I'm writing you from Nice! I heard about the attacks on Charlie Hebdo, and I wanted to let you know that I am okay. My apartment I'm sharing with my friends is only 2 kilometers away from the Charlie Hebdo office that was attacked. I can't believe we live so close to where the attacks occurred. Charlie Hebdo is a satirical magazine that publishes somewhat offensive magazine covers. This time, Charlie Hebdo published a cartoon that showed a picture of Mohammad. A group of extremists were offended when they found out that the magazine had published a picture of Mohammad, because it is against their religion to show a picture of him. Two of the extremists stormed their offices with explosives and guns. Another extremist went to a supermarket and took hostages. He was killed along with a few of the hostages. The pair of extremists that stormed Charlie Hebdo were brothers. After fleeing the scene, police officers couldn't find them. Eventually, they were caught and killed. An eighteen-year-old was also involved in this horrific act, but had turned himself in. This is now a very controversial, world-wide topic. In America, and many places in the world, we are given the right to express ourselves and speak freely. The magazine took that idea and published a somewhat offensive cartoon. Because the group of extremists don't believe in freedom of speech, they reacted violently, and twelve were killed as a result. I believe that Charlie Hebdo were entitled to publishing the cartoon, and shouldn't have suffered the way they did. After all, they have published other offensive cartoons that targeted other groups and haven't suffered consequences as extreme as this. The way the group of extremists retaliated was uncalled for and unnecessary. I send my condolences to the families of those who were killed in the assault.
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