‘Titanic’ Satirist Tim Wolff: Shooting At Satirists ‘Only Makes Our Work More Relevant’
Tim Wolff is the editor-in-chief of Titanic, a satire publication similar to Charlie Hebdo — but based out of Germany.
Wolff’s publication has been “guilty” of creating cartoons that are critical of Islam and Christianity over the years. The only difference, he says, is that he’s in a country where the Islamic population has been able to “deal with” the irreverence.
In the wake of the attack on Wednesday that left 12 dead and at least four critically wounded, Wolff insists that his publication will continue to do what it does and that it will not back down from the threat of Islamic extremism.
In an interview with DW, Tim Wolff had this to say.
“Lately, we have published a lot of material on the ‘Islamic State’ (IS) and such [extremism], and if the Paris attack was the work of Islamists, we will also cover that. If you shoot at satirists, you only make our work more relevant.”
For many, Wolff’s comments are a breath of fresh air because it says in no uncertain terms that the Charlie Hebdo attackers have failed in their mission to suppress free speech.
In fact, websites, social media, and the real world were brimming with examples of bravery in the face of terror on Wednesday with millions tweeting support and staging demonstrations of support for victims of the deadly attack.
BuzzFeed posted this moving compilation of how cartoonists responded.
Can’t sleep tonight, thoughts with my French cartooning colleagues, their families and loved ones #CharlieHebdo pic.twitter.com/LqIMRCHPgK
— David Pope (@davpope) January 7, 2015
.@lemondefr cartoonist @Zeptheworld https://t.co/UpKdFVkcoy pic.twitter.com/uDTRmYnrW8
— Loïc Hostetter (@LoicHostetter) January 7, 2015
A terrible day for all cartoonists. #JeSuisCharlie pic.twitter.com/Ksbl89WLsE
— Magnus Shaw (@TheMagnusShaw) January 7, 2015
As for Tim Wolff, the Paris shooting will have the opposite effect from what was intended.
“Let me reiterate: If these attacks are the work of Islamists, then it makes satire even more relevant. Following such attacks, there should be more satire, and this will be the case for our magazine as well… Of course, on the personal level, we are scared when we hear about such violence. However, as a satirist, we are beholden to the principle that every human being has the right to be parodied. This should not stop just because of some idiots who go around shooting.”
Do you think Tim Wolff and Titanic have the right idea about how to respond to the Charlie Hebdo attacks? Sound off in our comments section.
