Comments on: France to Burkas: No. http://www.popten.net/2009/06/france-to-burkas-no/ top ten lists and pop culture rants Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:51:18 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Matt http://www.popten.net/2009/06/france-to-burkas-no/comment-page-1/#comment-173864 Matt Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:43:06 +0000 http://www.popten.net/?p=3556#comment-173864 Do these garments clash with my notions of sexual equality? Yes, absolutely. Is it reasonable to consider an outright ban of them? Nope, not even close. It is absolutely a form of religious persecution, something any "enlightened" nation should abhor. Ensuring freedom and liberty sometimes necessitates that we tolerate things which we find distasteful (much as we in America should expand that tolerance to include equal rights for same sex couples). Or, to put it more succinctly: let 'em wear their fucking hats. Sheesh. Do these garments clash with my notions of sexual equality? Yes, absolutely. Is it reasonable to consider an outright ban of them? Nope, not even close. It is absolutely a form of religious persecution, something any “enlightened” nation should abhor. Ensuring freedom and liberty sometimes necessitates that we tolerate things which we find distasteful (much as we in America should expand that tolerance to include equal rights for same sex couples).

Or, to put it more succinctly: let ‘em wear their fucking hats. Sheesh.

]]> By: Hawkes Klein http://www.popten.net/2009/06/france-to-burkas-no/comment-page-1/#comment-172817 Hawkes Klein Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:58:31 +0000 http://www.popten.net/?p=3556#comment-172817 I totally agree that for issues like Gay Marriage we've spent way too much time and money arguing over it... but, could you imagine if the government said "no." If they said you 100% do not have the right to even argue for your cause and we will not bring it to a vote and you will not have equal rights because you were born a certain way that make some people nervous. America wouldn't stand for that. I certainly wouldn't. There are women out there who want to wear a Burka, who choose to of their own volition. Plenty of women of other religions and cultures take on specific forms of dress, if you ban one don't you have to ban them all? There are a lot of things that make America and Europe different places to live, good and bad things on both sides. For me, the legislative process, the petitioning and the phone calls, the news articles and the re-votes, although they're frustrating at times they still prove to me that as Americans we have choices. We have the right to fight for what we believe in, (not everyone chooses to stand up and that's fine too, that's kind of the point... if there's something you want you fight for it, if you sit back and don't fight then you have to accept the outcome) it might take longer but at least in the end we'll be able to say we did all we could have done. I totally agree that for issues like Gay Marriage we’ve spent way too much time and money arguing over it… but, could you imagine if the government said “no.” If they said you 100% do not have the right to even argue for your cause and we will not bring it to a vote and you will not have equal rights because you were born a certain way that make some people nervous. America wouldn’t stand for that. I certainly wouldn’t.
There are women out there who want to wear a Burka, who choose to of their own volition. Plenty of women of other religions and cultures take on specific forms of dress, if you ban one don’t you have to ban them all? There are a lot of things that make America and Europe different places to live, good and bad things on both sides. For me, the legislative process, the petitioning and the phone calls, the news articles and the re-votes, although they’re frustrating at times they still prove to me that as Americans we have choices. We have the right to fight for what we believe in, (not everyone chooses to stand up and that’s fine too, that’s kind of the point… if there’s something you want you fight for it, if you sit back and don’t fight then you have to accept the outcome) it might take longer but at least in the end we’ll be able to say we did all we could have done.

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