Charlie Hebdo, writers and effecting change

THE recent killing of satirists at Paris-based Charlie Hebdo has ignited a maelstrom of discussion about free speech and its limits, particularly in this case in relation to the world's major religions. Various commentaries have been issued, including about the Pope's recent pronouncements.

But the question is, if the satirists had truly wanted to effect change, could they have done it in a more reasoned way? The answer is they could have - but for some writers, the power to provoke is much more important than the message.

This is like a child who throws a tantrum because he wants something and didn't get it, failing to realise that asking nicely in the proper way can create better results. We forget that if we must provoke, there should be a better reason for doing so than simply because we can.