Quote Originally Posted by Monty92 View Post
The annoying thing for me, though, is that Boris could have created the same effect without using the puerile language that has made it hard to defend him without appearing to condone the mockery of women who wear burkas

Say he'd have condemned the burka with the same language that you used yourself - "a disgusting abomination utterly incompatible with a modern society".

The same cast of characters would have come out and condemned him, but the focus would have been on the substance of his point, rather than his use of childish, offensive language.

Surely that would have been a more effective tactic?
What's wrong with mocking an item of clothing women (we are told) wear voluntarily?

By saying what he's said, he's shown just how thoroughly people will over-react to the mildest possible mockery of Islam. Had he condemned it in the rather pious terms I did, it wouldn't have shown up the insane disparity between the comments and the reaction anywhere near as effectively.

The reaction is the whole point. I doubt Boris gives a flying one about Burkas per se. He's interested in showing just how insane Number 10 and the left-wing tories will go if the sacred cow of Islam is even mildly laughed at.