news.uk.msn.com/Article.a...id=1037510
Well, to sum it up for people who cant be bothered to read the link, Jack Straw, once Britains foreign ministers has provoked fury after publicly admitting he feels intimidated by Muslim women who completely cover their face under veils...
This comment was caused by a Muslim woman who told him it was nice to finally meet him face to face, except, hah, they weren't.
He has ABSOLUTELY no idea what she looks like, if she was smiling or smirking as she said it.
And, I'd like to just take this space to give him my support. I can't give it anywhere else so I'll give it here, online.
It's not discrimination or abuse of their religion. It's a fact, and true. Those veils ARE intimidating, it's true.
When walking around Birmingham (the second city of the UK, apparently soon due to become Europe's first non white majority city 
) it's not the gangs of teenagers that worry me.
I was recently a teenager myself, and although I wasn't in gangs like these I understand them. Only a few are out for trouble.
Stick out of the rough areas of the city and your fine.
It's not the gangs of street kids, the homeless beggars asking for change or anything else. Its the women strolling amongst you completely covered head to toe so they resemble nothing more than a mobile pile of clothing.
ANYTHING could be under there, ANYTHING.
And it's scary.
So, here here Mr Straw, you have my support and my mothers been ranting at anyone who'll listen that she agrees so there's two who agree.
I'd like to hear anyone else's opinion, because quite frankly if he gets taken down for this (one of my favourite MPs in the labour party) I may just take to the streets dressed as a Muslim woman.
I mean, who could tell its actually a young, white guy under there?
It's an affront, and I know it's my fault for being intimidated but I wont be told by anyone that my fear is an ethnic discrimination.
My fear is mine, all mine and I have a right to be afraid of anything that i want to be.
SO THERE! 
If I said I were afraid of Black people would that be racism? 
He, and I, and nobody has said that their afraid of Muslim women.
I know that most of them completely cover their bodies in clothes, like so:
I dont find that scary.
But this:
It's freaky. It's disconcerting and the few people I do know who wear these clothes scare the bejeezus out of me.
I just dont understand the mindset, how anyone would want to hide who they are.
They say they do it to make them invisible, so their not noticed. That's ridiculous, they stick out like a sore thumb, it makes them, disconcerting.
And the problem I have is, now Jack Straws come out and actually said it. Something my mums been saying for years, and I happen to agree with.
The SECOND he says it, there's political uproar.
You can't say that, it's unethical.
Bull.
It's not an insult, it's just a remark.
I know there have been complaints that if he really feels that way he should of spoken in official dialogue, but thats blowing it out of proportion. He did what hundreds of writers do, express inner feelings in a newspaper column. He hasn't actually, officially, demanded that Muslim women unveil, just confided to readers that he finds them disconcerting.
And the uproar on every news programme at six o clock today in the UK was upsetting to me.
Who is this woman?
Is it even a women, or is she a man pretending?
Is she my next door neighbour or some stranger I've never met before. I've no idea, it could be my neighbour wearing a different veil...
Am I meant to tell from her voice?
My God I wish I could have skin as ivory as theirs.
I go to an all girl Calothic school and once or twice i see one wereing a cover up one like the girl/woman in the 1th picture.
Whean i was 'Shadowing' (Follow a student around for a day, like a shadow) after i got in the schoool, I asked her did she have a religion, she said she was Muslim. She did'et were the 'scarf thingy' as i called it because i did'et know what you call it back thean.
So later, I told my mom about my day and about the girl i was shadowing. She said maybe her parents was'et so firm about the religion. I also had a teacher who was Muslim wore the hijab in the first pic back in 7th grad. One of my aunts is Muslim and don't were the Hijab.
So i think that some people live up to there Religion by wereing the Hijab. Some live up to there Religion but don't wear it because they want to fit in with other people or don't feel like they need it.
The ones who where the Hijabs that cover up there clothes don't care what people are saying about them, there liveing life diffrently from us non-Religion types. A Muslim was kicked out of a cort by the jury because she refused to remove her scarf that only covered her head.
BECAUSE SHE REFUSED TO TAKE OFF THE SCARF THAT ONLY COVERED HER HEAD, SHE WAS KICKED OUT OF CORT. Good lord. 
I don't like the way you dress so im gonna say you make me unsafe and tell the press, who will tell the news, who will tell the whole world.
It's a Scarf for god sake.
This is my option people. Let's not get carryed away.
The thing is that in the Ko'ran there is no mention of Muslim woman wearing a complete veil that only shows there eyes. There are asked to wear modest clothing and cover up their hair.
I do support Jack Straw on this. I don't think its at all racist or insensitive to Muslims. As seen before theres a world of difference between a scarf and a fully covering face veil.
Ridiculous. He has every right to say it.
Have you noticed the more ridiculous a position is the more PC-mongering some of its adherents are? Mohammed cartoons, any other "offense" to religion, this, actually believing in constitutional rights, the war on christmas, not supporting a war. Maybe the anger is a manifestation of internal struggle. It takes a lot of willpower to repress the instinct to question and rationality over the instinct to conform and tradition. "Methinks you protest too loudly."
i've only seen a few ladies dressed like that on my wonderings around birmingham. if they feel that they have to dress that way, let them. sure it's disconcerting not to be able to see their expressions, but you're most likely not going to speak to them anyway.
i find the brummy chavs to be way scarier. oo;
On my travels, I can't recall seeing anyone dressed like the people in the second and third photographs. I agree with Straw though - it would be quite intimidating to come into contact with them. As others have said, who knows who they really are?
