Sunday, December 2, 2007

Tempest in a teapot

There's a little girl in town who is a Muslim. She wears a traditional head scarf at all times. A referee in her soccer league told her she couldn't wear the head scarf while playing because it's a safety hazard.
There are two camps on the issue, those who say that freedom of religious expression should be honoured and she be allowed to wear the scarf. This camp states that there is virtually no danger to the girl or to others from her scarf.
The other camp says that she should either a) quit the league or b) obey the league's rules and play but not wear her scarf.

I have to admit I'm a bit of a fence sitter on this one. I agree that the scarf doesn't really pose much of a safety risk to anyone and is really not a big deal. However, I also believe that when you join an organisation you have to obey their rules. When I was in Stetsons (Marching band) they dictated everything that we wore, from our hair to our socks. The issue never came up with head scarves or turbans or anything like that but I remember a christian girl getting upset because she had to take her cross off (she eventually did, she pinned it to her bra instead of hanging it around her neck and the "issue" was resolved)

I think, all fence sitting aside, I'm going to have to side with the soccer organisation on this one. It's a shame that some refs turned a blind eye and let her play until this one followed the league's rules. I think if she'd been told off the bat that it was unacceptable attire there wouldn't be all this hoopla about it. I think they're being a bit silly saying that she can't wear it for safety reasons, that, to me, is an attempt to stop people thinking that they're racist. I don't believe that uniform dress codes are racist at all. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When you join a team or an organisation, the dress code is clearly laid out and if you want to be a member of that team or organisation you have to follow the rules of that organisation. It's time the many stopped conforming to the needs of the few.

Oh, by the way, we STILL haven't heard from our lawyer. My status has changed from cheesed off to pissed off. What a waste of F@cking money!

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