What did Boris Johnson say about the burqa in controversial 'letterbox' comments?

[Mindful]

Boris Johnson has caused controversy amongst the Muslim community and his fellow MPs by claiming that women wearing burkas look like letterboxes and bank robbers. The former foreign secretary made the comments in his Daily Telegraph column and has received widespread criticism in the ensuing days. Labour MP David Lammy labelled him a ‘pound-shop Donald Trump’ whilst Conservative chairman Brandon Lewis asked him to apologise. However, Sky News has reported that Johnson is refusing to apologise and will stand by what he has said. So what exactly were his comments?


Read more: What did Boris Johnson say about the burqa in controversial 'letterbox' comments? | Metro News

 

[frigidweirdo]

Boris Johnson has caused controversy amongst the Muslim community and his fellow MPs by claiming that women wearing burkas look like letterboxes and bank robbers. The former foreign secretary made the comments in his Daily Telegraph column and has received widespread criticism in the ensuing days. Labour MP David Lammy labelled him a ‘pound-shop Donald Trump’ whilst Conservative chairman Brandon Lewis asked him to apologise. However, Sky News has reported that Johnson is refusing to apologise and will stand by what he has said. So what exactly were his comments?


Read more: What did Boris Johnson say about the burqa in controversial 'letterbox' comments? | Metro News

The problem here is that Johnson hasn't said anything that controversial at all. People say this stuff all the time.

The problem is that this is the sort of power play that people use. Make out anyone who disagrees with you is a racist of some sort.

The other problem is that Johnson said this stuff because he is willing to do anything to be PM. The other problem is the US system is rather different to the UK system and you don't become PM by saying stupid shit.

 

[gtopa1]

Quite accurate from what I can tell. Boris: must be Russian!!!

Greg

 

[Mindful]

Quite accurate from what I can tell. Boris: must be Russian!!!

Greg

He's part Turkish.

 

[irosie91]

Quite accurate from what I can tell. Boris: must be Russian!!!

Greg

He's part Turkish.

there are all kinds of turks

 

[gtopa1]

Quite accurate from what I can tell. Boris: must be Russian!!!

Greg

He's part Turkish.

there are all kinds of turks

They're the only people on Earth against whom I am prejudiced; Ottoman variety of course. Balkan experience of History and all that.

Greg

 

[irosie91]

Quite accurate from what I can tell. Boris: must be Russian!!!

Greg

He's part Turkish.

there are all kinds of turks

They're the only people on Earth against whom I am prejudiced; Ottoman variety of course. Balkan experience of History and all that.

Greg

sheeeeesh----some turks are christians

 

[Tilly]

It’s a pity all the hysterical whiners missed the main point BoJo was making, which was that he totally disagrees with Denmark’s decision to ban the burqa, and that he would never support that it be banned in the U.K.

The response to his comments re the burqa looking like a letterbox or a burglar is quite ridiculous and is yet another attempt to ensure that nobody feels comfortable saying anything critical of Islam (not that the burqa is religiously mandated) even in jest.

He was wrong to say the burqa looks like a letterbox, it looks like a bin bag.
I hope he doesn’t apologise, it will be the final nail in the coffin for the the little freedom of speech we have left here. I’m absolutley sick of the permanently ‘offended’ getting their way and destroying careers.

Go BoJo!

 

[Mindful]

It’s a pity all the hysterical whiners missed the main point BoJo was making, which was that he totally disagrees with Denmark’s decision to ban the burqa, and that he would never support that it be banned in the U.K.

The response to his comments re the burqa looking like a letterbox or a burglar is quite ridiculous and is yet another attempt to ensure that nobody feels comfortable saying anything critical of Islam (not that the burqa is religiously mandated) even in jest.

He was wrong to say the burqa looks like a letterbox, it looks like a bin bag. I hope he doesn’t apologise, it will be the final nail in the coffin for the the little freedom of speech we have left here. I’m absolutley sick of the permanently ‘offended’ getting their way and destroying careers.

Go BoJo!

It was just a comment about the visuals, not directed at Islam atall.

Out earlier for coffee, I could have made any amount of comments about the way passers by were dressed, as I sat there.

 

[Tilly]

It’s a pity all the hysterical whiners missed the main point BoJo was making, which was that he totally disagrees with Denmark’s decision to ban the burqa, and that he would never support that it be banned in the U.K.

The response to his comments re the burqa looking like a letterbox or a burglar is quite ridiculous and is yet another attempt to ensure that nobody feels comfortable saying anything critical of Islam (not that the burqa is religiously mandated) even in jest.

He was wrong to say the burqa looks like a letterbox, it looks like a bin bag. I hope he doesn’t apologise, it will be the final nail in the coffin for the the little freedom of speech we have left here. I’m absolutley sick of the permanently ‘offended’ getting their way and destroying careers.

Go BoJo!

It was just a comment about the visuals, not directed at Islam atall.

