Reply #154: Lots of people missing the point here

[wookie72]

It was a great story about connecting with another person, and we're focusing on her clothing.

1. We have no idea why she is in the burka. One possibility that few appear to be considering is that it is a conscious act of defiance against a culture that sees her as the enemy. Perhaps by wearing the burka she *wants* to stand out and make us uncomfortable, and she was genuinely taken aback and touched by bravo's actions
2. There is a lot of pressure to "ban" the burka, which I think is a very bad idea. The way you change people's habits is not by legislating them but by engaging with them.
3. I personally see the appeal of the headscarf (not the veil). It frames the face, and it allows the hair to be something that the woman shares only with those she wants to be intimate with. Would I ever want to see it required? Of course not. But I'm not going to ever want it banned.
4. There's a double standard about Islamic forms of dress. No one would ever suggest such measures as banning, say, Hasidic women from covering their hair, or forcing Amish people into zippers. I know I'm skirting towards Godwin's Law here, but the anti-semitism in Germany included such acts as Germans going up to Hasidic men and cutting their forelocks.
5. Again, I have to reiterate my appreciation of the OP. It's a small gesture, but so was refusing to move from one's seat on the bus.

I've never encountered anyone in the burka, but I've met in my job several women who wear the headscarf, and they have been uniformly gracious and pleasant.

Live and let live. It's not that hard.