Paris a Somber Reminder What Lurks Around Each Corner

People gather in Paris to show support for the victims of the shooting at Charlie Hebdo. Photo via @JimDalrympleII on Twitter.
People gather in Paris to show support for the victims of the shooting at Charlie Hebdo. Photo via @JimDalrympleII on Twitter.

The slaughter of more than a dozen people by masked gunmen at the Paris offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo has provided a sickening reminder of the evil that lurks around every corner. There are still a lot of unknowns but what we do know is this: eight of the dead are journalists, two were police, one was a guest of the editorial board, and one was at the reception desk. The humanist in me mourns for the victims and their families. The journalist in me mourns for my media peers. But in this industry, that sadness must be repurposed in a focused direction. Paris is a reminder that this type of terrorist attack can happen anytime, and anywhere. It's why our mission to protect the sports we love, the fans we love, the athletes we love and the staff we love, is so important. 

An argument can be made that Charlie Hebdo fueled the fire with its content, much of which mocked religious extremism, particularly Muslim extremism. In 2011, their offices were even firebombed for publishing a caricature of the prophet Mohammed. I have to admit, I was not familiar with the magazine prior to the terrorist events, but I was very familiar with a previous high-profile terrorist target: the Boston Marathon. Coincidentally, the terrorist attack in Paris coincides with the trial of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev set to begin.

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