So what? You do have the right to ban people from entering your property/bar/club based on appearance. Ever heard of a dress code? I might not ever choose to visit any venue with a dress-code, but that doesn't mean I think they shouldn't be allowed it.kr@cker wrote:
@ nuttah's post, the difference between the veils and the st george is that the st george doesn't hide your identity, how would you like to be having a meeting/sharing private information with/conducting a traffic stop/trying to work security at any venue and have to deal with someone you can't identify? If you have the right to hide your identity, then i have the right to refuse service or access to anything/place of mine on grounds of safety and security (informational included)
-having a meeting: Don't see what difference it makes. How do you know that someone hasn't found a double and sent them to the meeting either? You don't. You demonstrate basic trust that the person who said they'd turn up at a specific time to discuss a specific issue is the person you are speaking to. As for 'communication barriers', we are supposed to be inclusive to all people. Imagine someone in a meeting with Stephen Hawking saying "I don't understand, type it again and use some damn facial expression this time".
-sharing private information with: People do it on the phone all the time.
-Conducting a traffic stop: Here in the UK, women have to take their veils off when taking their tests or their identity needs to be verified when stopped by the cops. They can request a female officer to do this.
-Trying to work security at any venue: See dress code comment. They already ban hats and hoods in many venues, and insist on photo ID. Doesn't stop someone who was earlier refused entry because of dress code coming back with a mac 10 and blasting the shit out of the bouncers anyway.
Quite frankly I view the recent trends towards banning fucking hooding tops in public places as a total violation of my rights, and since I've got a hood on almost all of my outdoor clothing I also make a point of wearing it whenever the fuck I feel like it. Banning it takes it from something 'meh' to 'fuck you, I'm going to wear this hood to prove a point' simply because people whine about it. The fact is that making some stupid rule isn't going to stop the people using hoods/hats to hide from cameras while committing crime, it's just going to piss non-criminal people off. As far as I'm concerned, my identity in public places is no-one's business but my own, unless I choose to share it. Do you really think making it a crime to wear a balaclava in public is going to stop people wearing them to rob a bank? "Look boys, I've been thinking about it, and if this job goes tits up we'll be enough trouble for the guns and stuff, so let's not bother with the old nylon stockings on the head, okay?"
Actually, maybe we should force people to be identified wherever they go. Everyone should be issued with identical jumpsuits with a barcode and nametag permanently displayed on their chest and back. And we could chip them as babies and put trackers on every street corner. Also we should execute people there and then if they don't have a chip, since they are obviously spies trying to steal our great utopian lifestyle. Also bring back hanging. For late library books and stuff.