Êtes-vous Charlie? Vraiment?

Twelve people died in the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. They died at the hands of fanatics who do not represent the majority of believers in their Islamic religion. This is an act of evil, not of devoutness and, no matter what the writers or cartoonists of the paper published, they did not deserve to die for it and they deserve the support of the world as much as the murderers deserve the world's condemnation.

In a show of support, people around the planet are sharing the phrase Je suis Charlie (I am Charlie). This is a peaceful show of solidarity against the atrocity that was committed. It is also a show of support for freedom of expression and for the culturally-essential practice of satire.

It is also sort of an over-the top statement, as most adopted public rhetoric campaigns are.

But I ask: Êtes-vous Charlie? Vraiment? Wouldn't you have to know a lot about a publication to make that statement?

If you know all about Charlie Hebdo, okay. But it is one thing to show support for your unjustly murdered fellow humans; it's another to blindly support a publication you know nothing about. I find it hard to believe that everyone who has shared that phrase knows all about the paper.