What disturbs me is the alliance that seems to be developing between left- wing feminists (who want women free to discard the veil) and the right (who want to spite the Moslems). The feminists would in other cases angrily reject attempts to "blame the victim", but because of another agenda are quite happy to see a social panic build up on the basis of someone "disturbing people by looking different".

I'd call that a problem for those who are being disturbed, just as having long hair was a problem for the rednecks, not the hippies.

So- look at who your allies are in this controversy- the tabloids, the New Labour nutcases who took us into the Counter-Jihad, the BNP. If that doesn't give you to think, you've lost it.

A prediction- although Labour's agenda in this is to improve their showing in Oldham, Blackburn (why did I think of Blackburn?) and Barking, the result will be a huge upsurge in suipport for racism and the BNP.