Nous sommes Charlie

What can you say that hasn't been said, mostly with utter banality, before? 'Horrible, terrible, shocking, barbarity'? I am embarrassed to used those words. They are too much and not enough. More seemly to just shut up. Or be there--somewhere--with a pen or a sign. Charlie Hebdo represents a few centuries of fighting for and achieving freedom of speech--it's not some symbol of late capitalism. It's a right, it's human. It's something we can agree on without feeling squeamish. We can say 'we' without wanting to add 'but.' 

'Nous Sommes Charlie,' the Air France pilot said on the intercom, touching down at San Francisco International yesterday afternoon, after he hoped we'd had a good flight.