A FRENCH COURT HAS REFUSED TO LIVE EIGHT ñ LIFT A
BAN ON WHAT IS CALLED THE BURKINI.
IT IS ONE WHEREFORE FUNDAMENTALIST MUSLIMS WHO WANT
TO COVER THEIR WOMEN WHEN THEY GO TO THE BEACH.
THERE ARE PICTURES OF THE BURKINI, THEY ARE COVERED FROM
HEAD TO ANKLE FOR THE MOST PART, AND IN FRANCE THERE IS NOT ONLY
A BAN ON THE BURKINI, THERE IS A BAN ON MOST MUSLIM
RELIGIOUS APPAREL.
PART OF THE REASON WHY IS BECAUSE THEY WANT TO PUSH THIS
IDEA OF A SECULAR SOCIETY, BUT AT THE SAME TIME A LOT OF
MUSLIMS LIVING IN FRANCE FEEL LIKE THEY ARE BEING TARGETED AND
DISCRIMINATED AGAINST BECAUSE OF THEIR RELIGION.
THIS IS A REALLY INTERESTING AND DIFFICULT CASE FOR SOMEONE LIKE
ME BECAUSE I HATE THE BURKINI, AND I HATE THOSE HEADDRESSES AND
I HATE THE FACT THAT THEY COVER UP WOMEN LIKE THAT, BUT AT THE
SAME TIME, BANNING SPECIFIC RELIGIOUS APPAREL I THINK
DOES, YOU KNOW, DISCRIMINATE AGAINST CERTAIN GROUPS OF
PEOPLE AND I'M NOT IN FAVOR OF THAT EITHER.
WHAT I WOULD PREFER IS THAT WE HAVE A SYSTEM OF EDUCATION
IN PLACE SO THAT THESE WOMEN FEEL EMPOWERED TO MAKE A
DECISION FOR THEMSELVES.
IN THE UNITED STATES, THERE ARE PLENTY OF PEOPLE WHO COME
FROM CONSERVATIVE BACKGROUNDS.
I CAME FROM A CONSERVATIVE BACKGROUND.
I HAD CERTAIN TRADITIONS THAT MY FAMILY REALLY PUSHED ON ME,
AND I'D REBELLED AGAINST THAT BECAUSE I WAS EMPOWERED BY
EDUCATION.
IF YOU ALLOW NATURE TO TAKE ITS COURSE IN A FREE AND OPEN
SOCIETY, EVENTUALLY SOMETHING AS RIDICULOUS AS THE BURKINI
WILL BE PHASED OUT.
I LARGELY AGREE WITH YOU, THOUGH NOT EVERYBODY WILL.
LET'S DO A YOUTUBE POLL ON THIS AS WELL.
WHEN I SEE A BURKINI, I RECOIL AT IT.
NOT BECAUSE I THINK THE PEOPLE WEARING IT ARE BAD PEOPLE,
OF COURSE NOT, THEY ARE HUMAN BEINGS, WE DEFEND THEM ALL
THE TIME.
OF COURSE NOT, BUT IT BECOME ñ BUT IT COMES FROM A CULTURE
THAT HAS BRAINWASHED PEOPLE THAT THE HUMAN BODY IS A BAD THING,
AND GUYS HAVE UNCONTROLLABLE IMPULSES, AND MY GOD IF THEY
WERE TO SEE ABOVE YOUR ANKLE THEY GO NUTS AND ATTACK YOU.
AND THE WOMEN ARE TO BE PUT AWAY, AND WHEN YOU HAVE THAT
ATTITUDE, IT PERMEATES THROUGH OTHER THINGS.
SO YES, I'VE SEEN PEOPLE IN BURQAS ñ ACTUALLY, I'M NOT SURE
I HAVE SEEN SOMEONE IN A BURQA BE A DOCTOR.
I ASSUME THERE ARE, BUT I DON'T KNOW.
CERTAINLY IN HIS JOBS, NO QUESTION.
HEADSCARVES, THERE ARE DOCTORS, PROFESSORS, ETC.; LAWYERS.
AT THE SAME TIME ñ AND WE ARE ONLY PRODUCT OF HOW WE GREW UP.
I GREW UP VERY SECULAR AS A TURK.
BACK IN THE DAY, NOW TURKEY IS MORE FUNDAMENTALIST, BUT
BACK IN THE DAY TURKEY WAS A VERY SECULAR MUSLIM COUNTRY.
IT RIVALED THE U.S.
FOUR HOW SECULAR IT WAS DOTTIE WAS BUILT IN THE CONSTITUTION,
IT WAS BUILT INTO OUR CULTURE, AND I KNOW PEOPLE, WHEN THEY
SAW ANYBODY WITH A HEADSCARF, NOT THE OLDER CROWD, BUT THEY ñ
WHEN THEY WOULD SEE A WOMAN WHO COVERS YOURSELF IN A HEADSCARF,
OR GOVERNMENT ñ I JUST DID IT, GOD FOR BID ñ A BURQA.
