Burqa 'confronting', says Tony Abbott.

[i-need-a-martini]

OMG!

And most of the country thinks this numbskull is suitable PM material??

And if that isn't bad enough when asked about Mr Kings proposed radical new policing system in which criminal suspects (only suspects mibnd you. Which i think means all Muslims in Mr Kings world)  would be injected with satellite trackable micro chips shot from a "high powered sniper rifle" his response was:

"I'm just not going to get into the micro-detail of policing," Mr Abbott said.

Micro detail? That is policing? How about "I'm not going to comment on what is obviously a ridiculous statement by King"? That would have been a more appropriate response Mr Abbott.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2013/burqa-confronting-says-tony-abbott-as-h...

[acacia_pycnantha]

Often, the people we pass by offer us a smile and a nod and we do the same back. You can't see either the smile or the sneer if someone's mouth is covered up. It's that ancient gut-feeling associated with non-verbal body language which identifies friend from foe.

And if we can't make that identification, we feel uneasy.

[acacia_pycnantha]

and I feel uneasy knowing that the burqua is an arifact of a culture which denies women so many rights. Even the right to smile at someone they meet.

The burqua acts to extinquish a woman's display of individuality in society. It would do the same for men were they to wear it.

[izabsmiling]

is it not denying these women or acknowledging these women's rights if others naturally assume that women who wear Burqa's couldn't be doing so from their own free will ? As part of their Faith and in order to observe their Faith at the same time as having the benefit of being out in public ?  that for them covering themselves could perhaps also be preferable to being judged not as a person but as a body ? 

Those who wear them don't need to wear them around everyone do they ? Is it mainly where unknown men may be around ? If they weren't permitted to wear it ....would they perhaps be confined to their homes ?

[azureline**]

It always amuses me that some are ready with the oppression excuses for not wanting them worn, when it is very clear that they also want to oppress them, by wanting them banned.

Do we ban mini skirts? shorts so short you can see all? mid rif tops that make you gag at the exposed flesh? men in shorts with belts, so high they are up to the armpits? people in skin tight shorts and track pants that outline their genitalia? hats.... slogans on t shirts. offensive ones. No, we don't, we tolerate them.

[clair.de.lune]

Are we allowed to wear all that stuff in the middle east az?

[polksaladallie]

---

@clair.de.lune wrote:

Are we allowed to wear all that stuff in the middle east az?

---

You know the answer to that.  The reason?   It's called respect.  Respect for the values of other people.

But the Middle East countries do not force visitors to dress like they do. 

But respect for them dictates that visitors adopt a minimal change to their own clothing, eg. covering arms and legs and not displaying body parts (as we do here).   That is not hard to do.

The people here from the Middle East or Asia respect our customs, in fact are very tolerant of e.g. our methods of dressing.

It's time we returned some of that respect and stopped the discrimination voiced about their customs.

[clair.de.lune]

So it's all got to be their way?

[izabsmiling]

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@clair.de.lune wrote:

So it's all got to be their way?

---

In Australia we don't tell people how to dress ...

being in a state of undress in public can be a bit of an issue though lol

[izabsmiling]

I'm not going to tell a Roman Catholic Priest to get his Cassock off  

[lakeland27]

if the burqa is confronting, get over it. people will wear what they choose.. nobody is going to even attempt to ban it in the mainstream.

abbott only mentions it to get some excited, he hasn't the intention or ticker to follow through.