Veiled hypocrisy or blatant racism?

The NHS is to conduct a review into whether staff in England should be allowed to wear full face veils. Although the number of women who actually wear the niqab is thought to be very low, the debate is gathering momentum following the recent court case where a Judge ruled that an accused woman must remove the veil while giving evidence.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said “I think it is very important patients do get proper contact with the Doctors and nurses looking after them”. He then said that hospitals must come up with a policy that is right in their areas and that national guidelines were a matter for the professional standards bodies not politicians. This is typical of the atmosphere in this country, where everyone is terrified to say what they really believe or use the slightest excuse to further their agenda.

Mr Hunt went on to say “certainly if I was a patient myself, I’d want to see the faces of the doctor or nurse that was treating me”.

The arguments in favour of wearing the veil are plenty. Some claim it is the right of all women to wear whatever they choose, and should not be dictated to by men. Others claim it is a right to demonstrate their religious beliefs. In response others claim that women are forced to wear them by controlling Muslim men and the women should be free to show their face.

My belief is that all these arguments are valid and there will undoubtedly be cases where all these statements are true.

There are Muslim men who force their women, whether it be wives or daughters to dress in a certain way. The same could be said for many western men, who are equally as capable of trying to control and dominate women. I believe men and women should be free to express themselves by wearing what they like but I also believe that when they are at work they should be willing to follow a dress code if the job demands it. Would we like to see politicians or news readers dressed in tee shirts or revealing tattoos? Would people attend weddings and funerals in football shirts and track suits? Would school children be allowed to cast aside their uniforms and opt for pyjamas for the classroom, or is it simply a case of wearing appropriate attire?   

Banning the Berka or the veil would be as wrong as banning Hawaii shirts, but there is a time and place for certain outfits. If I had to be told I was terminally ill or that my nearest and dearest had passed away, it would not be unreasonable of me to expect face to face contact with bearer of the news.

Considering the aging population, the number of elderly people visiting hospitals is very high. Many of those patients may be deaf and rely on lip reading. How can we ensure patients understand if they cannot see the face of the person they are listening to?

Hospital appointments can be very stressful and often frightening events for many people and it is vital that patients trust the people who work there. Not being able to see someone’s face does not instil trust or comfort.

I absolutely disagree with anyone dictating what others should wear in their free time but we must not be bullied into allowing a free for all. Dress code is not a new thing nor is exclusive to Muslims.

 Personally, I don’t like baseball caps. Unfortunately the shape of my face makes me look like I have a serious illness when wearing a hat, and I fail to see the need to wear them indoors. Recently in a pub at tea time, with most of the patrons just finished work for the day, one of my colleagues was politely asked to remove his cap as it was “policy”. The cap wearer duly obeyed and removed the cap. The cap did not have any offensive logos or words on it. There is no possible rational explanation why someone should not be allowed to wear a hat while drinking beer, yet it was removed. There was no ism the man wearing the hat could use to defend his right to wear the hat. It wasn’t sexism or racism or ageism. The trouble with the neqab debate is that it affords too many bigots and racists an opportunity to say it should be banned because.. It gives too many feminists an opportunity to say this is an attack on women because..

There needs to be compromise. That is a word that is rarely used these days. There is entirely too much use of the phrase "it is my right".

Men and women who chose certain professions should choose a different profession if they want to express themselves by what they wear. If my doctor wants to wear flip flops and socks with checked flared trousers and a frilly shirt at weekends I don’t care. That is his right. If my local MP wants to wear shorts and tee shirt when he isn’t working I don’t care. If construction workers wear a suit on a Saturday night, I don’t care. There is always plenty of time to express oneself and wear whatever one wants but one should expect to respect the need to wear appropriate clothes for their role.

