Brussels march in support of free speech, 2015. Shutterstock/CRM. All rights reserved.PEN, the organization of writers, decided to give a Toni and James C. Goodale Freedom of Expression Courage award to Charlie Hebdo — that is, to those of its staff who were not massacred by the Islamist Kouachi brothers on Jan. 7. So, of course hell broke loose.
In its own words, PEN wished to “honor Charlie Hebdo for their refusal to retreat when confronted with threats of violence … coupled with their magnanimity in the face of tragedy.” In a longer statement, the organization declared:
It is the role of the satirists in any free society to challenge the powerful and the sacred, pushing boundaries in ways that make expression freer and more robust for us all. In paying the ultimate price for the exercise of their freedom, and then soldiering on amid devastating loss, Charlie Hebdo deserves to be recognized for its dauntlessness in the face of one of the most noxious assaults on expression in recent memory.
