and three gentlemen took him to task:
When Speech Is Hateful, How Free Should It Be?
To the Editor:
Mr. Cohen defends Bob Siné, a columnist-cartoonist for Charlie Hebdo, the French satirical magazine, citing free speech issues. But Mr. Siné’s editor, Philippe Val, did not prosecute him or arrest him for his anti-Semitic column; he merely fired him.
Just because I believe absolutely in free speech does not require me to publish any hateful screed that comes across my desk. Mr. Siné is free to publish, at his own expense, any bigotry he likes. But a journal aspiring to be respectable has no legal or moral obligation to participate in such hatred, and it may well have political and moral reasons not to.
(Rabbi) Jonathan H. Gerard
Easton, Pa.
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To the Editor:
Roger Cohen acknowledges that Bob Siné “clearly nurses some vile views about Jews” and that anti-Semitism is manifested in his writings and cartoons. Yet, as “a free speech absolutist,” Mr. Cohen opposes the firing of Mr. Siné for an offensive article.
This is a puzzling reaction. The distinction between freedom of speech and the right to a platform is clear. Philippe Val, as Mr. Siné’s editor, is not restricting Mr. Siné’s expression. He is only exercising his right to keep distasteful speech from the pages of his publication.
It seems Mr. Cohen’s real worry is that the dismissal “risks stirring, rather than assuaging, what remains of French anti-Semitism.” This is a common fear-based response, one that defers to the lowest elements of society in the misguided hope of currying their favor.
We have seen repeatedly that when hateful ideas are not confronted forcefully, they become entrenched and malignant.
Louis J. Shamie
New York,
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To the Editor:
Free speech may allow the French cartoonist Bob Siné the right to utter whatever hateful things he wants, but it does not, as Roger Cohen suggests, entitle his cartoons and columns to be published by a widely circulated newspaper.
It may be politically convenient to avoid making Mr. Siné a martyr, but that should not outweigh the moral imperative of being vigilant in the fight against anti-Semitism.
Michael Brenner
Woodmere, N.Y.,
Amazing how stupid and illogical some NYT op-ed writers can be.
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