?
So, do you disagree with his point, or just think people are so outrageously out of control that saying anything anyone might find offensive is asking for trouble? Kind of like any woman not wearing a burka is asking to be raped?
Do you mean you think people have a right to never be offended, and that right trumps the constitutional right to free speech?
You're going to need to explain that one to me.

I don't personally have an issue with hijabs,niqabs, or burkas. I do object to women being forced to wear them in countries that practice Sharia or if the husband is forcing them to.

I do think that for identification purposes, you should at least be able to see the face. This would be on an official document proving identity (license,passport) and, if detained, the law enforcement official should be allowed to match the identification. This would really only apply to the burka/niqab, since those obscure the face heavily.

I have 2 theories.....
1. They are seeing the mass conformity and allegiance to the empire as antithetical to freedoms of choice and expression, or
2. They looked at the helmet as a stand in for a burka, and had a problem with it.

Of course, I could easily be wrong, maybe they're just being douchey.

You have got to be F*ing kidding me.
Who the hell thought that was inappropriate? Why? Because it showed shoulders? There was no cleavage, no midriff, no upper thigh, no ass hanging out...what could they possibly be complaining about? Did she need to be wearing a burka in their eyes?
There was absolutely nothing inappropriate about her dress, and to capitulate on air to some (likely hyper-religious) idiots that complained is horrendous of the management. Whoever made this decision should be fired.

If you don't want people (male or female) looking at your boobs, why wear a tight dress that barely contains your breasts and has a plunging neckline? Men are both biologically engineered and culturally trained to look, especially if you're going to do the fashion equivalent of putting a fucking spotlight on them.

And no, I don't believe women need to "cover up" or wear burkas or some such strawman that'll I'll likely get as a reply to this comment. Women can go around naked for all I care, but they shouldn't expect heterosexual men to pretend like they're fully clothed.

EDIT: OMG, Andy's response is perfect! He gets a big bouquet of flowers and puts it on Conan's desk right in between Conan and Nicole and says "Hey Nicole! Ignore the flowers!" LMAO.

@ant Here's the full interview if you're interested in including Andy's comeback:

Related Posts: Basrats and Bereta: Construction Cat Calls
I found that especially funny because of these "dress like a slut, get treated like one" type of responses here.
I know, the word "slut" isn't nice and I'm not good a political correctness (I actually loathe it) but maybe the problem is not with the word but with our associations with it.
You see, the problem I have starts with the idea that there's something wrong with sluts. As a man (and therefore certainly a pig, at least in my case) I enjoy sluts tremendously. They are women who share, at least in general terms, my sexual morals and enjoy their sexuality as much as I do (theirs and mine). I see nothing wrong with that. Sure, I dislike STDs as much as anybody but being slutty doesn't mean automatically being careless, just more at risk. Maybe I just don't understand men who like their female sex partners to be well behaved little princesses. They either prefer very conservative sex (you know, when blowjobs seem kinky) or they are strangely rapey. Maybe it's just our manly discomfort of loosing control over female sexuality.
Then there is this notion of dressing "like a slut". Sure, there is unappropriate clothing. I wouldn't go to a funeral in my Spongebob Squarepants pyjamas. But why is it in todays times, in the western world that is covered in billboards full of women in bikinis, so wrong to walk the street dressed in your best "sexy hooker" halloween costume? Are these women on the billboards, the ones who strike sexualized poses to sell me beer, dressed like sluts too? Is a bikini "slutty clothing"? I'm pretty sure my mom once wore one and yours probably too. As long as the important parts are covered, it should be fine.
The real issue, though, is the idea that anybody has a right to comment on that. Loudly.
If I have a right to comment sluttly clothing, can I also comment on other clothing that isn't the percieved norm? Do I get to shout ghost and terrorism related jokes at women in burkas? Can I yell at cops to come and strip-search me because I have a thing for uniforms? Should I yell at anyone with unfortunate clothing choices? "Hey lady, don't shake that ass, it's too fat for these pants! I don't want the Blob to escape!"
No, it's only sexually provocative clothing that gets these reactions. And that's why I like the video above so much, because it shows what kind of comments you get. It's never "young lady, I disagree with your clothing choice and insist you put on something decent!" nor "What a beautiful skirt, is it silk?"
It is always amused, approving and at the same time disrespectful and sexually dominant. Often gleefull and too often actually misogynistic.
These are never positive comments and even if the words seem positive, they're harassment. It's nothing but sexual harassment. Otherwise these men would be yelling "Young lady, I disagree with your clothing choice and insist you put on something decent!"
Dress like a slut, get treated like one, that's just a lame excuse for men trying to control female sexuality.
Personally, I think if you dress like a slut, I should treat you with respect and kindness. Because I want sluts to like me. I'm a pig.

