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i just saw this. It's by a French politician, trying to justify to Americans why they feel the need to outlaw veils that cover the face. i do not believe it for a moment. It is cultural. And i sympathize with that. i do. But still.
You know that London is the city most covered by video surveillance in the world. i cannot believe that that is acceptable to them, but it is. i work in a high crime area. i have been the victim of crimes. But this stuff just brings out the unreconstructed civil libertarian in me. There's an article in this week's Nation, i think, by Katha Pollit -- about Berlin. They have had some form of public health insurance since the late 19th Century. And so on. i too envy a lot of the public institutions that some European countries have. But i would not give up the right to dress and worship as i please for any of them. Maybe that is a privileged person speaking, one who has usually had health insurance. i am not jingoistic about the U.S., but the day will never come in this country when it is illegal to wear the veil. It's impossible to imagine. And i am very happy to come from THAT tradition. There definitely are things about the U.S. that i like, and this is one of them. That feeling IN ME that, by god, the day they pass a law like that, i will be on the streets to defend a practice i find personally abhorrent. And i know lots of people -- conservative and liberal -- who would feel the same. |
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I found myself reading and thinking "is this for real? can he be serious?" But, alas, he appears to be. I found myself offended on behalf of all women who make this choice that he equated the burqa with a mask...and then this statement... "The person who wears one is no longer identifiable; she is a shadow among others, lacking individuality, avoiding responsibility." Wow...just wow... So, based on his argument, ski masks should also be outlawed...because they are used to cover the face of criminals. Surgical masks, worn by those who are ill or afraid of illness....outlawed. My big, fuzzy scarf - which I wear up over my mouth and nose on cold winter days....outlawed. By his logic, to be a member of society I am obligated to show my face or I am somehow lacking individuality, avoiding responsibility...and evidently endangering the very fabric of society. Wow. Makes me want to go get a burqa and wear it to the French embassy just because.... |
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The American way of dealing with these issues is to err on the side of the individual--so if someone wants to wear the veil here, there should be no law prohibiting it nor should that person have to fear social sanction regardless of their reasons for wearing the veil. In Europe the tendency is to err on the side of social cohesion--thus France's ban on the veil or the Dutch ban on minarets, etc. One interesting thing that the author points out is that Americans have a very *different* view of immigration than most Europeans because while both America and Europe have a liberal intellectual tradition, the latter does *not* have a body of liberal thought applied to the question of immigration while Americans do. Cheers Aj |
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Actually...
In the U.S., there's a few states that Mandate I.D. w/o any head coverings at all, regardless of Religious affiliation.. Muslims, Sikh's, catholics, Jews are disputing this.. Passports permit head coverings, why not state I.D.? http://islam.about.com/od/dress/f/hijab_id.htm In Most airports in the U.S., the only procedure a muslim lady doesn't receive is a Cavity check.. I'll happily describe my experiences with Airlines, post- 9/11...My brothers as well...pvt. only. In Puerto Rico however, once I said I refused to allow a Man touching me in any way, they accommodated me, with a woman..lol {should be Policy, especially if the woman's muttaqun {Pious}} |
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Here in Michigan, we have a very large Middle Eastern community, mostly Iraqi Chaldeans. Many of the high schools in the Detroit area have made accommodations for girls in gym classes and on athletic teams to allow for compliance with their beliefs (not requiring them to wear shorts and to be able to keep their head coverings on). Jake |
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Dearborn, in particular..With a very big Mosque to follow suit. My curiosity will eventually get the better part of me... |
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