Been sick for a couple of days, so just getting back to this now.
I've said from the beginning of the Bill 62 debate that I am unable to address it. I've said from the beginning that I am uncomfortable with another law dictating how women dress.
Yes, you have. It was your "people like me" who see the sense in banning it that I was addressing, more than you specifically since you have said you are uncertain.
It's like seeing a woman in an abusive relationship who insists she loves being abused and has made the choice to continue to be abused. I agree with you - she absolutely has that right. The part I'm also uncomfortable with is legitimizing and condoning the public display. She may be super proud of how brave she is for enduring the abuse and even believe it benefits her in some ways.....should that view be publicly endorsed and accepted as a legitimate belief?
I don't disagree with you here. But to me, banning burkas/hijab's would be like telling an abused woman she isn't allowed in public with bruises or broken bones from her spouse's or family's assault. How would that help the woman or solve the problem of domestic violence? It would simply make the abused woman invisible to the rest of us and the funny thing about people is that if they can't actually *see* it, they tend to believe it doesn't exist.
I do understand your concern that if people inclined to a fundamentalism saw burkas or niqabs on the street, they might be more inclined to want that as part of their life. And, perhaps burka wearing women are such a small population that it really wouldn't matter much if they were hidden away. But then I'm reminded of racist people: I knew there were racists in Canada, but I never heard or saw any because it was socially unacceptable - until Trump came to power and they were legitimized somewhat. Now I'm shocked and saddened by how many there are, how racist ideology permeates our society. Was I or society in general better off unaware of this, or would there have been a better way to address these attitudes rather than just repressing them through social disapproval? It's a tough question, especially since I tend to believe people can believe what they want, as long as they don't act in ways to harm others.
I see it almost the same as the smoking bans - it's each person's "right" to do something that harms themselves. But laws are put in place as to when and where smoking can take place - out of respect for others. Part of the argument for smoking bans back in the day was also that we didn't want children to see it as legitimate and normal and accepted. If we accept burkas and niqabs as legitimate and normal in our society, how will anyone ever see them for what they are?
I see the similarity here. On the other hand, banning smoking in public places didn't mean that women, especially, would be at risk of becoming essentially housebound because they were unable to smoke in public places. That to me is an important difference.