Join the Ban Party!

In honor of all things banned in Switzerland, from the construction of Minarets to kids shopping at Denner, One Big Yodel is sponsoring a ban party right here on this blog where nothing is too un-PC to mention. After all, we aren't in Kansas (or America) anymore, people.

To get you started, the Swiss newspaper, Blick am Abend, had their own "ban party" a couple of weeks ago and this is what some Swiss people they interviewed want to see banned:

*Religious pamphlets handed out on the streets (what a pain to have to tie these up with string in addition to everything else!)

*Over-crowded trains (made ever-more unfair by those stretching out their legs in 1st class)

*The Civil Engineering Department of Zurich (enough with the construction noise!)

So tell us, what would you ban in Switzerland? That pesky clock tower that goes off every fifteen minutes 24/7? People that cut in line? A skyline filled with cranes?

This is an über-democracy, so leave a comment below.

Sorry, You Can't Shop Here

Maybe you've seen them. Around 3.30 p.m. they storm the local grocery store, Denner, buying Cokes, candy, and cigarettes. They are the school kids. But they will shop there no more.

Yes, in towns across Switzerland, namely Lucerne and Buttikon (my personal favorite), school kids are being banned from the grocery store. Ouch.

Apparently, there has been a lot of shoplifting at Denner and so, because of a few bad seeds, all kids are banned and will now have to explore more expensive places to buy their Cokes.

All I can say is, wow. Can Swiss stores legally ban certain people from shopping? Isn't freedom of shopping protected under civil rights? I just can't see a store in the U.S. being allowed to ban certain customers post 1960s, but maybe I'm wrong.

Oh, Switzerland. I guess if you can ban the building of minarets, it's not a big deal to ban a few school kids from shopping. Is it?

Minaret Ban: Fear or Discrimination?

I have to say, I was shocked that the Swiss passed the minaret ban on Sunday. I've read reports that say the ban resulted from fear and not from discrimination. But my question is, isn't that the same thing?

Not to mention, I just don't get the fear thing. What do the Swiss have to fear? No one has terrorized them. And I don't see what banning minarets accomplishes. Except to ask for trouble.

I also don't get this: religious freedom is part of the Swiss constitution. But the Swiss are so democratic, they've somehow been able to vote against their constitution. You have to give them credit. Democracy doesn't get any better than this.

There are four minarets in Switzerland. Four. None of them are used out of respect for the Swiss concern of "disruption." And please. If you want to talk disruption, I've got a clock tower across the street that tells me the time every fifteen minutes, 24/7. Never mind the Catholic church bells. Or celebrations called Badenfahrt.

What do you think? Is the minaret ban a step back for Switzerland? Can the Swiss ever claim they are neutral again? Is fear and discrimination the same thing?