PEN American Center caused a stir for their controversial decision to give the Freedom of Expression Courage Award to the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. Last month, author Jennifer Cody Epstein was among dozens of authors that signed a petition trying to get PEN to take back the nomination.
Since then, Epstein has rethought her action and has changed her mind. She has written a letter to the anti-Charlie Hebdo faction explaining why she had rejected the magazine and why she has now changed her mind. Here is an excerpt:
But my conclusion mainly stems from the fact that at the time I signed the petition, I—like many, I now believe—fundamentally misunderstood Charlie Hebdo’s mission and content. The controversial images—while arguably tasteless, offensive and not even particularly well-drawn—sprang from satire, not hate. It is a profound and crucial difference: if one is to argue for freedom of speech there can be no caveats, no asterisks, no fine print qualifying that “freedom” only applies to expression we don’t consider too upsetting, or doesn’t enrage right-wing fundamentalists with guns.