Some said that if the money was being equally spent on other things, it didn't matter to them whether the baths were installed or not. Others felt there was nothing wrong with it period. I however, feel differently.
What if we do ignore the few board members who dont think its necessary to install the baths? Aren't we just putting aside one minority to appease another? If the majority really does rule, why even consider installing the foot-baths? The majority won't find a use for them, so are they really necessary?
Also (this is probably somewhat off-topic), if the baths were installed, what would come next? Would the Muslim students find something else that they "needed?" If the baths were installed, they might get the idea that they can get anything "religious" they wanted. For example, they might decide that since they have to pray 5 times a day facing toward Mecca, they need pads or mats to kneel on so they don't damage their knees. Then what? Do we choose to keep appeasing this minority? What happened to the majority rule? Christians don't have to kneel when they pray, so why not just ignore the request and move on since it doesn't benefit the majority?
The main point i want to try to get across is, if a group decides to abide by the policy "majority rule," then that policy should be enforced in all aspects. Not just in the decision making process.
I commented on Amy's post "The Cost of Being Free"
In the situation proposed it was a majority of the Christians who wanted to do this for the Muslim students. It was never even implied that the Muslims asked for the footbaths.
ReplyDeleteAlso they do help the majority. Washing your feet in a sink is difficult and would cause some problems: the floor would get slippery and someone could fall, and it could delay other students from washing their hands. It was never said only the Muslim students could use the footbaths. Athletes would also benefit from having them. Last it does no harm to the minority who didn’t want the footbaths, well, besides to their egos.
The majority rule system is one that we like to think is followed, but occasionally the minority is much more vocal, therefor the majority is more inclined to give them their way merely to silence them. In this case though, was it really one of minority's getting their way, or was it merely a faculty who didn't want to deal with broken fixtures or the consequences of telling them that they couldn't use them as foot baths without providing an alternative? After all, it was never stated that the students requested the foot baths, merely that the faculty decided they were the best option for everyones safety.
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