Consistency

Do people's positions have to be consistent in order for you to take them seriously? Hilary Putnam famously said that that it's better to be right than to have been consistent. That sounds about right, so I guess all you need to do is fess up to the change in belief and explain how your new position is better that your old one.

That's not always easy to do when you are arguing against an opponent. Khadijah Ouararhni-Grech is a good example. In the first reports of her argument with the bus-driver, she responded with indignation at her mask being described as a mask. In her first interview with the Tele she insisted that it wasn't a mask that she was wearing. She stated that she was no different from all the other women on the bus. (To which, I assume the driver would have replied, "They're not wearing masks.")

I figure someone must have sat her down and explained that a niqab is a type of mask, because in her interview with ABC's PM she claims that what she said was, "What's the difference between me wearing this and anyone else wearing like a swine-flu mask or wearing what they chose to wear?" That's not such a bad argument. I doubt there were any wearers of surgical masks on the bus that day but it's quite plausible that the driver would have let them on (after chuckling at their stupidity).

But much worse is the way in which her melodramatic reaction devalues other people's suffering - 'It's almost being like raped of [sic.] your culture. It's like something has been taken away from you.' What exactly has been taken from her? If something were taken, wouldn't that be theft, not rape? Not only is that a ridiculous misuse of the word "rape", it doesn't even make sense of her experience. In the same interview the reporter explains, 'Khadijah Ouararhni-Grech says growing up as a Catholic before converting to Islam has given her a valuable insight into discrimination.' Which is it? She can't feel culturally insulted because it isn't her heritage. Islam is something she chose to embrace. This is a clear cut case of personal preference and any talk of culture only serves to muddy the waters.

Next time someone tells me they don't like my beret, I'm going to cry "rape"!