Not sure if I'd have acted differently. Islam poses a serious threat, and if I was editor-in-chief of a massive newspaper (read: lots of staff) I don't know if I'd be cool with exposing the entire faculty to becoming a terror target. Britain is full of young Muslim men and boys which are, as one expert described them, lone wolves. They're three drinks away from being a makeshift terror cell. They're already angry about racism, inequality, and a lack of opportunities. Why poke them in the eye, laughing while you do it?

Call me a coward all you like; I don't care. But if life on Earth is an accident and I'm just a chunk of carbon, and my choices are predestined because it's just chemical and electronic signals all running according to immutable laws taht I can't change thereby creating the illusion of sentience, and one day we will be gone and be as insignificant as we were before we arrived and we will all be forgotten, then I see no reason to believe in a 'great cause' to fight for. Who gives a shit about human progress if it's all for nothing eventually anyway? 'I'd rather die free than live on my knees'? I'm honestly not convinced. I care about getting from cradle to grave and having a pleasant experience in between, and doing as much of it as possible on my own terms.

And if I accept that then it's on my terms then am I not free? Am I free when I pick which brand of cheese to buy? Am I free that I'm bound to one supermarket by location and family economics? Am I free to catch any train I want to work? Am I free to be employed by who I want? Am I free to turn up late everyday and still get paid? Am I free if I turn up on time everyday if I'm driven by fear of losing my job? Am I free if I follow the rules of the road because I'm scared of getting in an accident? Am I free to express my opinions and say what I like? Am I free to hurl abuse at someone and never face consequences because they have no right to be offended? Am I free if I insult the world views of others? Am I free if I chose not to? Am I free to respect the religions and faiths of dear friends? Am I free if I choose to do so for fear of the consequences of the alternative? Am I free if my actions are driven out of fear? Where is the line between constraint and coercion?

I would have not run the picture. The blurring is the news, not so much that they took it down. Of the few views I hold, I really do believe that a soft answer turneth away wrath, and escalations only create more violence. Running the picture out of spite will drive wedges. Demonising the religious will inject poison and sit and fester. It just feels like putting on the war paint waiting for some kind of climactic battle. The difference is they don't fight with words.