August 31, 2007
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Hijab
Damien French pulled off a woman’s hijab.
A hijab is a religious headscarf.
He is being charged with racially aggravated common assault. He may face a prison sentence. French saw the woman walking with her sister and two nieces. She avoided making eye contact with him.
French pulled on the hijab and knocked out the pins that were holding it in. French’s lawyer said that the hijab didn’t actually come off and the woman had no injuries. He said that it was “clearly more of a mark of disrespect than an attempt to cause injuries.” Here is the link: Link
Do you think a man deserves jail time for pulling off a woman’s hijab?
Comments (127)
ha. well. yes, i suppose.
well if I were to go up to someone and take off their clothing. . .
I would probably get busted.
So yeah. Definitely jail time seems deserved.
not all that much, since nicole richie and paris hilton can serve itty bitty sentences for their crimes. but still.
Maybe. Sure, she wasn’t harmed, but it’s just rude.
If I knocked off a guy’s hat, I think jail time would be an overreaction. I don’t see why this is different. I guess details would shed more light on the subject.
Yes.
No, but it is annoying to see so much disrespect toward other cultures. He doesn’t look too educated either. Fucker.
it was just rude, like a child pulling on a girl’s ponytail. whatever.
I don’t think a little jail time would hurt.
Punishment of some kind? Yes. Jail time? No.
It’s not just rude..
Pulling off someone’s hijab is like pulling down a person’s pants and exposing them.
yes
ryc: what does that even mean, dan? ha.
I am not sure of what kind of punishment he should receive, but I am sure that some kind of punishment is warranted. A person just can’t go around disrespecting others and touching them or their clothing – especially removing it.
Kathi
It was ignorant, but not criminal.
I think a kick in the nether regions should be in order.
It’s basically assault. Racially based? Probably not intentionally – just stupid as all get-out…
Question: if French saw a Roman Catholic nun on the street, would he pull off her veil for the same reasons he pulled at the womans hijab? Its disrespectful and uncalled for. I think he should pay restitution to the woman and to the community for his actions.
It’s just rude in America. In their native country, yes it would be like being “exposed” sexually and a legit form of violation. Here in America… where we dont HAVE to wear hijabs, it was just plain rude and disrespectful. That is not to say he does not deserve to be punished, but jail time is ridiculous. There’s better use for our taxpayer’s money than that.
I guess not technically, but he should just for that look, that disrespectful son of a…
Man, we should save the prison space for real criminals. You know, people that kill people and such…
Having clothes on in this country is necessary by law, just like hijabs are to Muslim women. We have to respect that and charge this person with the assault that it is.
I second the swift kick in the nether regions idea.
No
I’ve always had trouble with the whole idea of “hate crimes.” While a person’s motivation and the circumstances surrounding the crime must certainly be taken into account during court proceedings, having legislation tacking on a whole slew of additional punishment based on preceptions and guesses of ethnic or religious hate seems unfounded.
I believe that Mr. French ought to be punished to the fullest extent of the law. I don’t believe the extra consideration of “hate crime” should apply. This is my conception of it: If Mr. French were to try to pull off a woman’s bra in public, he deserves condemnation, a fine, and perhaps very minor jail time. I put pulling off a religious scarf on par: Embaressment of the woman was incurred through the invasion of a very sensative article of clothing.
he has no right doing anything to anyone. what a douche.
Yes, that is just uncalled for.
Jail time… If you took off a yamaka would you get jail time? I find it exactly the same.
It was rude yes, but I don’t think punishable by jail.
YES! I definitely think he should. I truly understand the meanings of wearing a scarf, and for some ignorant guy, to walk randomly up to a woman who was minding her own buisness, and pulls of her scarf, a part of her religion and beliefes. I do indeed feel he should go to jail. Not only is that personal invasion, but that is also a very rasict act. What must the world come to?
nope. i don’t. the jails are way overcrowded as it is with real criminals.
yes that was rude of him. geez. and he looks like a cone head. hehe
I agree with huginn, actually. In fact, I really think this is taking things a bit too far. For example… I always wear some sort of Christian symbol, whether it be my fish ring or a cross necklace. If someone were to come and rip that piece of jewelry off of me, as rude and disrespectful as that might be, I don’t know if I’d classify it as a “hate crime.” Now, if someone purposely injured me because of the jewelry I was wearing, that would be another thing all together…
it’s not the act of pulling off the hijab, it’s the message he sent when he did it.
it was disrespectful and was physical harrassment and he should definitely receive some kind of punishment for it. what a jackass.
