Veiled 'threat'; Straw man
The 'row' over Jack Straw's statement that he prefers to be able to see his constituents' faces, is a cynical exploitation of Muslims: another example of (mainly white) interest groups deliberately fostering a sense of victimhood amongst Muslim people.
What Straw said was entirely unobjectionable:
"Now, I always ensure that a female member of staff is with me . I explain that this is a country built on freedoms. I defend absolutely the right of any woman to wear a headscarf. As for the full veil, wearing it breaks no laws.
"I go on to say that I think, however, that the conversation would be of greater value if the lady took the covring off her face. Indeed, the value of a meeting, as opposed to a letter or a phone call, is that you can - almost literally - see what the other person means, and not just hear what they say. So many judgements we make about other people come from seeing their faces".
Straw might have added that the full veil is a clearly sexist peice of garb: men are not required to wear it. But, regardless of that, Straw's position is clearly perfectly reasonable. he has made it clear that he is not in favour of any sort of state ban upon the full veil: just that he doesn't like it. and will ask women at his surgeries to, please, remove them. What's wrong with that? And why does the (noticeably unveiled) Lindsay German denounce this as "racism" on 'News Night'? And the ultra-hypocrite Galloway state that this is asking women to "disrobe" in public? After all, 'Gorgeous George' quite deliberately built his reputation, in the early days ( before he courted consevative Muslim votes) as a man who -succesfully - encouraged women to "disrobe".
Anyway: Straw's request to Muslim women not to hide their faces, is clearly perfectly reasonable. Any suggestion of a state ban would not be: but Straw has not suggested that.
And, undoubtably, a lot of Muslim women in Britain will be thanking Straw for opposing their routine humiliation and debasement. To be able to show your face is just about the most fundamental human right: any culture that says women cannot do that, is simply inhuman.
What Straw said was entirely unobjectionable:
"Now, I always ensure that a female member of staff is with me . I explain that this is a country built on freedoms. I defend absolutely the right of any woman to wear a headscarf. As for the full veil, wearing it breaks no laws.
"I go on to say that I think, however, that the conversation would be of greater value if the lady took the covring off her face. Indeed, the value of a meeting, as opposed to a letter or a phone call, is that you can - almost literally - see what the other person means, and not just hear what they say. So many judgements we make about other people come from seeing their faces".
Straw might have added that the full veil is a clearly sexist peice of garb: men are not required to wear it. But, regardless of that, Straw's position is clearly perfectly reasonable. he has made it clear that he is not in favour of any sort of state ban upon the full veil: just that he doesn't like it. and will ask women at his surgeries to, please, remove them. What's wrong with that? And why does the (noticeably unveiled) Lindsay German denounce this as "racism" on 'News Night'? And the ultra-hypocrite Galloway state that this is asking women to "disrobe" in public? After all, 'Gorgeous George' quite deliberately built his reputation, in the early days ( before he courted consevative Muslim votes) as a man who -succesfully - encouraged women to "disrobe".
Anyway: Straw's request to Muslim women not to hide their faces, is clearly perfectly reasonable. Any suggestion of a state ban would not be: but Straw has not suggested that.
And, undoubtably, a lot of Muslim women in Britain will be thanking Straw for opposing their routine humiliation and debasement. To be able to show your face is just about the most fundamental human right: any culture that says women cannot do that, is simply inhuman.
posted by Jim Denham at
3:32 PM
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