There’s a movement on in the Friends community…well, several, actually, but one that sort of relates to this. Many years ago, Friends generally stopped maintaining plain dress, the same sort of dress that the Amish and some Mennonites still adhere to. However, as Friends struggle to understand what it means to be a Quaker in the current world, many are going back to such standards. The New Plain, it’s called, and it’s not a demand, but a calling. In a desire to live simply in all things, Friends are choosing to dress simply, thus further confusing us with the Amish.

I kid! We get to use buttons.

In any event…I bring it up because, while yes, there can be elements of oppression is religion, it can also be an honest expression of one’s faith. Is it still oppression in that case? Is a thing always a thing regardless of circumstance?

Alibhai-Brown certainly has a right to her opinion, but I have to say, reading her opinion piece, the fiery rhetoric she chose struck me as oddly familiar. She sounded just as extreme as those she was berating.