Yes! What gives him ny right to touch anyone… what an idiot…
I think he needs a week in manners camp.
RYC: I can’t be a man, because I’m a woman. Ha.
The jerk needs to get punished but I’m not sure about jail time.
He deserves a good-old-fashioned ass kicking.
no, but he should be punched around for a little while by someone bigger than him. what a jackass.
Maybe he works for the airline.
After reading that, he deserves a kick in the nuts.
nah, he just insulted her. If she wasn’t injured, I don’t believe jail is in order, despite how disrespectful it was.
I don’t know about jail time, but he should be punished. What a dick.
I would say yes.!
RYC: thank you!
Clearly this was not an assault, if you were to ask me. There is no way you can derive an assault from trying to pull off that particular garment. Although if there are any other laws that might be charged against him for this, I say go through with them. Give the jackass some community service.
-David
Oh wait. Turns out that pulling off a garment actually is an assault. Now only the intent is in question, of whether he wanted to insult her race and cultural position.
Whatever the case, it’s still an assault. And I still say community service.
-David
he should serve a prison sentence for being an anti-semitic douche bag… How does that sound, Dan??
RYC: did you read the poem, Dan?? Damn…
hell yes.
Community service seems more apt.
All the people here who are commenting about how it’s no different than pulling off a ball cap, yamika, or christian fish symbol are kinda missing the point. The hijab is not merely a religious symbol or removable piece of clothing. Just because it isn’t mandatory law for me to wear a sweater over my tshirt (as it isn’t for a woman to wear a hijab), if someone pulled that off of me, I would feel violated, exposed, and somewhat sexually harassed. You’re taking CLOTHING off someone that is intended to cover and conceal.. not just a symbol.
Okay, after reading the link, it makes more sense.
“…had a previous conviction for animal cruelty when he fed a live zoo rabbit to an alligator. “
“A witness in a shop saw French hurling abuse at a coach which appeared to be full of Asian passengers. “
“Gareth Parry, prosecuting, said: ‘She suddenly felt a violent grip to the top of her head, connecting with her hijab, which was fixed with two pins. But the pins were forced open.’ “
He needs a little more than community service. But jail time? That won’t improve his attitude, or his ignorance, any.
Yes, like few days of jail or lot of hours of community service if they have it..
And for all the people talking of it occurring in this country… and our laws- it didn’t happen in the US, but in Wales.
uh…no. its wrong what he did but he doesnt deserve a sentence the way i see it. but he should pay a fine and some community service. you dont see cops arresting other racist people….unless theyre finally taking a turn….but i doubt it.
What a dick. Seriously. DICK.
I would punish him, but no jail time.
I don’t know about jail time, but community service might do him some good. Like cleaning toilets at her mosque or something.
Not for a (i’m assuming) first time assault offense with no injury. This is utter bullshit. And its not even racism, since they’re both caucasian. Dumbfucks.
Yes. He assaulted her.
Did anybody actually read the link? OK, looks like a few on this page of comments did. This happened in the UK, the guy had a previous conviction for stealing a rabbit from a petting zoo and feeding it to an alligator, and he preceded his assault on the woman with hurling verbal abuse at a bus full of Asian tourists. He needs something other than probation and fines. I think two or three months in jail and mandatory psychological counseling at the very least.
Yes. Apparently he never learned the first rule of appropriate behvior every grade school child learns: keep your hands to yourself!
Depending on how old he is, I think he should be charged with a hate crime offense.
yes that’s ridiculous!
After reading the complete article…OFF WITH HIS (skin)HEAD!
Jail no, but definitely community service. Maybe make him clean mosques for a month?
AND…(I know I keep ranting) just because you don’t see cops arresting other racist people doesn’t mean it shouldn’t start HERE!
He looks like a troublemaker.
I’m not sure jail time is what he should get… something that’ll actually teach him something like sensitivity training and volunteer hours seems more appropriate. What a jackass though.
