Boris Johnson's Latest 'Gaff'

Starbox well said!

Emily Thornberry said she wouldn't want her 4 year old looked after by somebody wearing a burka, but I suppose some think that statement is ok because she is a Labour Supporter. All this fuss about Boris is ridiculous its turned into a witch hunt by remainers to try and get rid of him because he is a threat to Theresa May but it will back fire because he is more popular than ever.

"I put it to you PECS, for consideration that you are apportioning accountability for action to the wrong people. You seem to think that it is the 'other's' the ones who don't wear the Burka and veil who should change their attitudes."

Excellent post Allygran and once again it's those who voice their concerns who have more or less been told THEY are in the wrong.

I want to speak face to face with people, as is the CULTURAL NORM IN THE UK. I object strongly to people walking round in a black disguise. As others have said, men too have taken to wearing head to foot robes. We should know who is in our midst.

Given the rise in terrorism and the use of CCTV to capture suspicious behaviour, we are also thwarting the efforts of those paid to protect us if we allow certain sections of society to move amongst us incognito. A person wearing a balaclava in a crowded place would be arrested yet we allow the Muslim practice of 'disguise'. A head to to covering IS a disguise. Once again it would seem that causing offence of any sort to the Muslim community seems to be a priority. It is a conversation that is needed and many more enlightened Muslims are prepared to have it. We cannot continue to shy away from it.

Many 'liberal' countries have banned the covering of faces ie: the wearing of the burka or niqab. Angela Merkel called for a ban in Germany saying ”Show your face. The full covering is not permissible and should be banned." It is now an offence to cover the face in France, Belgium, Austria, Netherlands, Switzerland, in parts of Spain, Italy and many African countries like Chad, Cameroon, the Congo and Niger after terrorist attacks and suicide bombings. There has NOT been a Muslim backlash, perhaps because :-

"The Koran enjoins all Muslims – whether male or female – to dress modestly and refrain from revealing “any parts of their bodies, except that which is necessary”.

"Beyond this general instruction, the holy book offers no specific guidance on female clothing. Its pages contain no mention of the burka or, for that matter, of the other varieties of dress that are now associated with Islam, including the hijab, or veil."

The burka has been adopted more and more because of Islamic fundamentalism, which is not something we should ignore.

"The burka is a reflection of culture rather than an accepted interpretation of Islam and it remains an alien imposition in large areas of the Muslim world."

"Since the rise of Boko Haram, it has also come to be seen as a security risk, hence the gradual spread of the ban through West Africa."

www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/burka-bans-the-countries-where-muslim-women-cant-wear-veils/

If every politician was sacked for making an inflammatory or stupid (according to someone/body) remark, whether verbally or in print, who would run the country? As in my opinion every one of our existing MP's would be out of a job!!

PECS, you are absolutely right, nothing written or said by Boris is an accident, and it certainly is not anything to do with muslim headware per se, it is all about him finally, getting the press attention he wants. I am appalled by the number of people who think it is 'PC gone made' and talk about 'good old Boris'. Watch this space, he is a nasty, manipulative piece of work with ambitions and he doesn't care who he mixes with (Bannon) or who he offends to get what he wants.

I can't credit that so many on hear are as politically naïve as they seem to be! Johnson is a senior politician. He also has access to a regular column in a national daily paper. What he says is never accidental. it is carefully crafted and thought through. If a friend had said it at a party after a drink or two I might say they were a daft bugger and don't be so bloody rude. But if a person of influence, with a political agenda writes it in a paper they now what a furore they will cause. It is a political strategy probably done on the advice of his new BFF Steve Bannon

www.theguardian.com/.../steve-bannon-plans-foundation-to-fuel-far-right-in-e...

know not now

So true, PECS.

I think that why Boris said what he said is much more worrying than what he said.
When I commented on this to DH, asking him why on earth BJ would say what he did, knowing what reaction it would cause, his instant reply was that BJ was copying Trump. As DH is a Trump supporter, need I say any more?

A worrying sign of where British politics could be heading, I fear.

Day6 read my effing posts!
I do not like veils!!
I have said it several times but people appear so bigoted they ignore it because you want me to be saying something I am not!

I am not discussing the rights and wrongs of Burkas and NEITHER WAS JOHNSON. He was stirring the sh*t in the hope of getting racists on board with him and normalising ridiculing minority groups.. not just the few hundred women who wear veils. Burkas this week, gays, next, Jews, Black people etc etc.

www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007392

All I hope is that Boris doesn't feel browbeaten into issuing a grovelling apology, like so many have over so called 'racist' comments.

As is often the case, 'letter box' and 'bank robbers' have been commented on in isolation without being considered in the light of the whole piece.

I fear there may be a witch hunt by those who would like to see him ousted from the Conservatives.

Now I can't claim to be his biggest fan, but this has been blown out of all proportion by those who seem to positively delight in finding 'racist' comments to be outraged at.

Should Boris Johnson gain the Conservative party leadership out of these comments, he could become the best leader the Labour Party has ever had. :-)

But do you know why he said it MamaCaz - or assuming, like so many, that you think you know what and why he said this?

He is saying that there should not be a ban on burkas - even if he thinks that they are repressive.

We are far more liberal than many other European countries - should people not be more concerned about the ban on burkas in other parts of the EU than agonising over a daft remark from a politician who, quite frankly, still a journalist at heart?

