In the news

The ‘BBC’ apparently ‘reporting’ on a dangerous driver... seems a bit flippant. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-45079207

'Reckless'? That's just like your opinion man.

I liked the group 'Wahey' when the unmarked police car turned the sirens on.

August 2018: Ben Stokes "mocked gay couple before fight, court hears"

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/aug/06/cricketer-ben-stokes-mocked-gay-couple-before-nightclub-fight-jury-hears

October 2017: "Two men hail Stokes as 'hero' for protecting them from homophobic attack"

http://m.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/98050/two-men-hail-ben-stokes-england-cricket-player-as-hero-for-protecting-them-from-homophobic-attack

This story is quite odd. The latter article features quotations from the couple mentioned in the first, and they suggest Stokes was partying with them and came to their aid.

Now it's in court, the prosecution is suggesting that they were subject to abuse from him, including mockery and having a lit cigarette flicked at their head.

eagerly awaiting the wall to wall media coverage of the tory party's islamophobia problem. they won't tho, will they.

or does johnson get a pass because it's the wrong sort of racism, or is it because everyone knows he's a racist so... meh?

alex jones hoofed off the internet.

terms and conditions apply, motherfucker.

It is not racist to challenge religion (I would encourage everyone to do so).

Wearing a Burka (out of choice or otherwise) should not be normalised. It should not be offensive to point this out.

there's challenging religion and there's openly mocking people and punching downwards in an article specifically designed to incite anti-muslim thoughts and acts.

johnson is a racist opportunist of note. if you don't realise this, you've not been paying attention.

The thing you have to remember about Boris is everything he does is calculated. He still has party leadership in his sights and this is another stepping stone to that.

A lot of people will agree with the comments in the article about how banning burkhas is the wrong thing to do, and overlook the racist undertones of what comes next. Some non-racist people will think that it's ok to mock religion and see him as a "breath of fresh air" saying what he thinks and refusing to apologise for his opinion etc

It's another move in a big game of chess and he's seen how Trump won his game. Plus he's a massive bell end.

It is dog whistle politics I think.

If Johnson was so convinced about social integration he'd reform schools ,remove religious privilege and work on getting everyone together regardless of class/background etc. and not just slag off Burka wearing.

Even though I hate that sort of thing where women have to cover up and men can do whatever, I don't think BoBo actually wants to create any healing/solutions.

Unfortunately, it’s a wedge issue where the maths are on Johnson’s side
https://yougov.co.uk/news/2016/08/31/majority-public-backs-burka-ban/

Absolutely. It's pernicious racism, specifically designed to appear reasonable and boost his stock with the "tells it like it is" mob. He is a very dangerous operator chasing power at all costs.

Plus he's a massive bell end.

And this.

^ This, ^^^ this and ^^^^ this. He wants to be booted out of the party and to use this 'martyrdom' to his advantage (and has done for some time). Edit: or they don't withdraw the whip, as the govt is in a precarious position, and it legitimises him - he sees it as win-win.

I've never even seen a woman wearing a burqa or a niqab in real life in britain and I bet most of those old people in the yougov poll who want to ban them haven't either.

I don't see anybody calling for Orthodox Jews to dress more conventionally, which does make the focus on burqa and niqab look a wee bit like it's got less to do with religion than it has to do with straight islamophobia, yeah?

There's nothing "dogwhistle" about it. It's blatant and calculated racism designed to appeal to the "Political correctness gone mad!" brigade. It's a leadership bid. He's an appalling careerist scumbag with absolutely no morals.

I've never even seen a woman wearing a burqa or a niqab in real life in britain

really? even in that there London? a couple of students at uni do - both are quite english (in different ways), none of the forrins do.

Yep, even in London! I don't go to or work in a university though, so I won't see them there ;)

My understanding is that women who choose to wear them are such a tiny minority that most people will have to look pretty hard to find one. You're far more likely to casually encounter a member of the Football Lads Alliance, for e.g., who are probably a bit more dangerous than a small number of women in religious dress.

Wonder where he stands on a nun's wimples/veils/etc. - it could be argued they serve a similar purpose (hide the female form, de-sexualise them in public, etc, etc.)?

or these bellwhiffs.

Women who have taken a vow of chastity, you say?

No, I can't see him being a fan

I wonder how many of the people outraged by Johnson's remarks have actually read what he wrote in full. It's behind a Telegraph pay/registration wall and you have to at least register to read it.

I suspect many haven't, partly because if they had they'd have realised that it was actually an argument against banning burkas and his comments were actually quite thoughtful.

I do think saying that burka wearers look like letter boxes is ill considered, but the wider context of the article seems to have got lost in everyone's keeness to bash Boris (which is something I enjoy as much as the next person).

Here's the paragraph with the postbox reference:

If you tell me that the burka is oppressive, then I am with you. If you say that it is weird and bullying to expect women to cover their faces, then I totally agree – and I would add that I can find no scriptural authority for the practice in the Koran. I would go further and say that it is absolutely ridiculous that people should choose to go around looking like letter boxes; and I thoroughly dislike any attempt by any – invariably male – government to encourage such demonstrations of “modesty”, notably the extraordinary exhortations of President Ramzan Kadyrov of Chechnya, who has told the men of his country to splat their women with paintballs if they fail to cover their heads.

It's also worth reading the following paragraph:

If a constituent came to my MP’s surgery with her face obscured, I should feel fully entitled – like Jack Straw – to ask her to remove it so that I could talk to her properly. If a female student turned up at school or at a university lecture looking like a bank robber then ditto: those in authority should be allowed to converse openly with those that they are being asked to instruct. As for individual businesses or branches of government – they should of course be able to enforce a dress code that enables their employees to interact with customers; and that means human beings must be able to see each other’s faces and read their expressions. It’s how we work.

I also believe that the burka is oppressive and ridiculous and more importantly a garment whose very design was created to subjugate women: burkas were created to hide women from the eyes of men lest they dishonour themselves. So I find this liberal outcry in support of them quite strange.

Haha! Good point and a whole other discussion about the unpleasantness of the man.

I'm surprised by that, I see enough that it isn't even notable. Not just in London either, you see plenty in smaller towns up in the North West as well.

none of which takes into account women that choose to wear it as an expression of their faith.

johnson is a fucking crybully. He wasn't aiming to help oppressed Muslim women, he was feeding the fear and demonstrating his overt prejudice.

none of which takes into account women that choose to wear it as an expression of their faith

Which I seem to remember is why Jack Straw got into hot water on the same subject.

And yes, the railing against Johnson's chosen subject has more to do with his perceived motivation (on here at least).