Top

The Bikini, the Bill, and the Burqa

September 23, 2010 by  

It’s the story that won’t just go away. Just two weeks ago, Tara Jones, an attractive young woman, issued a press release. It said that, on the anniversary of the gunning down of over a dozen women in Royalton, she would walk the streets near strip clubs in the city’s east side, wearing only a string bikini and pumps. Jones declared the evening to be “International Take Back the Night Day”, and said she would carry a sign saying “No Means No”.

The announcement generated headlines around the globe. Tens of thousands of men held a protest in Tehran against the bikini event. They also demanded the killing of Tara Jones.

Police started detecting and monitoring internet traffic involving hundreds of thousands of comments to the effect that Jones – and other women who followed suit – might be sexually assaulted. Concerned women’s groups complained that Jones was putting all women in danger of being assaulted, especially on International Take Back the Night Day. In many of the world’s major cities, extra police were scheduled to patrol the streets on the night of the event.

Jones’ plan was condemned by political leaders around the globe. One Prime Minister condemned the plan in no uncertain terms:

“My sexual urges can tolerate responsible conduct by women, and that’s what we want in this world. I unequivocally condemn what Jones is planning to do, and what she is calling upon others to do. We all enjoy freedom of sexuality and that freedom of sexuality comes from women who take precautions not to say or do anything that might stoke the lustful passions of otherwise peaceful men, causing them to engage in sexual assault”.

The opposition leader echoed that theme: “Wearing a bikini and pumps outside a strip bar at night runs counter to the mutual respect and tolerance at the core of beliefs that violent misogynists, and many non-violent misogynists, hold about women.”

Ultimately, Jones – who had received thousands of calls from would-be sex criminals, and who had seen many reports on the internet that she was being targeted for assault – decided not to follow through with the plan. However, her idea caught on like wildfire in towns around the world.

Six women in Britain defiantly carried off the stunt without being harmed. They posted a video of their demonstration to a video sharing website.

In Torontawa, Muslim Students for Individual Freedom founder Aamaal Adl carried out the demonstration by herself. Despite a bolstered police presence, she was brutally raped in an alley adjacent to a strip club. A note was found at the scene. It read:

“Dressed like that? You had it coming. You know how men are. We can’t help ourselves. It’s not our fault. Don’t blame us. Next time, wear a burqa”.

Fortunately, Adl survived.

In the days since International Take Back the Night Day, the police have responded. Royalton’s city officials have sent Jones a bill for $180,000.00: the alleged cost of the extra police presence. “This will bankrupt me”, says Jones. “Hopefully, we’ve seen the last of International Take Back the Night Day”, says city Mayor Marc Gharbi.

The six women in Europe have been charged with inciting hatred of men. A defence lawyer for one of the women foreshadowed their defence:

The accused women don’t hate men. They hate the beliefs about women that lead some men to rape or murder women.

But the prosecutor in the case says that defence is a non-starter:

“If that’s going to be their defence, it’s a loser. The fact that a person holds a rapist’s beliefs about women does not mean that the person will actually act upon those beliefs. In reality, it is only a handful of radical extremists who actually act upon the misogynistic beliefs they hold. By putting on this demonstration and posting the video online, these women have painted men who hold misogynistic beliefs all with the same brush. In fact, they ultimately paint every man with the same brush – regardless of his beliefs – because we don’t know what any particular man believes. This is sexism – hateful sexism, pure and simple – and it will not be tolerated.”

Police in Adl’s town have decided against sending her a bill. “She’s already paid the price for her actions”, explains police chief Theo Goodman. Adl has since taken to wearing a burqa, and to leaving her home only while it is still light outside. The chief says “it was a horrible thing for her to go through. It didn’t have to happen. But I hope her story will serve as a lesson to others who engage in such intolerant provocation of men. I commend her decision now to dress more responsibly, and to serve as a better role model for women everywhere”.


[AUTHOR’S NOTE: The foregoing news report is pure fiction. The names and placenames do not refer to any real person, living or dead. The particular sexual assault mentioned in the foregoing story did not occur in real life.

Brief Backgrounder: American preacher Terry Jones made news prior to September 11, 2010 when he told the world that he would burn 200 copies of the Quran on September 11, 2010, which he called “International Burn a Koran Day”. The demonstration was intended both as a condemnation of some Islamic beliefs, and as a demonstration that Americans are free to express themselves by, for example, burning a religious text. Ten thousand men in Tehran rallied to oppose the plan, and they called for the killing of Jones. The Prime Minister of Canada said “My God and my Christ” are tolerant, that what Canada wants is tolerance, and that he thoroughly condemned Jones’ plan. Canada’s opposition leader, Michael Ignatieff, claimed that Jones’ plan ran contrary to the alleged tolerance set out in Islam et cetera. The town in which Jones lives reportedly is handing him a bill for $180,000.00: the cost of extra policing that the town decided to employ leading up to or during September 11, 2010. Condemned and threatened by countless people around the globe, Jones did not follow-through with his plan. However, 6 men in Britain did: they burned copies of the Quran on September 11, 2010 and video taped their efforts. The video tape was uploaded to a video sharing web site. The six men are being charged with “hate” offenses. I know of nobody that has (yet) been murdered for burning the Quran on September 11, 2010. I do know, however, how the immoral government of this and other nations would cast blame were it to happen. They all should be ashamed of themselves.]

Comments

9 Responses to “The Bikini, the Bill, and the Burqa”

  1. Jack on September 24th, 2010 12:43 am

    She needs to wear a brace of six-guns over that bikini.

  2. JayelleFarmer on September 24th, 2010 1:26 am

    >Jones declared the evening to be “International Take Back the Night Day”, and said she would carry a sign saying “No Means No”.

    This is a good article that would greatly benefit from an extra paragraph explaining to the first-time reader what both of the contexts, mentioned in the above quote, mean. This is new to me and I don’t have a clue what this is talking about as there is not enough contextual background here.

  3. Paul McKeever on September 24th, 2010 1:41 am

    Just added. See the end of the article, above.

  4. JayelleFarmer on September 24th, 2010 6:33 am

    Thanks, Paul, much clearer and much appreciated!

  5. Steven Johnston on September 24th, 2010 7:50 am

    Yes, the city should pick up the tab for the extra policing required for his (self)publicity stunt.

    Bet they love him there!

  6. Steven Johnston on September 24th, 2010 12:13 pm

    As Ayn Rand would say about the extra policing costs…paid for by whom (blank out)

  7. Simon O'Riordan on October 5th, 2010 9:28 pm

    As Ayn Rand would actually say, ‘paid for by the state, just doing its job, out of general taxation revenues, for the freedom of its citizens.’
    That fill in a few blanks?

  8. Brad Garrett on October 6th, 2010 9:24 pm

    Seconding what Simon said it is in direct evidence in the fact (and I hate to reference fiction, but it was a philosophical allegory) Daneskjold never stole from or sunk military vessels since they were “providing a service”. Value for Value.

  9. Steven Johnston on October 13th, 2010 9:48 am

    So Rand would approve of the additional policing costs that were the result of a religious fruitbat conducting a cheap publicity stunt?

Feel free to leave a comment...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!