Yes, I think he should be punished.
He fed a rabbit to an alligator? That’s pretty cruel. I say we feed his manhood to a hungry creature.
this fits the legal definition of ‘battery,’ which includes physical invasion of objects intimately-enough connected with the body a to be considered part of personal bodily integrity.
more than “assault,” he physically battered her person.
This clown looks like a jerk. I want to punch him in the face.
and mandatory psychological counseling at the very least.
<LI class=itemtimestamp>8/31/2007 4:00 PM
<LI class=itemsubmitter>saintvi (message)
Most people don’t read the link. /sigh. I agree with you. Someone who thinks the alligator stunt is cute, then racially attacks another group, then finds it necessary to rip something off of a woman’s head because she didn’t make eye contact with him, pretty much is someone who at the least is abusive, and at the worst mental unstable as well as potentially dangerous.
YES. If a nun had her whipple removed there would be outrage.
Muslims are discriminated against throughout the entire world but the French have a particular dislike of them, or at least their modesty. There have been many protests of hijab, and other Islamic modesty garments there.
Oh nevermind, he might not be French as in from France. LOL. I am so idiotic. But whatever, my point is still there. Muslims are so discriminated and hijab is very holy to them and if it is removed thats basicallly spitting in the face of Allah. So yes, he deserves jail time.
not jail time. what about like some court assigned community service at some kind of like Muslim center?
Yes. That’s just like if he would’ve went up and tried taking off her shirt! He definately deserves jail time!
Any assault … or battery is punishable; and to remove someone’s clothing, or symbol of religious identification is wrong. Yes, he should be subjected to what the law decrees. However, he’ll probably get off with probation ….
That’s pretty violating. I think he should be punished.
I think a little time in the clink wouldn’t hurt him a bit. he might even make some new friends.
Guillotine!
I think he’s a jerk. But jailtime… meh. If he knocked my ball cap off while I was walking down the street he wouldn’t be facing jailtime.
But it is a racial thing which obviously makes a difference.
“What a jerk” is my first reaction, but then I wonder what went wrong with his upbringing… Plus, cruelty to animals (one of his previous offenses) is known to be one of those red flags to more aggressive and violent behaviors. He needs some sort of intervention, but jail time is probably not the answer.
No but he looks like a little skin head thug. He probably already has a record too.
At the least, he should have to do community service, but I think jail time may be a little harsh in this case.
Nevermind, I read the article, he’s a bit out of control, jail time might do him some good.
wow.. he fed a zoo’s rabbit to an ALLIGATOR??! Learning difficulties, darn right.
This reminds me of flag burning. Some people think it’s outrageous, some don’t.
Also, like some other comments have it.. some people won’t like it if their clothes were forced off in public. In a way, i think it should be considered a sexual assault.
No. But thats horrible.
Jail time? Nah. But I would call that a form of assault. He should be fined, maybe. And he should also grow up.
I’m with Huginn… the hijab is a sensative piece of clothing, worn for a reason. Definitely Fine, re-education, and some minor jail time… if it’ll help
Yes ~ teach the little punk to keep his hands to himself.
No it’d be like taking off someone’s hat
a huge slap on the wrist, but no prison time
I’d say it merits a fine and community service.
It’s a hat, right? They want it looked upon as a hat, but treated as a religious article. Everyone wants the best of both worlds.
I’m pretty shocked by this. I can’t even imagine someone doing that. Oh and I don’t shock easily.
I think instead of prison time Mr. French out to serve out community service by having to learn about the Muslim culture and find out WHY a woman wears a Hijab. If this had been done in the Middle East Mr. French probably wouldn’t have even made it to a jail.
No but it was disrespectful. It’s like grabbing someone’s arm and pulling them or shoving them.
it was dumb and rude.. but jail time as charged for a hate crime? eh…
Definitely.
He’s just trying to save her from an eternity of suffering. Sheesh and they’re talking about jailtime.
A kick in the butt and community service maybe, but not jail time.
what a jerk, throw him in jail.
Absolutely put his sorry butt in jail. He’s a ticking time bomb.
Why didn’t he pull the turban off some 6 foot buff Muslim man? Because this woman was weaker and vulnerable.
