Planned 'burkini pool day' stirs debate in France, bigots freak out & call for ban

[mwrguy]

Plans by a water park in the southern French city of Marseille to hold a pool day for Muslim women who wear full-body swimsuits, known as burkinis, has sparked debate and anger in the country.

The event, set to be held on September 17, is being organised by a women's association, Smile13, based in the port city, where about 220,000 Muslims reside.

Florian Philippot, an adviser to the far-right leader of the National Front party, Marine Le Pen, said the pool day smacked of "dyed-in-the-wool communalism".

"This sort of event should be banned," Philippot said, warning of a "risk of public disorder".

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/08/burkini-pool-day-france-160804165128694.html

[Iggo]

1. I don't hate women. I don't hate Muslims.

There.

That was easier and more to the point than the rest of the stuff that I was trying to type out.

[Eleanors38]

2. Hey, Zeus! First they complain of too much exposure, now it's too little!

What has become of good old fashioned luridness?

[Takket]

3. Yeah... forbidding the from swimming will put an end to terrorism

[WillowTree]

13. Who's "forbidding the[m] from swimming"?

[Takket]

14. Well, traditionally a "pool day" involves swimming,

and "banning" an event traditionally means to prevent it from occurring.

It is a clearly anti-Muslim sentiment, as if allowing a group of Muslim women to have a pool day together is somehow going to give them a chance to plan a terrorist attack. On the other hand banning the event is only going to reinforce the "us against them" mentality in jihadists.

[Warpy]

4. I think the event will be popular with non Muslim women, as well.

It should go on, just as an experiment.

[sinkingfeeling]

5. So if they don't want communalism, just open the event to all.

[GulfCoast66]

6. Is the park private or public

If it was a private pool then good for them. Not so much a public pool.

I would be pissed if our public pool closed to all but covered women and males under 10. Especially if I lived in a northern climate and had limited pool days.

And the French have a whole different belief about public demonstrations of faith than us. Their revolution was as much against the church as it was the government. They get real nervous about religion dictating public behavior.

[Arazi]

9. Article doesn't say if its public or private

If its a public pool, then yeah, no way

Private pool? Do anything you want

[Statistical]

12. I read in another article it is a private pool and a Muslim Womens Association is renting it ...

for the day much like other private parties routinely do. Honestly I can't really see anything wrong with it.

[crosinski]

7. Let us imagine ...

... one sunny day on a French beach somewhere in the future, when an event is arranged for men to have a day to themselves where they can wear full body suits that cover them modestly from neck to ankle. I'm sure they'd use padding is certain areas of their body to keep female eyes from lusting after their male points of attraction. Oh how I long for that day, when men cover themselves out of modestly and respect for their place in society!

This is a very feeble attempt at humor, for which I apologize.

[smirkymonkey]

8. +1000

[Warren DeMontague]

16. I have to go outside entirely surrounded by 15 inches of steel alloy plating, I tell you what

juuuuuust to keep the ladies from throwin' themselves at me.

[kwassa]

10. We have the occasional burkini at our local pool ...

But they are there swimming with everyone else.

[gollygee]

11. I often see women in burkinis

though I didn't know what they were called until today.

But yeah they just swim with everyone else.

[Warren DeMontague]

15. Sure. And they should have a nude day, too.

Unfortunately too often the religious fundamentalists are the ones trying to tell consenting adults in pluralistic societies what they can do, wear, watch, read, etc.