The protection of these rights and freedoms requires us to stand in unity in support of those freedoms and to stand by Charlie Hebdo in the face of these acts.

If we don’t stand up in support of Charlie Hebdo, we risk setting a precedent and allowing our right to say something offensive be taken from us. More than that, we risk the lives of all who exercise freedom of speech and press and happen to offend someone.

Je Suis Charlie. I hope you are, too.