Out earlier for coffee, I could have made any amount of comments about the way passers by were dressed, as I sat there.

Exactly. No islamophobia to see here - It’s the hysterical Left and the remoaners trying to pull their usual crap of silencing opinions they don’t like.

 

[TroglocratsRdumb]

Muslim beauty contests are unusual

 

[Mindful]

It’s a pity all the hysterical whiners missed the main point BoJo was making, which was that he totally disagrees with Denmark’s decision to ban the burqa, and that he would never support that it be banned in the U.K.

The response to his comments re the burqa looking like a letterbox or a burglar is quite ridiculous and is yet another attempt to ensure that nobody feels comfortable saying anything critical of Islam (not that the burqa is religiously mandated) even in jest.

He was wrong to say the burqa looks like a letterbox, it looks like a bin bag. I hope he doesn’t apologise, it will be the final nail in the coffin for the the little freedom of speech we have left here. I’m absolutley sick of the permanently ‘offended’ getting their way and destroying careers.

Go BoJo!

It was just a comment about the visuals, not directed at Islam atall.

Out earlier for coffee, I could have made any amount of comments about the way passers by were dressed, as I sat there.

Exactly. No islamophobia to see here - It’s the hysterical Left and the remoaners trying to pull their usual crap of silencing opinions they don’t like.

Making something out of it that isn't.

And Theresa May. The weakest leadership I've ever seen.

And of course, Yasmin Alibhai Brown. It's obligatory these days to have her sounding off on these matters.

 

[Mindful]

 

[Tilly]

It’s a pity all the hysterical whiners missed the main point BoJo was making, which was that he totally disagrees with Denmark’s decision to ban the burqa, and that he would never support that it be banned in the U.K.

The response to his comments re the burqa looking like a letterbox or a burglar is quite ridiculous and is yet another attempt to ensure that nobody feels comfortable saying anything critical of Islam (not that the burqa is religiously mandated) even in jest.

He was wrong to say the burqa looks like a letterbox, it looks like a bin bag. I hope he doesn’t apologise, it will be the final nail in the coffin for the the little freedom of speech we have left here. I’m absolutley sick of the permanently ‘offended’ getting their way and destroying careers.

Go BoJo!

It was just a comment about the visuals, not directed at Islam atall.

Out earlier for coffee, I could have made any amount of comments about the way passers by were dressed, as I sat there.

Exactly. No islamophobia to see here - It’s the hysterical Left and the remoaners trying to pull their usual crap of silencing opinions they don’t like.

Making something out of it that isn't.

And Theresa May. The weakest leadership I've ever seen.

And of course, Yasmin Alibhai Brown. It's obligatory these days to have her sounding off on these matters.

Agreed. May is a coward and is out of touch. Year in and year out, polls show the majority of Brits think full face coverings like the burqa and niqab should be banned from public spaces.
I haven’t seen Alibhai Browns comments. I think she used to support a burqa ban.

 

[Mindful]

It’s a pity all the hysterical whiners missed the main point BoJo was making, which was that he totally disagrees with Denmark’s decision to ban the burqa, and that he would never support that it be banned in the U.K.

The response to his comments re the burqa looking like a letterbox or a burglar is quite ridiculous and is yet another attempt to ensure that nobody feels comfortable saying anything critical of Islam (not that the burqa is religiously mandated) even in jest.

He was wrong to say the burqa looks like a letterbox, it looks like a bin bag. I hope he doesn’t apologise, it will be the final nail in the coffin for the the little freedom of speech we have left here. I’m absolutley sick of the permanently ‘offended’ getting their way and destroying careers.

Go BoJo!

It was just a comment about the visuals, not directed at Islam atall.

Out earlier for coffee, I could have made any amount of comments about the way passers by were dressed, as I sat there.

Exactly. No islamophobia to see here - It’s the hysterical Left and the remoaners trying to pull their usual crap of silencing opinions they don’t like.

Making something out of it that isn't.

And Theresa May. The weakest leadership I've ever seen.

And of course, Yasmin Alibhai Brown. It's obligatory these days to have her sounding off on these matters.

Agreed. May is a coward and is out of touch. Year in and year out, polls show the majority of Brits think full face coverings like the burqa and niqab should be banned from public spaces.
I haven’t seen Alibhai Browns comments. I think she used to support a burqa ban.

She does. She spouted off about it on The Wright Stuff this morning.

Except, that wasn't the issue.

 

[Tommy Tainant]

Boris is wrong and totally out of order.
As stated before he cant apologise because it would disgust the very people he is reaching out to. (bigots)

But te outrage around this is an exact mirror image of the faux outrage directed at Corbyn. You can identify every one of his attackers and find a link to their attack that has nothing to do with the issue.

Of course Corbyn is just inefectual whilst Johnson is a scheming opportunist shit.

 

[Mindful]

It is the refusal to criticise certain groups that smacks of racism.

