Why Banning The Burka Wouldn't Help Integration

Image by IB Time UK

Unless you've been asleep for the past week, you will know all about the furore unleashed by Boris Johnson's comments on women in burkas.

Opinions currently differ over whether banning the burka is a good thing or not - some say that an outright ban would be the solution. Take away the problem and then we can all forget about it. Others, including myself, feel that it should be a woman's right to choose how she dresses, so long as she is making the choice of her own volition and not because she is forced to.

However, I have recently experienced something that has made me question the whole subject of the integration of ethnic minorities into our western culture and I have come to the conclusion that it is not that these group of people are unable to integrate - they simply don't want to!

Just last night, my partner and I were leaving a friend's flat, in Blackburn, Lancashire. She is Blackburn born and bred, British and white. She lives next door to an Asian family and they share an access pathway to their respective flats.

As we were leaving, a car pulled up outside on the road and a young Asian lady, in her late twenties, wearing normal western clothes, got out of the car and walked up the pathway towards the flats. My partner, who is always polite, said "Good evening" to her and she totally ignored him. Personally, so far as I am concerned, if someone chooses to ignore you, you don't bother to push the issue, but Jim being Jim, said to her "Why are you ignoring me?".

The young lady immediately flew into a rage and shouted at the top of her voice "Why are you speaking to me? I don't know you!" to which Jim replied, "I was just being polite by saying "Good evening" to you."

Immediately after this, the front door to her flat flew open and a very angry young man stormed out and verbally attacked Jim whilst shouting "Why do you speak to my sister? You have no right! You should go!"

Again, Jim calmly replied "I was just being polite. I said "Good evening".

By now, I was becoming slightly concerned for his welfare. He is 71 and has terminal cancer. I ushered him into our car and as he got into it, the Asian man flew at the window, which was open, and grabbed Jim threatening to hit him!

By now, there was a group of about six people, all Asian males, stood on the pathway, shouting and gesticulating about how upset they were because Jim said "Good evening" to the Asian lady.

Fearing that they might damage my car, or worse still...Jim, I started up the engine and as I did, the original young man stuck his face into the car and shouted: "Get the f**k out of here!". So we did...in haste, unfortunately, leaving our friend, who presumably knows them, to try to pacify the baying crowd on her pathway.

It was very scary and I can only draw the conclusion that, in this particular instance, this group of people simply did not want to have anything to do with us. So, even without the burka, how on earth are we going to get certain "ethnic minorities" to integrate into our society when they really, quite obviously, don't want to!

Could someone please explain what is so wrong about saying "Good evening" to someone, even if you don't know them? Is it really so wrong to be polite to people? Or am I missing something?