Long Sunday: It is rude to wear a full-face veil at work. - By Anne Applebaum - Slate Magazine

Over at Long Sunday I critique an article by Anne Applebaum in Slate. Applebaum argues against the niqab because she thinks it's rude, bad manners.

I think Applebaum is wrong. And, I think she's wrong because her argument for rudeness relies on an analogy between tourism and citizenship.

We might structure the opposition in the following way: the tourist is not at home, but away; the tourist visits, but does not participate in a collective way of life. The tourist will leave; the citizen stays. The tourist is not one of us, and does not expect to be. Thus, the tourist adopts a practice momentarily, as a way of passing through the life of others. The citizen, on the other hand, adopts practices that are shared by those living together. These are not temporary acts of courtesy, but practices of everyday life.