Whether this is about being Anti-Muslim, anti-bank robber, or "multi-victim public shooter" is beside the point. ITS FRANCE!!!! Out of control PC-ism, anti-discrimination, and white guilt that hamstrings America does not apply. France can do whatever the hell it wants...
I think that everyone can agree that this particular article is a French issue. With that said, there is certainly a cause for concern here in the US with respect to the limits upon ones right to religious expression, particularly in the business world.
As a libertarian (in principal rather than party) I see the answer to this and almost every problem, in decreased government involvement and increased privatization. Specifically, that the root of the problem lies in laws and individuals that promote judgments such as "protected classes". When you shield a "class" of people you essentially segregate them from society. Separate but equal is still inherently unequal. I don't think you’re special because of your race, religion, age, sex, or sexual preference. And most people don't. We live in a capitalist country. If you won’t hire Joe Blow (pardon the pun in advance), the most talented candidate because he's gay, I will. Because I'm drawing from a larger and more diverse talent pool, I'm naturally advantaged.
Which is a long way of arriving at my point: If people don't want to hire… or serve… or transport burka wearing women, there’s a
reason for it. And most likely it's
not because the business doesn't like to take money from Muslims. So let the business do what it wants. The government exists to protect individual liberty, not religious ideology.
Unfortunately our, and western values as a whole, have become less about ensuring individual freedom than ensuring no one is offended. Our ability to appease will
never exceed our capability to offend those that trying their hardest to be offended.