Men like French scare me. He should scare us all.
Jail time, no, but a really good spanking and sent to a corner for a few hours, yes.
My inclination is to say yes, because I think he was stupid… but yeah, the whole “hate crime” issue I’m not totally sure about…
Was this in the UK or US? It sounds like UK to me, but that is from my own experience wtih the large number of rowdy young people who behave combatively in public just starving for attention or a fight. They love to make trouble in public places just to see what will happen next.
This was a definite assault. This racist jerk should be punished to the utmost warranted by the offense.
assault: the tort of acting with the intention of causing harmful or offensive contact with another person, or imminent apprehension of such contact, which results in that other person being in put in a state of apprehension.
“It’s a hat, right? They want it looked upon as a hat, but treated as a religious article. Everyone wants the best of both worlds.”
Where the heck did you get that? From Dan’s previous post? 1) those weren’t Muslims as I added in the comment and 2) they actually did not want their religious article to be seen as a hat – if it were a hat it would be no problem to remove it for inspection?
If we Christians want respect for our beliefs/religion, we must have respect for others as well.
He looks uneducated, and he acted uneducated. Insulting. How very insulting.
Jail time is winning for me….
It was very disrespectful towards her. He should have to pay her restitution of some kind. But jail time, I don’t think so.
i think she would get some jail time. and a huge fine. I think it is obviously a hate crime. or does he have a history of removing clothing? i doubt it.
in the qur’an, the woman’s hair is more than just her crowning glory… it’s something so special and beautiful that no one else aside from her family members may see it. pulling her hijab is like pulling down her top , lifting up her skirt, or stripping off her clothing in public…
just because damien does not know this, does not mean he should not go to prison. he was rude, discriminating, and ignorant! ignorance does not excuse you from the law!
he gets what he deserves!
hell yeah he should be jailed, fu** did she need to look in his eyes for, hes nobody
I don’t know what kind of punishment is warranted. He’s a loser though.
Deserves to be jailed–YES!
I don’t know if jail time is called for here, but this obviously was an incredibly disrespectful thing to do. This happened in the UK, it seems, but in parts of the world if a woman’s headscarf is pulled off she’s liable to get beat b/c of it. Also, to her and her religion having a headscarf pulled off is equivalent to me having my shirt or pants get pulled off in public– I’d be left exposed, feeling naked, and being gawked at. That’s hoew this should be treated– as if he’d made an attempt to disrobe a woman. No, it was not sexual, but to her it probably feels like just as big of a violation of her body and privacy.
Reading the article, this guy sounds like a complete ass.
I don’t think he deserves jail time, however… I think what he did was unaccceptable. I think, perhaps sending him to a class at a Mosque, where he’d have to learn about Islam, and in particular WHY women wear the head covering that he so disrespectfully removed from her head would be good for him.
I don’t believe it was a hate crime.
I believe the guy is simply… an jerk who needs to grow up, and learn how to co-exist peacefully with those around him.
~Namaste
if im am not mistaken (and correct me if am) point of the hijab is respect not only for the a woman’s husband (and the other men she interacts with) but for self-respect as well
i have heard its purposed described as “the inner purification of the lady who wears it”
so if French’s actions really were “a mark of disrespect” than i strooongly believe he should recieve punishment
jail time seems does seem appropriate
ok after reading a few of the other comments i am beginning the agree that while this act was terribly disrespectful and rude, jail time is perhaps not completely neccessary
community service and a fine
“Why didn’t he pull the turban off some 6 foot buff Muslim man?”
Muslim men don’t wear the turban, Sikh men do. Sikhism is an entirely different religion.
Yes, he should have jail time.
Absolutely not. She oughta be shipped back to her country after getting the shit kicked out of her.
i definately don’t think that deserves jail time.
but thats just rude.
He needs to have that ass beat. How dare you. I feel it to be grossly disrespectful to simply pull another mans baseball cap off. Jail at the very least.
OF COURSE!!
yes.. he has NO right to touch a woman in any way!
Not for a (i’m assuming) first time assault offense with no injury. This is utter bullshit. And its not even racism, since they’re both caucasian. Dumbfucks.
Well at least he didn’t try feeding her to an alligator…guess he learned from his previous offense on that one.