Je Suis Charlie - 'Nuff Said!

January 7th 2015: Je Suis Charlie

As an artist, who describes her work as 'cartoon art', though not primarily making so-called political cartoons but rather cartoon-influenced images that sometimes are influenced by today's politics, I can not help but feeling sad, shocked and angry about today's terrible events in Paris, France. Twelve people got brutally murdered, executed, amongst them fellow artists: cartoonists and editors of the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo. In total twelve people lost their life.

And I felt powerless. Untill I realised, there is just one thing I can do. As an artist. Draw. I just had to. As a small tribute to the cartoonists and editors and other victims of today's brutal shooting; and as an encouragement to all those journalists, editors, writers, cartoonists, artists and all others who have to their work under threat or are being persecuted in any other way.  

All I can add to that is this: 

With words, at least, you can agree to disagree. You can debate, discuss, exchange views, arguments. You can try and convince each other. You can listen to each other. Perhaps even learn from it. If not, then you can respectfully walk away. And you still might have learned something from it.

If you try to silence people's voices with a gun, in the end, it'll only backfire at you.

Je suis Charlie. 

Oh. Just one more thing. All we have for a home is this tiny blue planet, people. Now, can't we do just a little bit more to make it a better place for each and everyone of us. Or at least try to? By being just a little bit kinder? It's just one little blue planet, a tiny dot in a vast ocean of expanding universe without, for now, any inhabitable planet in sight. So we'd better try and get along before we kill each other off in the name of whatever Deity.