Readers have continued to share their opinions on the alleged discrimination incident at Sound Credit Union. Here's a snippet of what they had to say.
"Alleged CU Discrimination Suit Sparks Social Media Outrage," May 10
The issue is that she was told to remove her head covering, but other white men in the place were not asked to do the same. That's discrimination. It's one thing to say everyone has to do it for safety. It's another thing to say a black woman is dangerous for covering her head, but white people aren't. That's racist and that's what happened in this situation.
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Zeid Khan
"When Rules Don't Apply," May 24
Michael Ogden should reconsider his opinion. The rule involved in this case exists to allow facial recognition software used by law enforcement to identify bank robbers. Some kinds of headwear don't prevent the functioning of that software, whereas other kinds of headwear do. And that's what matters: Whether or not a specific "hat" or "scarf" or "hijab" does, or does not, prevent facial recognition software from determining who someone is, if that person robs the bank and eludes immediate capture by those at the scene of the crime.
This consideration is so obvious that the idea that it might not have come to mind at once simply isn't at all credible.
A baseball cap doesn't prevent identification unless the bill on the cap is pulled down low and the wearer makes a point of keeping it between his face and the bank's cameras. But anything worn over the face that hides the face without any unusual positioning or special effort by its wearer is, and ought to be, prohibited in banks.
If banks make exceptions for religious groups, then it won't be long before bank robbers begin using religious disguises to hide their identities from the police. Indeed, this entire controversy might have been manufactured in order to pressure banks into making themselves more vulnerable to such robbers, who will show up later to take advantage.
Jamela Mohamed wasn't discriminated against. She edited the video she made in order to make it appear that way. At best, she is someone out to get her 15 minutes of fame as a social justice crusader. At worst, she's in league with criminals who want to rob banks with a greater chance of getting away with the loot. The bank staff did not harass her on account of her race, on account of her sex, or on account of her religion and it is foolish to pretend otherwise.
I must say, I never thought that I'd be writing something in defense of banks. The way banking is done in the United States involves an economic poison called usury, which should never be allowed to exist anywhere, as it creates an impossible financial bind from which a country can escape only by legislative repudiation at some point, and then face consequences that might involve one or more wars with other countries.
David Sims
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