Free speech? It doesn’t extend to the rest of us
Responding in her column last week to her MP brother Boris’s comments that Muslim women who wear the burka look like ‘letterboxes’ or ‘bank robbers’, Rachel Johnson wrote that she would actually ban face veils. She also said that we live in a ‘free country’, which allows her and her brother to expound their views.
But I wonder for how long this so-called freedom of speech and expression would be tolerated should an ordinary person state such opinions on any high street. How long could someone say something similar in a government workplace before having their collar felt?
Boris Johnson can get away from his views by leaving the country – he is well protected and distanced from the daily battles of everyday life most have to deal with. Gerald Gannaway, Bristol The triumph of political correctness has caused an inequality when it comes to free speech. Tolerant Christians are not offended by Eid celebrations. However, every Christmas, Easter and even Lent, there are reports of institutions not using the phrase ‘Christmas’ or ‘Easter’ in case offence is caused to minority groups. Why do we tolerate this religious inequality? Chaka Artwell, Oxford The mock horror expressed about the words used by Boris Johnson came from those who would not prosper by his elevation to Tory leader, if it occurs. John Collins, Chelmsford I am surprised that nothing is said about how the face veil discriminates against the disabled, especially those people who are hard of hearing or deaf. I am hard of hearing myself and need to see a person’s face to lip-read. When I can’t see a person’s features I am reminded of a rude doctor I once saw in hospital. Even when I told him about my hearing problems, he had his back to me. D. Gill, Liverpool Thank you, Liz Jones, for wearing the burka (even if only for a week) and sharing your experiences in last week’s Mail on Sunday. Liz’s sadness, suffering and struggles offered proof that banishment of the face veil is essential. Shirley Clancy, Hook, Hampshire I wholly concur with Peter Hitchens’s column last week (‘Forget burkas – Christianity’s the faith that is really under siege). He said that Islam is ‘feared’ by the ‘British State’ – the apparent leniency shown toward Islam in society is clear evidence of this.
May I add to the argument by saying that the so-called Establishment has, for the past 50 years, been comprised of individuals who utterly despise this country and its traditions. Keeley-Jasmine Cavendish, London May I be one of many, I am sure, to congratulate Peter Hitchens on his article. We should remember that we are a Christian country. Christianity in the modern world is something to be valued and its beliefs upheld. K. Edmondson, Bradford