If Johnson is being judged on the company he keeps then how can anyone defend Corbyn when he is called anti Semitic, I am sure .johnson who is an intellegent man and a journalist didn’t need guidance from anyone. He has pleased both sides in this.

is - missing from my post

As he has a Muslim great-grandfather and a Jewish step-mother, I don't think he is being 'racist'.

and, as I pointed out, Islam and Judaism too, are religions, not races.

Jalima1108

Yes, as I said, I now think I know why Boris has said this, but my theory is different from yours

Having thought about this,I don't think Boris cares one way or the other whether women wear such clothing, or whether there is a ban on it.
IMO, what he does care about is attracting the populist vote in preparation for when he finally makes his move towards the top job.

He has seen what had worked for Trump, and aims to do the same - play to our fears, whether real or imaginary. And you know what? It will probably work!

He was stirring the sh*t in the hope of getting racists on board with him

I totally disagree. I'd suggest that is your anti-Tory smearing of a topic that does concern many, many people, left wingers and Muslims included.

It is NOT racist to dislike a head to toe covering that fundamentalist Muslims are insisting their women wear. Muslim women are NOT obliged, because of their faith, to wear the niqab or burka so there is no good reason why they adopt it, other than maybe, to make a statement.

Johnson's statement was lacking in tact, clumsy and rude, but it served a purpose. Why are we frightened to have this discussion?

As I stated before, there hasn't been a Muslim backlash in countries where face covering has been banned, because there is actually nothing written in the Koran that insists women cover their faces. It is not a racist issue - it's one of sensibilities and the western cultural norm of speaking face to face being ignored.

It's not even a can of worms he's opened - it's a discussion the British are frightened to have. That is the most revealing issue regarding Boris's latest statement.

A lot of people are thinking that now.

I hope not!
To me he is forever the journalist, out to shock somewhat.

MWbroom, what do you think they look like covered head to toe in black, peering out of a slit? I think it looks threatening,that is my opinion, you don't have to agree, but please don't tell me how I must think. If they are necessary I wonder the men don't wear them, most of them are in western dress anyway. It is not religious it is choice. Boris has a right to his opinion, he makes me cringe a lot of the time, but I defend his right to say it. I personally dislike piercings and tattoos, others love them, we don't all have to agree. Every day in the House of Commons personal insults fly, I am not condoning it as it bebases the argument. I hope we continue to have people that voice what the public think, political correctness has gone mad.

My goodness does nobody read a post properly on here! Day 6 I have said about four times I know what the man wrote and I do not like veils. It is not actually about wearing burkas.

I totally agree that my political opinion , just as yours does, makes me consider this in a particular way! Doh!

GENERALLY SPEAKING ALERT: Those who are wary of immigration, immigrants and people being 'different' and 'spoiling' the UK will think his remarks are innocent and reflecting the thought of many (like them). Those who view immigrants in a more positive light and see the benefits & contributions they have made to the UK are more likely to see his remarks as calculated and divisive and trying to 'other' groups of people.

Jalima really? you think because he has some foreign ancestry he won't be racist? I do not think that is a hard and fast rule! He wants to be an active part of the ruling elite ..he'd sell his own granny for that!

Polly Toynbee, that bastion of the left, writing in The Guardian in 2001. She too dislikes fundamentalist Islam that oppresses women and uses the power of the burka/niqab as a signal to the west.

"All extreme fundamentalism plunges back into the dark ages by using the oppression of women (sometimes called "family values") as its talisman. Religions that thrive are pliable, morphing to suit changing needs: most Christianity has had to moderate to modernise.

Islamic fundamentalism flourishes because it too suits modern needs very well in a developing world seeking an identity to defy the west. And the burka and chador are its battle flags.

The war leaders are coy about this mighty cultural war of the worlds that is fought out over women's bodies."

We don't need to go into the religious aspects even. It is a form of dress that insults westerners, defies the convention of knowing who is standing next to you and creates distrust. That is enough reason to ban face covering, imo.

www.theguardian.com/world/2001/sep/28/religion.afghanistan

My goodness does nobody read a post properly on here!
you think because he has some foreign ancestry he won't be racist?

PECS I think I have posted twice that Islam is not a race. Nor is Judaism.

He wants to be an active part of the *ruling elite*

Oh dear. Straight from the Socialist worker maybe?

That's another tired old phrase. Corbyn is part of the 'ruling elite' All politicians are. Most are well educated. You object to that? Do you object to us being governed perhaps?

Johnson could easily have just stated an opinion that he found the wearing of burkas to be repressive, even made an argument about why they could be found unacceptable. However, that’s not what he did; instead he made rude and insensitive comments and this is why he is being investigated and why his motives are being questioned.

I think this is worth reading:
“Islam is not a race, but using arguments that rely on racial stereotypes and ignoring the newer forms of cultural racism that seek to ‘other’ on the basis of people’s names, how they look, their dress, and then using these cultural symbols as signifiers to treat people with contempt is a form of racism. It’s what leads to attacks on those who are Muslim and ‘appear’ Muslim. As political discourse portrays Muslims as an enemy within, racism has come to adjust and capitalise on this new ‘othering’ to whip up fears and anxieties, just as it has with other groups in the past.

metro.co.uk/2018/08/09/islam-is-not-a-race-but-singling-out-a-community-is-racism-whether-the-right-wing-say-so-or-not-7818644/?ito=article.amp.share.bottom.email