Those who seek anti-discrimination laws may do so in the name of equality and diversity, to constrain the prejudices of others to make a better society. Those who favour discriminatory laws may do so for security and the conservation of cultural values but in doing so they attempt to normalise their prejudices and impose them on others.
But
all such insistence on legislation can only fail - as you can lead a
horse to water but threatening legal action won't make it drink.
Like
you I have prejudices of my own. But as a libertarian my prejudices
are constrained by my principles.
For
instance - a great many Australians, perhaps even the majority,
would support legislation to ban the wearing of the burqua (and
niquab) in public and why not – about a dozen western countries
with larger Islamic populations either ban or restrict the wearing of
face coverings in some way.
Part
of me is with with them. The part of me that cannot understand why a
person would dress like a medieval bee-keeper unless compelled by
force to do so. The part of me that wonders who is in there and are
they armed? The part that says - you people are obviously aliens, so
perhaps you would be more comfortable on your own planet.
However,
However,
The
libertarian concept of social justice includes preventing the
government from expanding the list of victimless crimes rather than
constantly dreaming up new ones.
To
ban the burqua would require the kind of legislation that I am
generally opposed to - laws that take away the freedom of our
citizens and criminalises common human behaviours such as what we
wear in public. Banning the burqua fails my free and fair test. As
soon as I back such a law I cease to be a noble libertarian and
become just a run of the mill suburban fascist.
As
I am not prepared to do that – it means I must instead stand up
for the burqua wearers regardless. It is that simple. Hopefully
they will stand up for me.
These
principles also make my life a little easier in that I don't have to
judge people on the merits of their religion or fashion sense or any
damn thing really. I don't have to listen to the endless squawking
from the attention seekers of the Left or the Right. I don't need to
decide whether such attire is cultural or religious or what the hell
Australian values are before deciding if wearing a black tent is
compatible with them.
Thank
God.
Try
it. Try putting the principles of enduring freedom before your
political alignment, your tribal customs and your prejudices, petty
or otherwise.
The
same principles that make me free make you free also. By defending
your freedom I protect my own. So try it, maybe you will like it.
And remember u r free.
