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Are these points too draconian?

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anotheoldgit | 10:01 Sat 15th Oct 2011 | News
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I was recently repeatedly asked to outline 6 bullet points on the actions that I would take if I was in Number 10.

To which I replied:

Too late now, if you had asked this question 50 odd years ago, then perhaps we could have helped to solve some of today's problems.

1. All British passports to be considered void, on the granting of independence from British rule.

2. Limit immigration to include only self financing skilled persons.

3. Immigrants to learn English, and then to apply for British citizenship.

4. Ban on certain items of clothing that is alien to our culture.

5. No dispensations from the law of the land

6. Restrictions on the type of architecture, that is liable to change the face of English towns, cities and villages.

To which my original taunter was strangely 'As quiet as the grave'.

My points were more recently copied by another ABer to somehow prove his point, but once again all was quiet as the tumble-weed blew down the street.

I now enter these 6 bullet points once again, to ask ABers their opinions on them, and all I ask is for constructive non abusive answers.
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you seriously want clothing police? Nanny state.
>>>>Ban on certain items of clothing that is alien to our culture.
>>>>Restrictions on the type of architecture

While I see where you are coming from AOG, I think some of these "rules" would impact the local population as well as any immigrants.

So, for example, fashion has changed over the centuries so who decides what is alien? In the 1970s we had punks with spiky hair and zips all over their clothes, that could be considerded alien.

Many young men nowadays walk around with their trousers round their hips showing their underpants (which I have to say looks stupid). Is that alien, and do we ban it?

The men who parade round horse guards parade on the Queens birthday look faintly rather silly in their bearskins and outlandish clothes, do we ban that?

And if Ghandi had come here in his white "sheet" would we have banned him?

Also with architecture, do we ban the Gherkin in London, or Selfridges in Birmingham (with the silver dishes all over the building) because they are different?

If you do then you stifle all creativity within architecture.

So while I understand your motives your "rules" are somewhat misguided.
Why not? Gok Wan could be the Chief Constable.
It's a bit of a mixed bag, aog, but I see where you're coming from!

I'd include

Banning the sale of British companies to foreigners, or at least having a Government "golden shareholding"

Restricting imports of manufactured goods to the value of our exports to the countries involved.
When the top hat was worn in public for the first time, the wearer was fined for causing a disturbance. Would you consider the top hat to be alien?
Agree with 1, 2, 3 and 5.

I love architecture, be it old or new, so am a bit uncomfortable with point 6. If this were enforced we wouldn't have buildings such as the Lloyd's building in The City.

What would you consider to be 'certain types of clothing'? As a rule I don't particularly care what people wear, although I would be lying if I said the burkha showing just the person's eyes, or worse where there is lace over the eyes so that there is noting visible of the person at all, doesn't make me feel a little uncomfortable
"4. Ban on certain items of clothing that is alien to our culture."
That one would be interesting, presumably all new fashions from 1961 onwards would be illegal.

"6. Restrictions on the type of architecture, that is liable to change the face of English towns, cities and villages."
And that would tend to screw up ecologically designed buildings. What made English towns of 1961 perfect (as opposed to say, English towns of 1561?).

The problem with all reactionaries is that they all think that there was some point in time when everything was ideal, and any changes after that must be for the worse.
Since points 4 and 6 are too vague, would you care to expand upon them aog?
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Thank you for your constructive comments.

Yes I admit points 4 & 6 (which are the ones most have criticised) could be construed as rather strange, but first let me explain I quickly entered these six points so as to satisfy my taunter, and yes with a little more thought I could have worded them differently perhaps.

But having said that I think most would have got my drift, the ban on certain items of clothing that are alien to our culture, was specifically aimed at the types of clothing such as the Burka.

Regarding the architecture I was referring of course to middle eastern types of buildings i.e. golden domes and minuets etc. all these things are fine in their countries of origin, and that is what we love to visit and photograph when we travel to these countries, but in my opinion there is no place for them in England.
Sikhs who wear Turbans need not wear crash helmets when they ride Motor Cycles or Scooters. They have been allowed to wear Turban as their only headgear. In accordance with the Motor-Cycle Crash Helmets (Religious Exemption) Act 1976 passed by the British Parliament in 1976, Section 2A "exempts any follower of the Sikh religion while he is wearing a turban" from having to wear a crash helmet.

does that help you thecorbyloon
my bad, misread as point 5
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This is the type of position we would not have found ourselves in, if we had not let it happen in the first place.

http://www.telegraph....sts-to-be-banned.html
Would the Brighton Pavilion have to go?
Who are us and who will define "our culture"?
TCL, I do not wish to be humiliated in the streets by Trinny and Susannah.

The Iranians have to put up with this sort of thing - hardliners grabbing women who have too much hair showing from under their headscarves. It seems rather unEnglish to me, but perhaps aog is comfortable with importing funny foreign customs?
Exactly sandy, and most of the Indian war memorials, the Gurkha memorial - et al.
4 is ridiculous - that would mean you'd also ban Hawaiian shirts, dirndl skirts, Roman sandals.... the stuff you are thinking about no doubt relates to burkahs and turbans, and the answers from me to that would be no.
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sandyRoe, the Queen's House at Greenwich would have to go - nasty Renaissance architecture despoiling the traditional English forms.

And Westminster Abbey - this horrible new Gothic stuff when we are getting by perfectly well with good old romanesque (and mud huts).
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bazwillrun

Quite right, this is covered in point 5.

If they are not prepared to remove their turban so as to wear a crash helmet, then they do not ride motor cycles and scooters.

The same can be said for those wanting to join the police, be prepared to wear the standard uniform or don't join the police
force.

It's easy, the choices are completely up to them.
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