I agree. Personally, I’ve never liked the cartoon.

In contrast, can the woman in the burka wear a bikini? Not according to the law of her homeland, not according to her husband, not according to her family, not according to her religion. Not even according to her own mind which is completely closed off to any other perspectives of life.

It is not liberal to adhere to cultures which are truly oppressive and it is not conservative to think that covering up is what makes a woman modest. We can respect these people as long as they aren’t bothering us, but lets not pretend that a woman in a bikini and a woman in a burka are the same things at opposite ends of the spectrum.

In contrast, can the woman in the burka wear a bikini? Not according to the law of her homeland, not according to her husband, not according to her family, not according to her religion. Not even according to her own mind which is completely closed off to any other perspectives of life.

It is not liberal to adhere to cultures which are truly oppressive and it is not conservative to think that covering up is what makes a woman modest. We can respect these people as long as they aren’t bothering us, but lets not pretend that a woman in a bikini and a woman in a burka are the same things and opposite ends of the spectrum.

You hit the nail on the head with this:

“In my opinion there is a big difference between attacking a religious person verbally or physically out on the street compared to challenging religious, cultural, traditional practises.”

Regressive left or pandering liberals a term I use.

I hope Henry Makow doesn’t have any children.

Thanks.
I sent you a good article I found and I think you will be interested in. You may have already read the article it’s dated 2015.

This is fairly old news, and not a problem. Our population has grown hugely (in % terms) in recent years, partly because we’re one of the few countries that came out of the GFC OK and partly because we need people to cope with a building boom (which itself was mostly caused by the Christchurch earthquake) and the downstream pressures that creates. Auckland especially needs tens of thousands of new houses and we can’t do that from existing resources. We don’t have a limit on immigration numbers, but we do have criteria for immigrants (except for a few categories in the Pacific Islands). So we should be able to deal with it OK, though people may have to wait a bit longer than usual to get through the process.

Poms don’t seem to whinge as much as they used to, and the ‘Barmy Army’ that comes here and travels the country following sporting events (like rugby and cricket) are pretty popular. In fact it’s a while since I’ve heard the phrase “whinging Pom.” It was VERY common in my youth though.

Excellent comment!

I still call myself a liberal but disassociate myself as much as possible from the regressive/authoritarian left. I do not consider them true liberals because they are prepared to excuse sexism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, and suppression of freedom of thought and action in an attempt not to appear bigoted.

This is why I recently Tweeted ‘No, I am not a liberal’. I thought I was a liberal until recently but it seems that some liberals are too quick to defend something as ‘it’s their culture’, ‘it’s their religion’, and ‘it’s their tradition’ and therefore making these things good excuses for sexist and oppressive acts to continue unchallenged.

It is important to be able to criticize religious, cultural, and traditional thinking and religious doctrine and any acts carried out in the name of religion.

It is extremely dangerous to ignore or even defend these things as being ‘culture’, ‘religion’, ‘tradition’.
For example – terrorism, slavery, child brides, forced and arranged marriages, ‘women should submit’ many Christian websites promote as do other religions.

In my opinion there is a big difference between attacking a religious person verbally or physically out on the street compared to challenging religious, cultural, traditional practises. There are many countries where it is illegal to not be a Muslim (or leave Islam), or to speak out against it. This situation at the moment is similar to the ‘Christian Persecution Complex’ the feeling that ‘to be a true Christian you have to suffer’ aka ‘be thrown to the lions’ and yes Christian persecution does happen in countries including Iraq but this is different to challenging religion, speaking out and questioning religion.

We also here the word ‘racism’ used in regards to challenge Islam and religious doctrine, however, it is not possible to convert to a race. If they are strong in their beliefs they need not worry about what people say when questioning and challenging religions, if they are insecure then what we say can be a threat to their beliefs. Others see their religion as their identity but personally I prefer to have my own identity and be unique and not be shackled to a religious set of ideas written by men many years ago.

At the end of the day, if we are not able to speak out against religious, cultural and traditional practises then we are likely to head down the line other countries have, and religions can continue to do what they like and get away with it. Religious privilege has to be done away with if we want to move forward and not backward. If we can’t challenge these things religions will grow and grow and in my opinion destroy humanity – history repeating itself.

For me, the burka represents a woman’s consecration to her husband and family. Only they see her.

Obviously women who aren’t married don’t exist. Or at least, shouldn’t exist. The profligate hussies.
And as for women who think they have opinions of their own, instead of their father’s (or other male guardian), well their fate is waist-deep in a pit under a hail of stones of between 250g and 750g! In the words of the immortal Freewheelin’ Frankin Freakowtski, “Hallejuleahbubble!”
Oh, sorry, I left out “barefoot, pregnant and chained to the kitchen sink”. That was an inadvertent slip and I’ll try to remember it for my next rant.