Comments by "Nigel Johnson" (@nigeljohnson9820) on "Boris Johnson sparks furore with 'inflammatory' burka comments" video.

  1. Boris is simply stating the obvious. He has the right of freedom of speech to make such geometrical comparisons. I think they look like cartoon ghost or Darleks, the way the seem to glide without legs across the high street. This is not islamophobia it is just noting obvious similarities. Why should this particular group be immune from comments about their public attire?
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  2. Mary Storey there is a certain amount of hypocrisy in this, given the views some Muslims express about other religions. There is so much fear of being accused of hate speech that innocent comments are self censored for fear of causing offence. In a free country, freedom of speech is important. To western eyes, Islamic dress is weird and unusual and slightly threatening. Why should we not be allowed to express these views. Had the comments been directed at Goth or Punk clothing, or the leather attire worn by some motor cyclists, no one would have raised any objections, but the burka, which is a religious affectation amounting almost to a uniform, must be treated differently, why? Of all the religions, why must we tiptoe around this one in particular. To its credit, the Catholic church fails to display the same sensitivity toward the nuns habit, which is often on the receiving end of satirical comment.
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  3. Gabriella eve "water a burka" what are you talking about? The comments are neither derogatory or flattering, they are just an observation of fact. It is amazing that these articles of clothing produce such a sensitive reaction, particular as the women in question are, by the nature of the clothing, anonymous, so the comments cannot be directed at an individual but to the clothing itself, which is a ridiculous as wearing a tent. I have been informed that this total covering is not based on any religious requirement but purely a cultural one. In a truly free society it might be possible to examine the cultural reasons that Muslim women feel the need to wear such clothing, but we are a long way past such open discussion as I feel sure honest academic curiosity would have trigger death threats from the more extreme elements of "British" society. Maybe Boris should have reversed his view of live and let live and argued the case for a burka ban of the type implemented in other EU states. This would be sad, as the UK is usually very tolerant of the eccentric minority. What is expected is that the minority should show a similar tolerance towards the rest of society. If Britain had remained in the EU, maybe the ban would have eventually been an EU security directive, mandatory in all EU member states. This may yet happen.
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  4. Gabriella eve how can it be rude when those involved are anonymous? There is no getting away from these analogies. If the clothing looks like a post box that is a fact, they also look similar to cartoon ghosts, a similarity that would be even closer if the burkas were white instead of black. This is certainly less offensive than likening the dress of Catholic nuns to penguins. A similarity that has been drawn so often it is now a comic cliche. The curious thing is that the rest of society do not find the nuns habit threatening. The same can not be said of the burka with its terrorist connotations. Another, perverse observation is that in western society young girls commonly wear clothing which is extremely revealing, particularly in hot weather. With such competition for male attention, it is conceit to assume Muslim women would attract much more attention if they decided not to wear a full face veil and offered a more friendly face to the rest of society. This assuming that modesty is the main intent of the burka.
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