Was he wrong? Probably not. The critic made his points in what one might claim was tempered earnest. Though he did toss out impish words like stupid, cowardly and naïve. Which I felt were a tad unjust given that the underling theme of my piece went unnoticed.

See I am a writer, or I like to think that I am. I am not a blogger, social commentator, essayist or anything in which I give claim of being more than I am. And I understand how one can be confused seeing as how this forum seems to be mainly focused on personal entries and ideas. It’s a place for personal growth, which I admire. Which I dabble in myself, mostly my posts have to do with my daughter and other uneventful topics which I’m sure is lost on most of the younger voices here. Who really wants to read about a young father’s love for his daughter? But I enjoy the practice and the feedback received from the gentle souls willing to take the time. But in truth, I am simply a by stander. I sit on the side lines and watch the game unfold and put my own spin on it. That’s why I’d make a horrible journalist.

During the massacre in Paris, I desperately wanted to write something that gave voice to my opinions, but it was in writing what I was hoping would be an interesting article, that I found I was torn. My opinions were not as clearly defined as I’d hoped. I am staunchly devoted to Freedom of expression and freedom of speech, but when hearing and listening and seeing what the Charlie Hebdo zine had published, I did feel a sense of…not outrage exactly, but to quote the critic, ‘how long can you poke the bear before he bites?’ Especially given certain political dilemmas arising in France like the Burka ban and such.

So instead of trying to devise an essay of high intellectual caliber, I devolved back to what I know best. Telling stories. See, in my piece about Charlie Hebdo, the argument cited never occurred. It was not a debate in which I recorded verbatim. It was simply an eternal debate within myself. I have them frequently. I am both the alarmed halfwit of the story and the educated prick. Both views are my own. I do feel that you can’t continuously bombard people with mockery and shame and not expect them to form some sort of back lash and I do believe that the cast at Charlie Hebdo were in the right, mainly because they knew what they were facing, they knew the danger of what they were doing and they said ‘fuck it. We’re going to do it anyways’ and that speaks to the contrarian in me and so, they have my respect. Perhaps many of you feel different and I don’t blame, but that is my feelings and they are solely my own. Now, were they a hundred percent in the right, no, probably not. One rarely is. I’m not naïve to the fact that they fired a cartoonist over his anti-Semitic drawings in the past or that a majority of their cartoons were devoted to the mocking of Islam. But in the end, they were murdered and that warrants some feelings of sympathy, despite your feelings on their subject matter.

And how I truly feel about the attack is this…what happened in Paris pales in comparison to what happens every day in the ancient deserts of the Middle East. Perhaps that’s why the subject was so eagerly debated by many, because there are so many factors on which to hang your hat on.

Usually I would not take the time to explain myself, but reading the comments, I did feel that perhaps what I had aimed for had in fact fell short and needed clarification and I do not want to appear one sided on a topic that has so many fronts on which to defend your position. I do not apologize for anything said in the piece, for I do stand shoulder to shoulder with the victims of this tragedy and that is not a declaration of my great courage or my regret that I wasn’t there in the offices of Charlie Hebdo to bite the bullet as well, it is a simply statement of solidarity. Much like I stand with the environmentalists killed in Brazil for standing up to big logging companies, or when I say I stand with the children of domestic abuse, or anyone else that suffers in justice in this world. I stand in heart and soul with the people in pain in the world, because in essence, I am not separate from you, from she, from he. And yes, perhaps these proclamations I make are stupid, cowardly, unimpressive, childish, idiotic, riddled with bullshit, loopholes and what not. Call me what you will, but in the end, my heart, for the most part, is in the right place and when it comes to my courage and the resolve of my principles I would only say only this, the critics knows nothing of the hearts of poets, they only see what they see in themselves. Perhaps you would run in the face of certain annihilation, self-preservation is a natural instinct, but seeing as how I know nothing of you, I would give your courage the benefit of a doubt. Seeing as how you know nothing me, I’d expect the same courtesy.

You made valid points, sir, I’ll give you that, but they were not points I wasn’t already aware of. And I do not apologize, because as you so eloquently phased, the only pretentious prick here…is me.