This is awesome. I wanna buy Disney, convert to Islam and force all female employees to wear a Burka. We could've prevented Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan, you know?
However, if this passes, a lot of corporations will join the Christian Scientists.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'Muslim, Funny, Insults, Free Speach, Satire, Halal, Hans Teeuwen' to 'Muslim, Insults, Free Speech, Satire, Girls of Halal, Hans Teeuwen, Bimbos and Burkas' - edited by xxovercastxx

So you're ok with atheist bakers not making your wedding cake for religious reasons?
Can a jewish mayor refuse you your business licenses because your "Everything Bacon!" store is against his beliefs?
Is it ok if I ask your mother to cover up her shame with a burka for religious reasons?
Can a doctor become a christian scientist and start prescribing exclusively prayer as cancer treatment for little children too? You know, for religious reasons.

You see what I did there?
Nobody gives a crap what you do to yourself in the name of your religion but don't expect us to play by your imaginary rules. You don't want to bake gay wedding cakes? Maybe the wedding cake business just isn't for you. Or maybe you should move to Iran, no gay weddings there and people are very religious as well. You might like it there.

Time to start selling burka on ebay with
FUCK THE FED..
Privacy is mine..
Turn the camera off and I'll take by burka off...
printed on them.

http://videosift.com/video/Religious-Penis-Waggling-Misogyny-Personified

Here's the American equivalent. The burkas are invisible. But I am surewill bet there are women in the audience.

>> ^Barbar:
To me this is a handicap to a fully functioning society.

I think human beings themselves (in their current state) are a handicap to a fully functioning society. And paranoia is the wheelchair.

>> ^hpqp:

>> ^Yogi:
>> ^hpqp:
>> ^Yogi:
I like the idea of governments in the 2000's deciding people can no longer have a culture. Good for them...hey next maybe you should ban any sort of national identity.

Yeah, it's like how in Spain the great latino-macho culture is being suppressed by stricter you-can't-beat-up-your-wife laws...

That kinda proves my point...just because a woman wears a burka doesn't mean it's not their choice or that they're getting beaten every night. Last I checked not too many Spainish women wear burkas.
There's a lot of misinformation and reactionary BS going around these days. I say you let them do what they want unless they're hurting someone...forcing society into a dress code is stupid.

...or how to miss the satirical point entirely.
There are some elements of a people's/religion's "culture" that we should be eagerly trying to be rid of. While I agree that this is above all a populist legislation, especially when it is by far not the worst religion has to "offer" in the west (e.g. why are there no laws banning circumcision on minors?), it does not hamper a muslim woman's capacity of showing her religious affiliation: nothing prevents her from wearing a hijab.
As for all the apologists in the room, can you think of any reason why a woman would want to be covered from head to toe in sacloth? Now can you think of a reason that does not have to do with:
a) hiding a hideous difformity, or
b) submitting to the (patriarchal) rule of bronze-age customs?


See that's the point...we meddle and we don't have a right to says River Tam. I bet you don't go to other countries and tell the natives what they're doing wrong, this is the same it's ethnocentric and just plain wrong. The government shouldn't be telling people how to dress, they should fuck off.

Its not sackcloth for a start. The few women I have heard talk about veils/burkas all cite the "freedom from vanity" though these were western raised women, I'm sure it means different things to different peoples.

>> ^Yogi:

>> ^hpqp:
>> ^Yogi:
I like the idea of governments in the 2000's deciding people can no longer have a culture. Good for them...hey next maybe you should ban any sort of national identity.

Yeah, it's like how in Spain the great latino-macho culture is being suppressed by stricter you-can't-beat-up-your-wife laws...

That kinda proves my point...just because a woman wears a burka doesn't mean it's not their choice or that they're getting beaten every night. Last I checked not too many Spainish women wear burkas.
There's a lot of misinformation and reactionary BS going around these days. I say you let them do what they want unless they're hurting someone...forcing society into a dress code is stupid.


...or how to miss the satirical point entirely.

There are some elements of a people's/religion's "culture" that we should be eagerly trying to be rid of. While I agree that this is above all a populist legislation, especially when it is by far not the worst religion has to "offer" in the west (e.g. why are there no laws banning circumcision on minors?), it does not hamper a muslim woman's capacity of showing her religious affiliation: nothing prevents her from wearing a hijab.

As for all the apologists in the room, can you think of any reason why a woman would want to be covered from head to toe in sacloth? Now can you think of a reason that does not have to do with:

a) hiding a hideous difformity, or
b) submitting to the (patriarchal) rule of bronze-age customs?