SB wrote:
Interesting experience on the Bakelooo Line at the weekend. The
carriage had about 20 people in it, mainly scattered around. At Oxford
Circus two women (sans male escorts) entered one end of the carriage
and sat down. They were dressed all in black - like they do in Iraq /
Iran. They had the real slitty-eyed look. Well quite a few people
looked at them and then at each other and suddenly decided that they
really did not want to be sitting near them, and they moved towards
the other end of the carriage near where I was. Not that that would
have saved them in an emergency. One of two muttered "well you never
know do you?" I got off at Charing Cross, but noticed that by then the
two women had their end of the carriage all to themselves. What would
you have done? SB.

A valid, if well-worn point, sadly wrapped up in racist nonsense.

If you want to try to stimulate debate about the unease felt by many at
not being able to see the faces of others in public, then it's best not
to show your prejudices in the process.

Am I uneasy about sitting next to ANYONE with their face covered?
Yes. That's human nature.

Does the thought of suicide bombers in Israel etc. add to that concern?
Yes, sadly it does, though I wish that wasn't the case.

Would I move?
No, that would be playing into the hands of the terrorists who want us
to feel at risk. It also widens the racial divide and alienates the
moderate majority of Muslims.

By the way. If I read any paper, it tends to be the Daily Mail. It
doesn't seem to have driven me into the arms of UKIP or the BNP yet.
This popular demonisation of DM readers does irritate me. It's a cheap
remark that gets thrown in to every racism discussion by people who
haven't got the brains to think of anything original. It doesn't show
how racially tolerant or socially aware you are. It just demonstrates a
different form of prejudice.

Adrian