One minute silence for Charlie Hebdo

[Mr Taxpayer]

My French-owned UK employer is observing the one minute silence that France is holding for Charlie Hebdo.

Is this compulsory act of respect-paying a good and right thing to do or is it a curtailment of the freedom of speech and thought that 12 people died promoting?

Please reply using you own thoughts.

[steveatesh]

I lecture part time on a degree course. At the start of the lesson yesterday one if the students asked if we could have a minutes silence for the victims, everybody was supportive so we did our own 1 minute silence.

I wish I had thought of it myself.
Edited to add it was for the victims and for the attack in free speech. We had a good discussion about that afterwards too.

[Einion Yrth]

The compulsion is wrong. The silence is largely pointless but will help some, sadly not the victims.

[GTIR]

Whilst I feel the whole shocking massacre is awful and I feel for the family and co-workers this whole 1 minutes silence is used so much it's watered down it's original meaning.

The new one minutes silence is two minutes anyway!

I don't see why anyone should be forced to show their respect or grief for these sorts of incidents with "quite contemplation". It's not like they don't realise the ramifications of such acts or need to be reminded that people are suffering.

[DanielSan]

Einion Yrth said:

The compulsion is wrong. The silence is largely pointless but will help some, sadly not the victims.

I'm bucking the request and replying using someone else's thoughts in this quote.

[simoid]

I'm not fussed about one minute silences, but if one occurs I find it abhorrent if anyone spoils it.

[Einion Yrth]

simoid said:

I'm not fussed about one minute silences, but if one occurs I find it abhorrent if anyone spoils it.

I would agree. They should not be compulsory because they shouldn't NEED to be compulsory. Hardly kills anyone to shut their yap for 60 seconds.

[Mr Taxpayer]

Einion Yrth said:

simoid said:

I'm not fussed about one minute silences, but if one occurs I find it abhorrent if anyone spoils it.

I would agree. They should not be compulsory because they shouldn't NEED to be compulsory. Hardly kills anyone to shut their yap for 60 seconds.

I was stood, bemedalled, at a War Memorial last Remembrance Sunday and a heard a couple behing me natteraing away during the 2 minute silence. I was initially offended at the disrespect, but then remembered that people had died in defence of their right to be disrespectful. At least they had turned up and stayed through the ceremony; they could have been in a retail park somewhere.

[Asterix]

If we had a minutes silence for every time the muzzles did something nasty then we'd all may as we'll be mute.