Boris Johnson comments on the burka niqab

[Mock Turtle]

She hit the nail on the head Imo.

Plenty agreeing with the sentiment, and even the jokey nature, but a few of us would still rather not see a supposed politician doing this.

 

[England my lionheart]

Firstly, he has said it, he is not in any criminal court, no one is saying he should be. Therefore Freedom of Speech is NOT an issue.

Secondly, he is an MP, a leading person in his party, it was stupid to say it in the manner he did but not unexpected from the publicity driven buffoon that he is.

I don't like Burkas either, I think they are horrible things for a woman to have to wear and they offend me. But I don't like hoodies, I don't like peaked caps worn backwards, I don't like posh MPs who try to dictate my life, they all offend me.

He has Steve Bannon pulling his strings and because Bannon was a driving force behind Trump; Boris thinks he's onto a winner.

I totally agree that he's a buffoon but I think it's being blown out of proportion.

 

[England my lionheart]

I'm not sure how freedom of speech works over there, whether it's an actual ironclad Constitutional guarantee (such as in the U.S.) or just a temporary royal indulgence which can be taken away on a whim.

The comments seem pretty lame to me, too, although I also have to wonder how people pick their battles. It seems rather odd that someone would choose to pick on burkas as part of a political agenda, and it seems equally odd that there would be those who would call for punishment over such comments.

I mean, there are a lot worse things that one can say about Muslims - things that are truly inflammatory. If the "punishment" is exactly the same - no matter how mild or how inflammatory a statement might be - then there may not be any real incentive to toning down one's language or rhetoric. The war of words will only escalate.

There's plenty of worse things you could say about Muslims, it's not like nasty insults or something inflammatory that he's said.

 

[stvdv]

Boris Johnson in his newspaper column wrote that Muslim women who wear the burka and niqab "look like letterboxes" or "bank robbers" and now the Muslim Council of Britain want him punished.
Muslims warn PM of Johnson 'whitewash'
These comments seem pretty lame to me,maybe not the best thing he could say as a member of Parliament but shouldn't he have freedom of speech too?.

Oh come on. Boris Johnson made a very nice and correct remark IMO. It really looks like a "letterbox", and "bank robbers".
I love the Hijab. A muslim nurse with Hijab helped me in hospital last week. [I had a crush on her because of the nice Hijab].
But here we talk about Niqab and Burka. I would not want a "muslim invisible Burka doctor" touch me in hospital [in the west]

Just common sense. I want to see the person. Persons who hide face/eyes I don't trust. Can be a bank robber, psychopath, terrorist.

We must follow Islam Law in Islam countries, let them just follow Western Law in western countries
Meaning: If I feel uncomfortable/scared with Burka I have the right to tell this, and Boris Johnson did it very nice.

 

[England my lionheart]

Plenty agreeing with the sentiment, and even the jokey nature, but a few of us would still rather not see a supposed politician doing this.

Boris has put his foot in it his whole career, I'm not making excuses for him though he should know better.

 

[England my lionheart]

So, why don't they just let Allah take care of the punishment?

Allah doesn't hold office in britain

 

[exchemist]

He's not stupid, but I don't know whether he intended to cause such a fuss. According to the polls - if accurate - a majority of the UK population would rather not see such wear on our streets - possibly because they associate it more with female oppression than it being religious. And as I said, it appears to be most used in Saudi Arabia where females are not exactly on a par with males.

That's right. The point, though, is that the argument about whether the full veil or burqa is socially acceptable in Britain can and should be made without demeaning the people involved. It is pretty hard to claim you are against the burqa for isolating and disempowering women in society, when in the same breath you are poking fun at how they look!

 

[Mock Turtle]

Allah doesn't hold office in britain

I can see a fatwah coming over the hill ....

 

[Mock Turtle]

That's right. The point, though, is that the argument about whether the full veil or burqa is socially acceptable in Britain can and should be made without demeaning the people involved. It is pretty hard to claim you are against the burqa for isolating and disempowering women in society, when in the same breath you are poking fun at how they look!

Well, as many others have commented, one should be able to ridicule what one wants - just not a politician in this case.

 

[exchemist]

Boris has put his foot in it his whole career, I'm not making excuses for him though he should know better.

You hit the nail on the head. Someone in his exalted social and political position should know better.

And he does of course. The aim is to fill the headlines in the slack season of August and build a new brand for him as a sort of British Trump. It's a loathsome spectacle.

 

[Mock Turtle]

You hit the nail on the head. Someone in his exalted social and political position should know better.

And he does of course. The aim is to fill the headlines in the slack season of August and build a new brand for him as a sort of British Trump. It's a loathsome spectacle.

Boris to a tee.

 

[exchemist]

Well, as many others have commented, one should be able to ridicule what one wants - just not a politician in this case.

Right. Senior politicians have to be careful to reflect the values and standards of behaviour that their parties expect. If they don't, they tarnish the image of the party - and the party will be angry about it. If Bozo wants to sound off like this, he should resign as an MP and just be a gadfly journo, as he was before.

 

[GoodbyeDave]

Boris just said what most people think, as revealed by recent opinion polls. As for the suggestion that he's wrong to insult those women, would they care about what he said? Surely the fact that they veil themselves indicates that they want to cut themselves off from British society, so would they care what any member of that society says about them?

The ironic thing is that he was actually making the claim that, although the custom looks gross, it shouldn't be banned as it has been in many countries. So in fact Boris actually agrees with all you snowflakes who are concerned with people's so-called rights. As for me, I'd chuck 'em all out.

 

[Altfish]

I totally agree that he's a buffoon but I think it's being blown out of proportion.

Wouldn't disagree - a bit like Corbyn's alleged anti-Semitism.

 

[Shad]

Boris is stirring the pot. He has done this for years. The party has had 8 years to kick him out over worse things said, it hasn't.

 

[England my lionheart]

Don't worry, we are more or less in agreement. Though I think the burga/niqab are horrid inventions I am not in favor of outlawing them. To me, it says the wearer is simply a religious extremist as there is nothing in Islamic doctrine that mandates the wearing of head to toe covering. There is only the stricture to dress modestly. Boris, like Trump, is a buffoon.

What a pair they would make, I shudder at the though lol

 

[England my lionheart]

I can see a fatwah coming over the hill ....

LOL, I'm gonna hide out with salmon rushdie

 

[England my lionheart]

Wouldn't disagree - a bit like Corbyn's alleged anti-Semitism.

And that he had sex with a pigs head, Eton Imo is a buffoon factory and "old boy network"

 

[England my lionheart]

Boris is stirring the pot. He has done this for years. The party has had 8 years to kick him out over worse things said, it hasn't.

True, he has said stupid things in his career but how about the anti semiticism in the Labour Party, there doesn't seem too much made of that.

 

[Shad]

True, he has said stupid things in his career but how about the anti semiticism in the Labour Party, there doesn't seem too much made of that.

Sorry I am not as familiar with the Labour party as I am with Borris. Kinda proves your point though hah. Have any examples?