To think Boris Johnson should be be thrown out of Tory party?

[crunchymint]

He is clearly racist. He should be thrown out of the Conservative party.

YANBU. Sadly the Tories and the hard right seem to get a free pass on these things.

People comment on here about the Royals clothing choices, also the looks of celebs (male and female, all the time). The burka is a pretty extreme form of clothing choice. I think it can be commented on. If someone said the Arch of Canterbury looked like a tea cosy in his outfit would anyone care?

Don’t be naive, this wasn’t an innocent jibe, he was playing to his audience at a time hate crimes are rising. Comments like this normalise hate, division and bigotry.

Comments like this normalise hate, division and bigotry

Absolutely spot on.

I’m no fan of women being forced to wear the burqa. But I’m always slightly surprised by the people who are so adamant they can’t wear it and can’t see that forcing them not to wear it is as bad.

The fact that comments like Boris’ are mainstream and acceptable is deliberate, it’s propaganda, and judging by this thread and others, it’s working.

If he genuinely believes the women may be the victims of oppression then surely the focus on any ridicule should be the oppressors not the victims.

Boris Johnson is an expensively schooled man who is extremely intelligent. Until a few weeks ago he represented the British government across the world and fully understands different religious and cultural practices.

There is nothing wrong with a reasoned debate on the issue. He, more than most, is capable of articulating his position without some Jim Davidsonesque insult about post boxes. However this isn’t a ‘gaffe’ and nor were any of the earlier ‘jokes’ about watermelon smiles or the dead bodies in Libya etc. It is a calculated move designed to appeal to the Sun reader mentality and provide a little chuckle at the expense of people who aren’t like ‘us’.

If you honestly think a man in his position, with his reach and privilege, is perfectly entitled to make such public remarks merely as his ‘opinion’ then I despair. For the next Muslim woman who wears niqab who is abused in a UK street because it’s ‘ok to express my opinion’ or for the Muslim female bus driver who sat patiently smiling as a gang of men hurled abuse at her which is fine because we can say what we like now.

He’s the antithesis of that quote about Farage being a pound shop Enoch Powell. A Fortnum & Mason’s Tommy Robinson perhaps.

I think humans normally move towards those like them. Hence the Brits abroad stay in enclaves, or any other groups stay in enclaves. Nothing wrong with this it is their choice. But people mix once they have got to know the 'others' and the 'others' become part of the group. Wearing something that covers your body and face does not encourage anyone to 'get to know' this other person, in fact it keeps that person well away from those in the rest of society.

Again, whether I agree with your analysis the debate is fine. No issue with that. You didn’t call them bank robbers or post boxes though. Do you see the difference?

I don't think he should be thrown out of the Tory party unless he's broken their rules in some way - no idea whether calculated offence to a minority is against their rules. I'd love him to lose an election and not have anyone vote for him. Fat chance.

The poster saying saying they looked like a shadow made me think. They are usually black (or sky blue) and women traditionally walked behind. Why are they such drab colours?

Covering the head is no different to the Queen wearing a head scarf and many women in England used to wear head scarves.

With covering the whole face we've had this discussion many times with the result that motor cyclists have to remove helmets when entering shops etc. Surely no different. And younger people in balaclavas when it was 'fashionable' a few years ago were thought of as frightening.

YADNBU. He should be thrown out immediately. He has chosen to ignore the backlash that these women would face after his awful insulting comments. If anyone from Labour party had made those comments, or the comments were about people from another faith, he would definitely be thrown out.

If they threw all the racists out of the Tory party how many would he left?

I can't hear anything from Momentum the Labour Party about this - not unsurprising with their similar track record.

both anti-semitism and Islamaphobia should be called out and rejected whenever they appear. I find it very disturbing to read the whataboutry on this thread.

I have never seen such divisiveness in this country since the Thatcher and Kinnock years or such hate.

I think it's worse now than then. I think more people seem to feel comfortable expressing their racism and Islamophobia than in the 80s, and a lot of people regard Islamophobia as almost legitimate because of Islamic fundamentalism. There seems to have been a shift in the climate as far as this sort of stuff goes, and when well-educated people like Johnson spout this sort of shite, it adds to the perception (in some circles) that it's ok to be a bigot.

Many people are quick to blame problems in accessing public services on immigrants/Muslims/foreigners, when the people responsible are mostly white, predominantly male and in Westminster. Ethnic minorities have become something of a scapegoat and a useful distraction from the actions of those who are slowly dismantling every achievement in welfare since the second world war.

Even though I live in an area of very low immigration, at least once a week a client blames the fact that they can't get a house, school place or doctor's appointment on "foreigners".

Is this push back from Momentum because they are being labelled antisemitic?

Silly me, of course it is. That nasty Jon Lansman must have made Boris write it.

If I want to go out with my face covered I will

Good luck with trying to go into a bank, pub, shopping centre or indeed any public building. You won't get very far.

I think full face coverings represent the height of misogyny & have no place in a civilised society

I agree. It is irelevant whether it is the woman's choice or forced on her. Denmark has now joined the list of countries which ban full face covering in public.

The racists love him
Is scatter o light here defending him yet?

I’m have to admit, I am a bit puzzled why he’d do this. Does he really want to stoke up racial hatred? Is that the support he wants? Surely, he can’t have political ambitions anymore? It just seems absurd.

Is this push back from Momentum because they are being labelled antisemitic?

Er what? You actually think they made Boris wrote it?

Covering the head is no different to the Queen wearing a head scarf and many women in England used to wear head scarves

A headscarf worn queen style is not hiding all hair or the wearers neck. A headscarf "queen style" isn't really like a hijab.

Helmet I assumed this was just him testing Theresa May - he knows his comments are awful, he wanted to see whether she felt strong enough to withdraw the whip or whether her fear that he and his cronies would force a confidence vote would be enough to stop her. He got his answer. I expect a leadership attempt at the next available opportunity - when do the negotiations with the EU restart? First time May comes back with some bad news he'll be in like a shot.

Even though Boris' article was stating that he was against the ban that countries like Denmark had enforced, he made his point in a clumsy and offensive way. He should apologise as a minimum. He can't keep getting away with these lazy, outdated comments.

He is prepping for a leadership challenge he knows what will gain attention and what will not and what is a popular opinion

Of course he should apologise for using Muslim women (and we are not taking about anyone else) as a political football to gain attention

But saying that they look like an object to have no identity is what the burka is designed to do take away a woman’s identity it was first used to transport virgins to markets where they could be sold for a higher price - used again in recent by Isis

But that wouldn’t grab headlines the language he used does

I must admit to giggling when I googled what he'd said.

When my family visited London a couple of years ago, my then 6 year old announced "Mummy, look ninjas! Ninjas everywhere!"

Yes of course he should be thrown out of the party there is no question that his views are racist and they have no place in our government.
I would expect Labour to do the same with anti-semites.
I’m sick of whataboutery from both sides pointing at the other and not getting their shit together to eliminate bigotry from their own parties.