THEY WOULD MUTTER TO THEMSELVES, MAKE GOD DAMN THEM.
BECAUSE FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVE ñ I'M NOW AGNOSTIC, SO I DON'T
HAVE ANY OF THEIR PERSPECTIVE, BUT THEY THOUGHT THAT IT WAS NOT
A RELIGIOUS THING TO COVER UP WOMEN, THAT IT WAS A STUPID
INTERPRETATION OF THE RELIGION, AND IT WAS TO OPPRESS WOMEN.
THAT'S THE CULTURE I GREW UP IN, SO THAT'S MY NATURAL REACTION.
HAVING SAID ALL THAT, AGAINST THE BURQA AND TO SOME DEGREE THE
HIJAB, ONE I WILL PROTECT YOU UNTIL THE END IF THAT'S WHAT YOU
WEAR, BECAUSE YOU ARE ALL HUMAN BEINGS, THERE'S NO SET OF HUMAN
BEINGS THAT ARE WORSE THAN ANY OTHER SET OF HUMAN BEINGS, ETC.
NUMBER TWO, I BELIEVE IN FREEDOM, AND IF YOU BELIEVE WITH
A SECULAR CULTURE, THAT ALLOWS PEOPLE TO MAKE THAT CHOICE.
I HEAR YOU, BECAUSE WE ALL GET BRAINWASHED, IS IT REALLY A
CHOICE?
BRAINWASHED INTO OUR PARTICULAR RELIGION, OUR PARTICULAR
CULTURE, ETC.
BUT WE CAN'T, AS A SOCIETY, DO THE SAME WRONG THING THAT
FUNDAMENTALIST SOCIETIES DO.
SO IRAN SAYS I'M GOING TO HAVE MORALITY POLICE AND MAKE
SURE YOU ARE NOT EXPOSING ANY SKIN.
FRANCE IS IN ESSENCE SAYING THE EQUAL AND OPPOSITE THING,
WHICH IS, I'M GOING TO HAVE MORALITY POLICE TO MAKE
SURE YOU ARE EXPOSING YOUR SKIN.
THAT'S ALSO A REALLY WEIRD COMPONENT OF ALL OF THIS,
BECAUSE IF SOMEONE IS WEARING A BURKINI OR IS TOO COVERED UP AT
THE BEACH, IS THERE FASHION PIECE ñ
IS THERE FASHION POLICE THAT SHOW UP?
DO PEOPLE REPORT THEM FOR BEING TOO MODERATE WITH THEIR
ATTIRE AT THE BEACH?
AND WHERE TO DRAW THE LINE?
YOU ARE IN A ONE PIECE AND THEY ARE LIKE, YOU HAVE TO GET
IN A BIKINI, THIS IS FRANCE.
I LOVE EUROPE FOR THE FACT THAT YOU GO TO THE BEACH WITHOUT EVEN
HAVING A TOP ON AS A WOMAN, BUT WHAT'S GREAT IS THAT I GET TO
MAKE THAT CHOICE ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT I WEAR MY BIKINI TOP.
IN THIS CASE, I GET IT, A LOT OF PEOPLE LOOK AT THE BURKINI
AND AC OPPRESSION.
I SEE IT, AND I GET A NEGATIVE, KNEE-JERK REACTION TO IT.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE'VE ALL BEEN BRAINWASHED IN ONE WAY
OR ANOTHER, AND THE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT YOU HAVE
EDUCATION AVAILABLE TO YOU SO THAT YOU CAN EVENTUALLY
MAKE YOUR OWN CHOICES AND FEEL EMPOWERED TO DO SO.
I GREW UP SUPER RELIGIOUS, GOING TO SUNDAY SCHOOL EVERY
SINGLE SUNDAY FROM THE AGE OF THREE TO ABOUT 17.
AND I'M NOW AN ATHEIST.
AND THE REASON WHY I'M AN ATHEIST IS BECAUSE OF EDUCATION.
DOESN'T MATTER HOW MUCH MY PARENTS TRIED TO PUSH
RELIGION ON ME, OR HOW MUCH THEY TRIED TO TELL ME THAT
PREMARITAL SEX IS EVIL AND I'M GOING TO HELL FOR IT, I
MADE MY OWN DECISIONS BECAUSE I FELT EMPOWERED TO DO SO.
ONCE YOU GIVE PEOPLE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES, EVENTUALLY
SOMETHING AS RIDICULOUS AS THE BURKINI WILL PHASE OUT, I
GUARANTEE IT.
FRANCE IS DOING THE RIGHT THING BY TRYING TO BE AN OPEN
SOCIETY, BUT I THINK PART OF BEING AN OPEN SOCIETY IS
ALLOWING BURQAS AND BURKINIS, WHILE EDUCATING THE NEXT
GENERATION ABOUT WHAT THEIR OPTIONS ARE SO THAT THEY CAN
MAKE A MORE INFORMED DECISION.