Scotland: Specsavers sees sense and bans Palestinian flags from its stores

Specsavers is a very popular opticians in the UK. It is one of the biggest chains, with branches in every city and most towns. I went along to one of their Glasgow branches in December to have my eyes tested. The older I’m getting, the worse my vision is becoming. The store is in Glasgow city centre, which I call Glafrica because of the huge amounts of black and Middle Eastern young men who have been dumped into the city in the past five years.

The staff were all predominantly non-Scottish, unless you think Scottish men have long religious beards and the women never leave home without wearing their hijabs. While I was waiting to get seen by the optometrist, one of the store’s male staff exited a side room with prayer rug in hand. That wouldn’t be counted as part of his break, that will be extra time and favouritism he gets for himself, that non-Muslim workers don’t get. The staff looked hand-picked by design. Whoever is hiring staff members clearly has a bias. There wasn’t one kippah in sight, and the few remaining Caucasian staff were all old, as though they’d been there for years and had not been hired recently. The rota might change on different days, but that was my experience on that day. If we are all to be proportionately represented in every situation, then Caucasians and Jews are not having their day in that store. Muslims make up 1.45% of the population of Scotland and 5% of Glasgow, but if you walked into this store, you’d think that Muslims were around the 60% or more of the population. The point to all of this, before I get accused of “racism,” is that the heavier Islamic a store or a place becomes, the more normalised and accepted is the hatred of Jews.

The Muslim optometrist who saw me was a lovely young woman, personable, with impeccable manners and people skills. She walked me through all the procedures, and as I was leaving, I told her that I felt it was inappropriate of her to be wearing a Palestinian flag to secure her hijab. I explained that if I were Jewish, I would not feel comfortable in her hands, and the wearing of that flag was too political a sign. She told me she wasn’t wearing the pin for political reasons, but humanitarian reasons. She doesn’t realise that everything is political, including humanitarian aid, and how much gets spent on it and to whom it gets sent. But even as she was saying this, whilst trying to maintain an upbeat façade, I could see anger simmering under the surface and an urgency to get me out of the room. It’s generally the case that those with the loudest voices are the ones who know the least about the subject about which they are so fired up. The vast majority of humanitarian aid sent to the Palestinians over the past decades — raw materials and finances — has been used to purchase ammunition and build terror tunnels. So when she says she’s supporting “humanitarian aid” to Palestine, is she saying she wants to fund more terrorism?

I then asked to speak with the store manager, and while she wasn’t wearing a hijab or burka, she didn’t look Scottish, either. Darker features and complexion hinted at a Middle Eastern origin, all of which is fine, it’s simply to say that certain individuals come with political and religious biases which then determine which political symbols it’s okay to display on shop floors. I explained my feelings in relation to her optometrist’s Palestine pin, and she agreed that it was a contentious issue, but she was taking instruction from Head Office, who have said it’s okay to openly show support for the cause. She then proceeded to wonder where a line would be drawn in relation to staff affiliation with other issues. She mentioned the LGBT lanyard and the poppy that gets worn once a year to honour and remember our war dead as being examples of what people are allowed to wear in the workplace. She didn’t accept that as manageress she could intervene in store issues and tell staff that she wants people to remain politically neutral among themselves and to members of the public. Was it coincidence or by design that no one was wearing an Israel pin? Would that be allowed?

Firstly, the whole Pride Month nonsense is being forced on staff and members of the public alike by big corporations as they fight it out on the high street in a bid to capture as much of the pink pound as they can. Secondly, wearing the poppy is not a political symbol, it is a simple mark of respect for the men and women who gave their lives in order that we would not be living under Nazism. Unfortunately, today, there are too many videos and articles of Muslims openly showing support for Hitler amongst the “Free Palestine” mob, and a tendency to view any wars the UK has participated in as being genocides while Islamic wars remain “just” and “holy.” Lastly, Palestine isn’t the UK’s problem.

This morning I received an email from Specsavers’ director, informing me that the employee in question has been asked to remove her Palestine badge, and that she has complied. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that her brain will be seething with thoughts of “Islamophobia.”  She’ll convince herself that she’s being persecuted. I’m not suggesting for one second that there will be an explosion, a beheading, or a car jihad in the city centre anytime soon, but we do see all too often how these perceived slights against Muslims cause some of them to lash out in the most murderous of fashions. A French teacher was beheaded and another stabbed by Muslims who were aggrieved because they felt their “expression of Muslim identity” was being oppressed.

Glasgow is already divided by religious and sectarian bigotry. Catholic vs. Protestant is its ugly side, and its shame. The hatred and division is manifest in support of the local football teams – Celtic/Catholic and Rangers/Protestant. It was imported over a century ago as an influx of Irish people came to the West Coast of Scotland looking for work, and that’s totally fine. I’m very sympathetic to anyone, my ancestors included, who have needed to uproot themselves in order to seek out and make better lives for their families. But is it too much to ask that, when entering a newer, freer, less bigoted and more tolerant land, you leave your old problems behind and start anew?

We’ve imported a new kind of bigotry into Scotland and the UK in general today. The countless marches and demonstrations and protests and shutting down of businesses by the pro-Palestinian brigade have swept the land in a wave of hatred for another religious group. People coming here for work or “fleeing persecution” (the perpetual lie) are bringing their current and historic grievances with them. Instead of freeing themselves from the shackles of oppressive regimes and religions, they’re nurturing their hatred in communities that are expanding, and with groups of like-minded friends and (idiotic) sympathisers who are looking for nothing more than a legitimate target for their own hatred and self-loathing, because man has a seeming need to bully the perceived weaker group or being. The Palestinian issue is a mirror being held up to humanity; it is reflecting the ugly side of human nature, showing us that murderous intent is never too far below the surface of even the most humane-seeming individuals. Support for the cause is a cancer that is spreading in the UK.

Multiculturalism does not work. The more differences you bring into any situation (a country, a room, a workplace, any group), the more problems you will have. That’s a simple reality.