You also might consider that anyone using that last sentence of yours is likely as simple-minded as the other side.

A ‘society’ that insists on women being less valued than men isn’t to be admired, especially when that ‘society’ does not want women to do anything but bear children, may not go out without permission (in a burqa or not) and seeks to reduce them to objects who may never make a contribution to the world.

The burqa is not personal clothing; it is a requirement of a male-dominated (and often misogynistic) religion, and a requirement that has often been enforced violently. I am sure that, once you rest your I-am-a-liberal-so-I-don’t-understand inflexibility and acknowledge your inability to understand larger issues, you may begin to see that having women scared to be themselves isn’t very good at all.

But liberals have always been notorious for not facing up to issues. Their intellectualizing (usually pretty juvenile) is rooted in blame rather than solutions. It seeks to narrow opportunities in the name of some unproved ideals. Truth must never be revealed in case all their cheap idols fall down.

Feminists themselves will only rail against the things they can cope with; better for them to pretend the world is at fault than look at matters that need real attention or show concern for oppressed women. Which is why they never speak out against the Islamist thugs who throw acid at schoolgirls wanting an education, never question the rituals of forced marriages of young females to old men and the ever-present ‘honor killings’ to protect the supposed shame of men.

Remember, when a liberal speaks it is no more than the passing of hot air from swallowing half-digested dogmas and regurgitated bile.

Furthermore, punishing the women who are forced to wear the burqa will only relegate them to the confines of their homes. Banning the burqa will not eradicate the real problem of oppression in certain Muslim communities, just put a facile band-aid on it for all the xenophobes and right-wingers to feel comfortable with.

It would be nice if the ignorant would also remain silent. In other words if you know nothing about something, then say nothing.

All those persons who believe that women who wear burqas do so because of “choice” are exercising their right to be ignorant of Islam.

Further, anyone who believes that women wear burqas by choice in 34 celsius weather, not only want their heads examining, but should be made to wear a burqa during the examination.

Anyone who knows anything about Islam also knows that women in burqas are religious captives being “held against their wills”.

I would not, however, ban burkas outright. I would give businesses the “right” to choose whether or not to have a burqa clad individual enter their premises.

After all, if entering a bank, for example, wearing a ski-mask or a helmet is against the law in some places, why should an unidentified spectre be allowed in a public place? Who knows what is under a head-to-toe covering burka? Who is to say it is not another terrorists.

Some one said “a breach of common sense is a breach of some law”. In this regard the burka has little going for it.

Sometime ago in Pakistan during the seige of a mosque by soldiers, two wanted males inside the mosque were discovered trying to escape from the mosque dressed in, you guessed it, burqas. Many acts of terrorisms have been committed by burqa clad persons, simply because, I suppose, these women are less suspected than men. Why, I am not sure.

Burqas, in my view, defy common sense, since they are ugly, obviously uncomfortable in hot climates, being usually made of dark, heavy materials, and potentially dangerous, since one can never say for sure who or what is under one of them.

Wow. I really can’t find the logic, but it’s kind of funny at least…

This just shows the authoritarianism that the right embraces, all the while claiming to be the party of liberty and less gov’t. I would not support a ban on the Burqa, anymore than I’d support the gov’t curtailing any freedom of expression I find repugnant (and I do find it repugnant). But then again, I don’t believe in authoritarianism as the center of a political movement, so go figure.

Whatever happened to trying to change you fellow citizen’s minds instead of reaching for gov’t bans? If a women is being held (or dressed) against her will, the gov’t should of course intervene.

But let’s be clear: you’re for the GOV’T dictating to private citizens what they can and cannot wear! What’s the punishment, BTW? Lock ‘em up?

Big gov’t conservatism: the worst of all worlds…..

The women’s movement now ‘tolerates’ aspects of a very intolerant religion, especially towards women, as if doing so makes them somehow more civilized?, gentile?, intelligent? than the rest of us, but they are really just avoiding the issues; just as they change the terminology from ‘baby’ to ‘fetus’ to ‘fetal material’ to make THEMSELVES more comfortable with their choices. Burqas are seen as ‘choice’ rather than symbols of the extreme oppression they actually are, and so it’s more comfortable. I would suggest that a burqa is far more oppressing than a bra ever was.

If the elites succeed in taking down our economy with their silly ideas, I suspect THEY are the ones who are in for a BIG surprise when it comes to basic survival skills, should, say, the electical grid fail. Sarah Palin’s family will be fed, no matter what.

I am not sure I would ban the likes of the burqa outright. Maybe, but I’d worry about exceptions for those who wear something of the sort for cosmetic purposes (eg to cover scares-chldren scarring) or other reasons.