[Jabberwalker]

Unsound Unsound:

Jabberwalker Jabberwalker:

Yes, that's true.

Welcome to the New World. Please check your baggage at the border.

So... i should stop eating pickled herring? Cause that's almost as harmless as the hijabs that you seem to be so bothered by. Or any other head covering. i agree that covering the face in public makes most of us uncomfortable, but i don't know if "uncomfortable" is reason enough to ban something. That said, I do agree that they need to be willing to uncover their faces in certain situations like court or for driver's licensing.

I'm getting really tired of seeing every new immigrant group going out of their way to ghettoize themselves. This will not end in a happy, unified Canada.

Immigrant groups have ghettoized themselves since there were immigrant groups. 2nd and 3rd generation slowly start integrating and moving away from their exclusive ethnic groups. Look up some of the new stories and studies from the last century when the big concern was if the catholics would ever be able to integrate into our western society.

I would have you stop eating pickled herring if you used it as declaration that you are separate from the rest of the surrounding culture. There have been Muslim women in Canada for a few generations, already and you NEVER saw hijabs being worn until 9/11 came along. Now, it's ... what ... a declaration of solidarity with Islam everywhere? Is that what we're being told?

[DrCaleb]

GreenTiger GreenTiger:

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

bambu bambu:

Anything that hides the face should be banned in public.

IMHO there should be exceptions to that rule depending upon the face in question.

This is the kind of face that should be painted on the bow of a war ship.

Looks like it was.

[bambu]

People can't help what they look like.
We're not in our prime in old age.

[GreenTiger]

bambu bambu:

People can't help what they look like.
We're not in our prime in old age.

Good Point.

[stratos]

$1:

We're not in our prime in old age.

Speak for yourself, I will be a stud in my old age.

[Unsound]

Jabberwalker Jabberwalker:

I would have you stop eating pickled herring if you used it as declaration that you are separate from the rest of the surrounding culture. There have been Muslim women in Canada for a few generations, already and you NEVER saw hijabs being worn until 9/11 came along. Now, it's ... what ... a declaration of solidarity with Islam everywhere? Is that what we're being told?

If you've ever smelled Herring breath you know it's a declaration of something...

And so what if more muslim women are using a head covering to show solidarity, or perhaps to show that they're not scared or intimidated by people like you? When anti-anything feeling rises in a society the targeted group generally reacts in 2 ways. they try to hide who they are and appease the haters, or they embrace their identity and challenge the haters. Which kind of person do you respect more?

[Curtman]

Trudeau takes a swing at Quebec religion plan; other politicians stay on sidelines

$1:

Justin Trudeau became the first prominent federal politician to oppose Quebec's controversial plan to ban religious headwear for public employees.

The Liberal leader castigated the idea and said the Parti Quebecois government would damage Quebec's reputation if it proceeded with such a policy.
...
Other party leaders, meanwhile, avoided comment.

A media report this week published leaked details of the controversial PQ proposal — saying it would prohibit people like doctors, teachers and public-daycare workers from donning turbans, kippas, hijabs and visible crucifixes.

After his meeting with Marois, Trudeau said they agreed to disagree. The Liberal leader said the plan was motivated by a defensive "fear of the other" and unworthy of modern Quebec.

"Like we saw with the (recent) soccer turban ban, people laughed at Quebecers," said Trudeau, a Quebec MP.

"And I don't think it's who we are and I don't think it honours us to have a government that does not represent our generosity and openness of spirit as a people."

The Prime Minister's Office, for its part, said: "It's a debate that will occur at the provincial level," while Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney tweeted late Wednesday that "freedom of religion is a universal principle." The previous day NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, whose party has nearly five-dozen seats in Quebec, sidestepped the issue by calling the leaked report a "trial balloon.''

Trudeau said the purported plan was responding to a non-existent problem and said he couldn't understand which rights the PQ was seeking to protect that weren't already protected in the Canadian or Quebec charters of rights.

He said state institutions should indeed be neutral, like the Quebec government says, but he added that the individuals who work there are entitled to their religion and freedom of expression.

The best remedy to fear of outsiders, he said, is already taking place in Quebec: kids from all over the world are getting to know each other, learning French, playing hockey, and contributing to a Quebecois culture that doesn't negate their roots.

No comment from Steve?

$1:

Harper said that Canadians are fortunate to live in a society where freedom of conscience does not carry the threat of persecution or violence. But he added that “while we are thankful to live in a country that spares us such tests, we must not let our comfort be an excuse to shirk our commitment to the cause of freedom. That is why I am pleased to announce that a re-elected Conservative government will create a special Office of Religious Freedom.”

[andyt]

Anything that doesn't hide the face should be OK.

[Unsound]

So will they create a "religious symbol" police to enforce this? Or just expand the duties of the language police? I imagine the Taliban or the Saudis could give them a few tips on how to go about enforcing this kind of law.

[Unsound]

Curtman Curtman:

No comment from Steve?

I suspect the Steve knows that part of the reasoning behind the law is to try picking a fight with the federal government so the separatists can cry victim and whinge about the anti-Quebec bias in the government. He knows the courts and the voters of Quebec the best option for squashing this thing and is, smartly imo, just trying not to make things worse or play into Marois' game.

[Jabberwalker]

And so what if more muslim women are using a head covering to show solidarity, or perhaps to show that they're not scared or intimidated by people like you?

"...people like me" ?

What kid of people are those?

I don't have any problem living in a multicultural environment but I think that official multiculturalism in Canada has been a failure. It encourages people to live separately from each other, to advertise that they are different and often to feel superior to the rest of us because of this fetish of 'differentness". My own background is somewhat multicultural as is almost anyone who's family has been in North America as long as mine has (14 generations).

This place is much greater than the sum of its parts, so stop trying so hard to be "a part" and join in the greater Canada. Official multiculturalism has been a failure, in the long run.

So, what kind of horrible monster does that make me?

[Zipperfish]

They should change the Freedom of Religion to Right to Wear Funny Hats.

[Jabberwalker]

Zipperfish Zipperfish:

They should change the Freedom of Religion to Right to Wear Funny Hats.

Here we go ... another bigot that doesn't like lawn dwarfs.

[Zipperfish]

I quite like dwarfs. But I hate gnomes.

[ShepherdsDog]

Unsound Unsound:

Jabberwalker Jabberwalker:

My only objection is that garb like this is a declaration of the wearer's separatism from the rest of us. There is certainly room for non-conformity but a lot of this borders on insulting the already existing Canadian culture. "I wear a scarf on my head as a symbol that I'm better than you, kafir."

or... I wear a scarf on my head as a symbol of modesty before my god...

but your interpretation is better. Carry on.

Greek(and other variants) Orthodox women wear a similar head covering