[kj] Jaz Straw

[Juliet Pleming]

Am I getting through because I just wrote a long letter that disappeared
into nowhere.
 
Juliet
 
-----Original Message-----
From: gathering-bounces at misera.net [mailto:gathering-bounces at misera.net]
On Behalf Of culturevirus
Sent: 11 October 2006 18:38
To: A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)
Subject: Re: [kj] Jaz Straw
 
Bob, as I said before I'm US based, I don't know Jack Straw from Jack
Shit. I have no idea whether he's Jewish (why does that matter anyway?)
or whether he's a carpetbagger. I don't know anything about the man, but
from reading the column it sounds to me like he's just pointing to
something that is a barrier to communication between some Muslims and
some non-Muslims. It's just something for both communities to think
about. Does that equate to concern for Muslim women? I think it can,
this traditional dress is somewhat of a barrier to integration into the
larger British population and until those wearing the dress understand
that and non-Muslims become familiar with the reasons the dress is worn
and respect those decisions, full integration will not occur. But again
I don't know the man or your political climate.

Robert Mallett <robert at jrcardwell.fsnet.co.uk> wrote:
But as Straw pointed out early in his column, many women do choose to
wear head coverings of some type. If you ask these women many of them
will respond that like school uniforms it keeps them equal with their
peers and reduces the distraction of clothing differences and focuses
peoples attentions on the wearer and not the clothes. Such clothing can
make women feel empowered as they no longer face distracted men who are
(even subconciously) checking out their physical features and are forced
to deal with the woman as a social equal.

 Are you really trying to tell me that a New Labour politician like Jack
Straw is seriously making these statements out of a sense of welfare for
Muslim women? OK, he's a constituency MP for an area that is heavily
Muslim, but did he choose to go there and represent them. He is, is he
not, Jewish after all? Straw is a career politician for God's sake, all
that matters to him is his career and his career prospects and nothing
else.
 
bob
----- Original Message ----- 
From: fluw <mailto:fluwdot at earthlink.net>  
To: A list about <mailto:gathering at misera.net>  all things Killing Joke
(the band!) 
Sent: Wednesday, October 11, 2006 12:38 PM
Subject: Re: [kj] Jaz Straw
 
very well put perspective...top notch post culturevirus. thanks for that


culturevirus wrote: 
coming out of lurkdom again... being a US based person, the politics of
Britain are mostly unknown to me, but we have roughly the same set of
circumstances in the US. I have yet to hear/read of any of our
politicians speaking on the subject in such a level-headed manner as Mr.
Straw. Our politicians tend to speak in small words and short sentences
so as to discourage deep thought on issues and therefore maintain
knee-jerk voting based on political hatred for "the other party".

Ade's comment (echoed by a few others) reflects the way a lot of us
Westerners view the hijab: as a way to keep women down or force women to
shoulder the burden of policing the male sexual drive. I know part of me
feels that way as well. But as Straw pointed out early in his column,
many women do choose to wear head coverings of some type. If you ask
these women many of them will respond that like school uniforms it keeps
them equal with their peers and reduces the distraction of clothing
differences and focuses peoples attentions on the wearer and not the
clothes. Such clothing can make women feel empowered as they no longer
face distracted men who are (even subconciously) checking out their
physical features and are forced to deal with the woman as a social
equal.

I recently read a book on the history of The Habit (Catholic nun garb)
and many nuns feel the same way. Within the communities of these women
there is disagreement over whether such attire has an overall positive
or negative affect on their place in society. Nearly all agree however,
that it sets them apart from other women and puts them in a frame of
reference that is unique among their sex.

In a perfect world women will choose to wear such attire for what they
feel it does for them as a person and not what their sub-culture expects
of them.

I am culturevirus

ade  <mailto:ade at the-lab.zetnet.co.uk> <ade at the-lab.zetnet.co.uk> wrote:

I dunno. I just think it's odd to defend a way of keeping women down.
Nevertheless, I'll defend the right
to wear the things!
 

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