Lots of people getting upset about a comment in the Telegraph by Boris Johnson saying that Women wearing burkas "look like letterboxes". The remark has triggered a tsunami of virtue signalling from every corner of the political spectrum, especially those on the left and those with deeply vested interests in shielding Islamic culture from any kind of criticism.
My view is that Mr Johnson has indeed caused deep and serious offence to many in this country. For example, he presided over a lacklustre tenancy as Lord Mayor of London wasting much taxpayer cash, he lied to its people about Brexit, he made a mockery of high political office, he has shamelessly promoted himself and has made so many serious gaffs and errors whilst maintaining his position in office that any competent person has to seriously question the motives of those that put him there and their reluctance to remove him. In short he's a walking disaster, an embarrassment and a parasite. But, I wouldn't go as far as to call him a racist, as many on the left are now doing. Being a stickler for evidence I see none to suggest that he is? His remark is certainly a criticism of the cultural practice of insisting on the complete covering of Women's bodies in public (often against their will) and is indeed a statement of observational fact, but it's not racist. To call him racist for this remark is simply providing cover for real racists, the left need to take heed of the fact that if you cry wolf too many times eventually people stop listening.
I prefer to take my lead from the people within this culture and religion who are trying to reform it from the inside, people like Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Maajid Nawaz whose viewpoint I agree with when he says, "The Hijab and it's more extreme sister the Burka are the uniforms of medieval patriarchal tyranny. Liberals who defend it are akin to Conservatives defending the confederate flag".
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