Tribune. Do you appease an open society by making sure not to offend anyone or by learning to tolerate offense? Beyond the unanimous condemnation of the horrible crime of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine (Yvelines), this question does not receive the same answer from all French people, and certainly not from all democracies.
In the United States, many commentators condemn, implicitly or explicitly, the supposed lack of “Cultural sensitivity” French non-Muslims at the “Muslim community” that would reveal the distribution of the cartoons of Charlie hebdo, and see in the assassination of Professor de Conflans the index of an increasingly divided France.
This analysis ignores the diversity of reactions among French people of Muslim faith, but it is in line with the movement that has seized many American universities, where professors are encouraged to avoid any comments, any reading, which could harm at ease some of their students.
For me who live in the United States, the answer is clear: American practice leads to an impasse, where the common space of democratic debate and reason is constantly shrinking. Its ultimate logic is to forbid a man to speak of the condition of women, a white man from the fate of blacks. The “community” becomes a fortress from which it is forbidden to leave, in the name of a community experience which would be the same for all the members of the “community”, and would be incommunicable to those who are not members of it.
A juxtaposition of hate fortresses
Society is transformed into a juxtaposition of hate fortresses and all that remains for the public authorities to do is to try to regulate the relations between these fortresses by a growing judicialization of social relations. This development provokes violent reactions of which the success of Donald Trump in 2016 and the rehabilitation of the politically incorrect are the symptoms. By believing to appease society by segmenting it, one exacerbates resentment and aggressiveness.
The French way, which accepts blasphemy and encourages irreverence, is however not easy to implement in a society much more diverse than it was in the time of Jules Ferry (1832-1893). It places an overwhelming responsibility on teachers. It is up to them, as Professor de Conflans did, to make future citizens reflect on the difficult balance between the need for debate, which requires tolerance, and the needs of living together, which requires respect.
You have 24% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
