Si tu t'demandes où est Charlie...
Jan. 10th, 2015 11:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
castalieApologies to the French among my flist who might want a break from the whole madness that has been life in Paris the past few days but I'm still thinking of Charlie Hebdo and the aftermath, especially as yesterday was another day of pure insanity. It was a very tense, emotional day... I know I'm (we are) speaking from a privilege point of view, as in I'm lucky enough to live in a country when things like that do not happen, which also means it is all the more shocking for us when they do. I have made my peace with the fact I have so many feelings about events that are not impacting me personally; I've talked to many family members and friends and from what I'm hearing/seeing, everyone has been shaken up, so I'm just accepting that this is how I feel for the moment.
When I said that people were riveted to their screens on Wednesday after the Charlie Hedbo shooting, it was nothing, I think, compared to yesterday when Paris and Ile-de-France had to deal with two hostage situations, simultaneously. Both linked to the shooting since the ones responsible were the brothers and another man who was linked to them. What made it so incredibly tense was that, as usual in this day and age, we basically followed the whole thing live. For bad or good, the media just makes you part of the events.
At least it's over now. It is sad that, in the end, the different shootings put the death toll at 17 people overall (iirc).
The city is still in mourning and you can see many memorial signs everywhere, from the Arc de Triomphe to people wearing Je suis Charlie badges here and there. Even though we'll remember that first week of 2015, very soon we'll go back to our lives, contrary to those who lost a family member, a friend, a co-worker during the attacks, contrary to those who did survive said attacks. Now though everyone seems to be united in their "national grief" and shock, and although it is sad to think that people seem to really only rally when strategy strikes, I can't deny it is still a powerful and beautiful thing to witness. At least it is possible.
Speaking of which, Cookie and I were able to go to République on thursday night. Couple of pictures of the vigil/gathering below.
Cookie took a pic just when I was adding my own candle (and pen) to the little shrine.
If you're used to going to gatherings and marches, you'll know how powerful those can be. As far as I'm concerned, it's still a novelty; I very rarely join them - almost never, actually - and it was very moving to be there and sing and hold signs with so many people.
So many cartoonists have paid tribute to the victims with their cartoons the past two days but other artists joined as well, using their own media including Grand Corps Malade and JB Bullet, whose songs are both gorgeous. To be precise, Bullet's is a cover (well, he used the tune but he created the lyrics), Grand Corps Malade is a brand new song.
Now though, if only we could prevent certain political parties from using the shooting to make a stand. But that's another story altogether.
When I said that people were riveted to their screens on Wednesday after the Charlie Hedbo shooting, it was nothing, I think, compared to yesterday when Paris and Ile-de-France had to deal with two hostage situations, simultaneously. Both linked to the shooting since the ones responsible were the brothers and another man who was linked to them. What made it so incredibly tense was that, as usual in this day and age, we basically followed the whole thing live. For bad or good, the media just makes you part of the events.
At least it's over now. It is sad that, in the end, the different shootings put the death toll at 17 people overall (iirc).
The city is still in mourning and you can see many memorial signs everywhere, from the Arc de Triomphe to people wearing Je suis Charlie badges here and there. Even though we'll remember that first week of 2015, very soon we'll go back to our lives, contrary to those who lost a family member, a friend, a co-worker during the attacks, contrary to those who did survive said attacks. Now though everyone seems to be united in their "national grief" and shock, and although it is sad to think that people seem to really only rally when strategy strikes, I can't deny it is still a powerful and beautiful thing to witness. At least it is possible.
Speaking of which, Cookie and I were able to go to République on thursday night. Couple of pictures of the vigil/gathering below.
Cookie took a pic just when I was adding my own candle (and pen) to the little shrine.
If you're used to going to gatherings and marches, you'll know how powerful those can be. As far as I'm concerned, it's still a novelty; I very rarely join them - almost never, actually - and it was very moving to be there and sing and hold signs with so many people.
So many cartoonists have paid tribute to the victims with their cartoons the past two days but other artists joined as well, using their own media including Grand Corps Malade and JB Bullet, whose songs are both gorgeous. To be precise, Bullet's is a cover (well, he used the tune but he created the lyrics), Grand Corps Malade is a brand new song.
Now though, if only we could prevent certain political parties from using the shooting to make a stand. But that's another story altogether.