Recent polls have shown that interest in politics is on the increase, while trust and faith in the main two parties appears to be in decline. Three years of coalition austerity have caused hardship and discontent for millions. The introduction of the controversial so called bedroom tax and attacks on benefits have led to resentment from low income families while support for opposition leader Ed Miliband has never really taken off. His party is marginally ahead in most polls but his popularity remains low despite the unpopularity of the government. The Lib Dem core vote of students has deserted due to the u turn on tuition fees and the public still feels mistrust of the political classes following the expenses scandal. Minority parties such as UKIP and protest groups such as EDL have enjoyed some success as a result.

  Former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas appeared on BBC’s Question time last night. As the only elected MP the party has, she is to a large extent the face of the party. It was notable on the show that unlike her UKIP counterparts, that she has a valid opinion on most topics as well as the environment. While UKIP leader Nigel Farage takes every opportunity to voice his opinions on Europe and encourages our exit from the EU as a resolution to all our problems, Ms Lucas understands the issues and talks passionately on all subjects.

Current Green party leader Natalie Bennett, a former journalist, has told supporters her party are the only alternative to the “indistinguishable big Westminster parties”.

Running Brighton council as a minority administration since 2011 the party wants to ban advertisements aimed at children and is looking at different ways to boost the economy and end food poverty. Although the green agenda seems to have taken a back seat during the recession years of Con Dem leadership, the Green party appears to have gained credibility. It will use its conference this week to oppose the privatisation of Royal Mail and the NHS. Ms Bennett told her party “we will not rest until we have expelled every last corporate blood sucker from our NHS”.

No doubt the green issues that give the party is name are still very much on their agenda and will inevitably be at the forefront of their policies as we are emerging from recession but it is giving a left wing voice to people who feel marginalised and disengaged from the traditional parties who are looking for a fairer social system. Their website boasts the statement “A Green government will have the courage to pursue responsible solutions to our social, economic and environmental crises through its commitment to fairness, citizen participation, shared responsibility, peace and environmental protection”

Farage’s UKIP will continue to win popularity and increase the number of councillors it has, as it is largely made up of disgruntled Tories but the Greens can take floating votes away from all the main parties if it continues to debate the wider topics that effect everyday lives in Britain.

If they continue to push the other issues the future it seems may be Green.

 

 

Thirty years ago two men from Manchester, Steven Morrissey and John Maher formed what is considered today by many as the most influential Indi rock bands of the ‘80s.  Rough Trade Records signed The Smiths at a time when acts like Culture club and Kajagoogoo dominated the British charts. Hearing aide wearing Morrisey added his unique vocal style to the guitar melodies of Johnny Marr, (as he was now known). While most were rehashing oldies or churning out meaningless drivel, the anti-establishment quartet released four albums in as many years containing thought provoking lyrics about the royal family, vegetarianism and working class northern life.

While Adam Ant and Duran Duran experimented with make up and big hair, and Boy George took it a step further to almost full blown cross dressing, Morrissey looked like he had fallen in his mother’s wardrobe. With unbuttoned shirts and flowers hanging out of his pockets, he looked nothing like a typical pop star. Die-hard fans would claim the appeal of the Smiths had nothing to do with style and everything to do with substance. Many of Manchester’s most successful music acts such as the Stone Roses and Oasis name The Smiths as an influence.  It has been said by others that Morrissey was an arrogant pretentious player, cleverly exploiting a hole in the market while looking down his nose at the people he claimed to represent.

It is still difficult to pinpoint the reason for the success of the band. Titles such as Heaven knows I’m miserable now and Shoplifters of the world unite, did little to attract positive attention and yet a generation of students adored the band and their music and people who were not even born at the height of The Smiths success can still be seen wearing tee shirts featuring logos such as meat is murder and the queen is dead. Despite the longevity of their legacy, the band split in 1987 and unlike many bands have resisted reforming with Morrissey reportedly commenting that he would rather eat his own testicles.

The band have mainly managed to remain aloof and a bit of an enigma. Morrissey’s autobiography, due out next week, has just been shelved due to a “content disagreement” between the publishers and Morrissey. Whether this is a publicity stunt or not we will have to wait and see but if and when it hits the shelves it will make very interesting reading for millions of fans.