Here’s the strange thing about the Boris/burqa controversy: the very people who constantly kick up a fuss about repressive male behaviour are now up in arms at Boris for talking about repressive male behaviour. The same tweeters and liberals and feminists who have spent the past year of #MeToo cheering the new public conversation about how awful men are now want to shut down a public conversation about the possibility that some Muslim men might be awful too and might be inflicting a repressive culture on women. The same people who think a bloke ever so slightly spreading his legs on the Tube on the way to work is committing the crime of ‘manspreading’ and is proof of the continued existence of the patriarchy refuse to accept that a man putting pressure on his wife to cover herself head to toe in a black cloak might just be a tad patriarchal.

The double standards are staggering. A chattering class that sees patriarchal bullying in everything – from the man who sends a tweet suggesting that a female politician has made a factual error (mansplaining) to the fact that young boys think girls aren’t very good at football (ingrained male entitlement) – refuse to see it in the culture of the burqa. Or at least they refuse to allow an open, frank discussion of the possibility that there is a culture of repression in some Muslim communities. The demonisation of Boris, and the authoritarian efforts to extract a public apology from him for his blasphemy against the burqa, is not driven merely by a distaste for his description of niqab- and burqa-wearers as looking like ‘letterboxes’. It is an effort to chill all strong commentary on this garment and on the question of whether it is a good thing that in 21st-century Britain there are some women – not many, but some – who wear such archaic, anti-social clothing.


Who’s really racist - Boris or his critics?

 

[Tilly]

Boris is wrong and totally out of order.
As stated before he cant apologise because it would disgust the very people he is reaching out to. (bigots)

But te outrage around this is an exact mirror image of the faux outrage directed at Corbyn. You can identify every one of his attackers and find a link to their attack that has nothing to do with the issue.

Of course Corbyn is just inefectual whilst Johnson is a scheming opportunist shit.

Nope. Corbyn and his anti Semitic cronies weren’t simply making jokes about items of clothing, as you well know.
And as you also know, Boris does not agree with banning the burqa or niqab, and he wouldn’t support such a move.

That doesn’t mean he has to approve of it.

That he personally dislikes it and says so is his right, and he reflects what the majority of us feel about it as is born out by poll after poll.

You DO KNOW that we don’t have to approve of the things we tolerate, right? You DO KNOW that we don’t have to approve of everything related to Islam, and can say so if we so choose, right?

 

[Tommy Tainant]

Boris is wrong and totally out of order.
As stated before he cant apologise because it would disgust the very people he is reaching out to. (bigots)

But te outrage around this is an exact mirror image of the faux outrage directed at Corbyn. You can identify every one of his attackers and find a link to their attack that has nothing to do with the issue.

Of course Corbyn is just inefectual whilst Johnson is a scheming opportunist shit.

Nope. Corbyn and his anti Semitic cronies weren’t simply making jokes about items of clothing, as you well know.
And as you also know, Boris does not agree with banning the burqa or niqab, and he wouldn’t support such a move.

That doesn’t mean he has to approve of it.

That he personally dislikes it and says so is his right, and he reflects what the majority of us feel about it as is born out by poll after poll.

You DO KNOW that we don’t have to approve of the things we tolerate, right? You DO KNOW that we don’t have to approve of everything related to Islam, and can say so if we so choose, right?

His "opinion" is meant to appeal to returning kippers and has nothing to do with anything adult. I posted to underline his opportunism and that of the people who are giving him grief. But it doesnt absolve him of his casual racism.

Corbyn isnt anti Semitic either. He just got ahead in the polls and had to be slapped down.

 

[Tilly]

Boris is wrong and totally out of order.
As stated before he cant apologise because it would disgust the very people he is reaching out to. (bigots)

But te outrage around this is an exact mirror image of the faux outrage directed at Corbyn. You can identify every one of his attackers and find a link to their attack that has nothing to do with the issue.

Of course Corbyn is just inefectual whilst Johnson is a scheming opportunist shit.

Nope. Corbyn and his anti Semitic cronies weren’t simply making jokes about items of clothing, as you well know.
And as you also know, Boris does not agree with banning the burqa or niqab, and he wouldn’t support such a move.

That doesn’t mean he has to approve of it.

That he personally dislikes it and says so is his right, and he reflects what the majority of us feel about it as is born out by poll after poll.

You DO KNOW that we don’t have to approve of the things we tolerate, right? You DO KNOW that we don’t have to approve of everything related to Islam, and can say so if we so choose, right?

His "opinion" is meant to appeal to returning kippers and has nothing to do with anything adult. I posted to underline his opportunism and that of the people who are giving him grief. But it doesnt absolve him of his casual racism.

Corbyn isnt anti Semitic either. He just got ahead in the polls and had to be slapped down.

What’s a ‘returning kipper’? A breakfast dish?

Which race has BoJo been racist against?

Corbyn is an antisemite and a terrorist supporter, and always has been.

So much absolute idiocy in one single post.

Well done, Tams!