A couple of years ago I was in the checkout line at the supermarket and there was a woman ahead of me wearing a head scarf. A man nearby started ranting loudly about Muslims – loud enough for the woman to hear.
At first I was silent, embarrassed about making a scene. But then another women in the next line started scolding him for being a bigot. And I realized that by staying silent I was complicit. So I started in on him too. We basically told him if he didn’t like living around people different from himself he should get out of America.
After he finished paying he stormed off, still ranting and grumbling. What was funny is that he had been bitching about minorities ruining the country in front of an Asian checker, a black maintenance man, and a Hispanic bagger. After he was gone they thanked us. “We all hate that guy, but we can’t say anything because we work here.”
**Americans **aren’t losing it with Muslims. **Bigots **are losing it with Muslims.
To the original question, a person wearing traditional dress may say something about that person. (We can debate exactly what, and how much it may say. But we’d do so privately.) This is different from wearing a political slogan that actually says something controversial.
We don’t normally think it polite to publicly take notice of things people do or display that say things about them, like the style of car they drive or the ostentatiousness of their accessories. But people who make political statements and engage in sloganeering actually invite notice and/or even interaction. So yes, I might treat the two cases differently. To do so would demonstrate neither hypocrisy nor cognitive dissonance.
For some reason my amused thought was, “I wonder who this guy going to support for Prez?”. Let’s see, certainly not the bleeding-heart liberal who proposes admitting 65,000 Syrian refugees, or anyone in her party. Certainly not the black guy, or either of the Cubans. So who that’s currently prominent in the polls is going to appeal to this racist jerk? It’s hard to know!
For me the most frustrating part of the OP is the false dichotomy implied by the title. Americans are losing it with Muslims?
The Muslims encountered in the OP were almost certainly Americans. Many Muslims are Americans. It’s false and misleading to imply “Americans” and “Muslims” are equivalent types of groups, or that they’re necessarily opposed.
To address the points you have made seriatim[sup]*[/sup]:
[ul]
[li]My impression arises from the vitriol heaped on supporters of same-sex marriage bans here on the SDMB – indeed, in this very thread, the hypothetical T-shirt wearer is derided as being “trash.” It does not arise from any aspect of my own morality, guided or mis-.[/li][li]No one said they didn’t care prior to my asking the question[/li][li]I have not questioned or rejected anyone’s answer to the question as being less than fully truthful[/li][li]I cannot possibly imagine what “hand” I have tipped, and what it has revealed[/li][/ul]
I considered rebutting your allegations in decreasing order of their incoherence, but realized that the all essentially were vying for first place.
That may well be the case–it’s why I asked the question.
See, the thing is that I’m almost certain I remember reading harsh judgments directed at T-shirt wearers with similar messages here, but I can’t recall the specifics. It was that faint pseudo-memory that prompted my question.
Bricker’s example was more than a fashion choice, but an explicit political statement that openly opposes the equal rights of some Americans who see it.
All right. And I’m sure you’re right, just as there are some who glare, etc. the other way round. Which proves nothing except that people can be jerks. We knew that.
A minor point perhaps, but in the interest of technical correctness…
The woman described in the OP was almost certainly wearing niqab, which is neither a shroud nor a burqa. (It would be correct to call it a “veil,” if you liked.)
Because it’s her choice. Just like we tolerate idiots who walk around in black neighborhoods, snickering behind their “stars and bars” caps. Or a lot of posturing online. Or anything else that’s not frigging illegal. Is this even a real question?
The most I do at other people’s fashion choices is an internal eye roll and the thought that they’re trying too hard. Mostly, I feel they’re just giving me advance warning on whether to engage or not. I’ve never seen anything that I thought should be censored or, certainly, acted on like, “Oh noes! They may be concealing a bomb!!” Or handgun / whatever. I can’t live in that much fear. Sorry.
Well, and I think this is related to what elbows feels you’ve tipped your hand about is that considering a woman in a homophobic t-shirt as being analogous to a woman in a burqa is disconcerting to some of us as it implies you feel that either the burqa is roughly as incendiary as the t-shirt or the t-shirt is as unremarkable as the burqa.
A woman in a burqa is wearing her religion on her sleeve as it were, but that’s hardly unusual and not particularly noteworthy nor does it necessarily provide insight into dogma as I assume progressive/liberal muslim women may choose to wear burqas as well.
Someone in a shirt saying "“Marriage = One Man + One Woman. Period.” is already spoiling for a fight, is pre-emptively declaring disrespect for my person and attempting to impose restrictions on general society that have no affect on her.
So, yes, I see them differently but I do not think that reveals a hypocrisy on my part. You may feel differently though I don’t particularly care if you do.
Bricker seems to be under the impression that he has created a brilliant analogy wherein someone flaunting an offensive political proclamation in my face that challenges the fundamental tenets of equality and basic civil rights is exactly equivalent to someone wearing a garment from a different country or culture and minding his or her own business. This impression of equivalency is not correct.
And you’ll continue to read them. If you can’t find any I’ll be happy to provide some for you – I more or less already did, above. It’s not complicated. Some of us advocate a just and peaceful society in which people who don’t harm others are left alone to enjoy their freedoms and civil rights, whether they are gays getting married or Muslims wearing clothing that may be strange to some westerners. It’s those who belligerently meddle in other people’s business or exercise bigotry and prejudice against anyone who is not like themselves that I have a problem with. The logic here isn’t all that hard to grasp.
Quite funny.
But of these people who wrote these comments, how many dress up the wife in a burqa you think?
Would people who dress in a burqa or wear that beard and robes, write comments like that?