Theft is costing us an arm and a leg..

19 year old biker, Jack Baker of Bristol has had his false arm stolen from his bike. Mr Baker who lost his arm in an accident, had left the prosthetic limb attached to his bike while visiting his girlfriend’s house when thieves struck.

Another man from Leeds had his car and two prosthetic and a wheelchair stolen. The £2500 wheelchair was the victim’s lifeline after he lost both legs to meningitis as a child. Luckily for the victim, a local hospital worked around the clock to replace his legs so that he could walk his sister down the aisle on her wedding day, but the cost of replacing the chair is beyond the unfortunate victim.

Are there no depths that people will stoop to? I have never understood theft. One of the primary rules when I was growing up was you do not take other people’s belongings. It seems that such fundamental morals no longer exist in certain groups of people. Shoplifting and theft from companies is wrong. It’s not just illegal it is wrong but taking from another individual somehow seems much more personal and much more deplorable. Victims such as the two I have mentioned above cannot afford to write off the loss like businesses can and the items stolen were probably of little or no use to the people who took them. It is theft for the sake of spite. One can almost forgive theft from people so desperately poor that they cannot afford to eat. One can almost empathise with addicts who need to feed a habit and steal to PlayStation’s to buy drugs.

A 79 year old man, whose house in Bristol was burgled while he slept, had his false eye stolen. He had had the false eye since he was just six and said he considered the eye “part of his body”.

What use was it to anyone? It was cruel and despicable behaviour from people who are devoid of morals and deserve to lose their liberty. I don’t care if prisons are full and I don’t care if it costs tax payers to keep criminals in them.

Taking a things for the sake of the taking them is downright deprived. The people who commit these crimes should feel the full force of justice, but often sadly too many go unpunished all together.

Greater Manchester chief constable said today that only 40% of crimes are actually investigated. With government cuts meaning less police there is a tangible lack of Bobbies on the beat. With no visible deterrent and officers having to make difficult the difficult decision to not investigate 60% of crimes reported it is unlikely to improve. Many believe sentencing is too soft and that prisons are holiday camps providing 3 meals a day, flat screen TVs and Xboxes for its guests.

I don’t know if the public perception of prison is accurate, I suspect not but these attitudes towards it do nothing to prevent crimes.

Many people have known such levels of destitution, often through no fault of their own, that they simply cannot afford to eat or put on the heating and yet have never considered resorting to burglary and theft.

There will of course be do gooder’s who say it is due to lack of positive role models or that the criminals have nothing else to do. There will be others who claim it is because too many single Mother’s barely out of childhood themselves are bringing up feral kids with no idea how to do it and no money. They may claim its broken families with no male in the home. Some will probably say it the governments fault for giving them benefits.

The people responsible for these crimes are not victims of poverty; they are not victims of government policy. The thoughtless, selfish vile scum guilty of these shameful crimes are the product of a minority bereft of pride, dignity, humanity and consideration for others. They are thankfully a small minority but are growing and if left unpunished will flourish and spread like a disease.

Burglary and theft is often referred to as petty crime. It is not petty and often leaves the victims traumatised violated and afraid.  

Parents have a responsibility to teach their children what is morally acceptable. They have a responsibility to know where their kids are at 3am and they have a responsibility to be role models. The police have a responsibility to at least try to investigate as many crimes as is possible. If the investigation is unfruitful, at least the public perception might improve.

It’s not good enough to just send up a helicopter to patrol the skies when it is curiously close to budget times. Police need the power and resources to be able to catch and punish the people who are committing crimes against vulnerable innocent people. The belongings of convicted thieves should be confiscated and auctioned to compensate victims and perhaps those responsible might begin to understand how it feels to be relieved of your personal possessions.

Governments do have a responsibility to give the police the tools they need but we all have a responsibility to send a message to the people who violate others property that it should not and will not be tolerated.