This is stupid. Who cares if someone takes offense by someone's cross?!
Religious jewelry is a-ok in my book; crosses, pentacles, Oms, ankhs, etc. All is fine. And if you're going to allow someone to wear their garb or headrag, then a religious charm should be allowed as well. And this is coming from a nonchristian if that matters. God! The stupidity is everywhere!
Well I think it's outrageous that she wants to wear a cross. What's the Country coming to? They'll be expecting to have Nativity plays in schools and hanging the Union Jack up next :rolleyes:
I am with Peter Hain on this one, a cross is a symbol of belief and not oppression, the hijab is also a symbol of belief, as is a turban, or a pentangle, or whatever. For a muslim women wearing a Burka then there are issues where people in general find it difficult to communicate or relate with someone who is completely covered except for their eyes, but thats only an issue where someone wearing a Burka has to do a job like an airline stewardess, a bank-clerk, or a school teacher, but in general life I don't see a real problem as long as its a personal choice, though I admit I find the Burka a bit disconcerting when I see someone wearing it, as its just strange from my own cultural viewpoint to completely cover yourself up from head to toe with only your eyes showing.
These certainly are issues that our societies are coming up against, and I think that it points out the fact that perhaps in the past many people didn't think through the fact that very obvious cultural differences do cause friction between people and just ignored some of the more difficult issues, thats no longer possible. Whats important now is for frank and open debate, and particularly for the traditional communities in countries such as Britain to be able to talk about these things and be able to express their own identity and celebrate it as well, without immeadiatly being branded as racisits or bigots. If English people in their own country which is called "England" for a reason or Scots in Soctland, or Welsh in Wales are made somehow to feel they are being racisits just because they want to live as British people and celebrate their own identity, flag, history, nationality, creed, and way of life then certainly something has gone terribly wrong indeed.
Obviously there are people on the fringes of any society that are bigots, but they are a tiny minority, in Ireland the IRA used the Flag of the Republic as a symbol of their cause, but it isn't their flag, its the flag of all Irish people and wasn't their to do with as they would, and in just the same way the cross of St George, the St-Andrews cross and the National anthem, belong to all British people not to the BNP or the UDA, if people have a problem with being British while living in Britiain then they should probably question what they are doing there in the first place, so in general I agree with most of the sentiments here.
"We are never so happy, never so unhappy, as we imagine"
Le Rochefoucauld.
"A smack in the face settles all arguments, then you can move on kid."
