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by daliusd 2868 days ago
I spent a week in Poland and saw homosexual girls passionately kissing in the public and more burkas than I have expected. Overall more liberal than I have expected from the public image we see here in Lithuania.
2 comments

You didn't spend a week in Poland. You spent a week in Warsaw.
I was last in Warsaw about twelve years ago, bought a T-shirt from an activist that translated as "I don't like the pope". Was advised to consider not wearing it if I visited any small towns.
Actually I spent only one day in Warsaw ;-)
Oh yes, that great beacon of liberality, the burka.
Having in mind how Christian and anti-migrant Poland looks like in our press it is surprisingly is. E.g. burqas are banned in France :)
And press doesn't call France illiberal. So, either burqa is not the evidence, or press is not that correct. Or both.
Or context is important as well ;-) Sorry, too lazy to discuss and explain myself properly.
Would you call France a non-liberal place?
Surprisingly I was in Paris this year as well and... OK, jokes asides :-)

France is liberal place. No discussion here. Burqas ban is not changing that. In my opinion, context is important. Poland being Islamophobic, while France is not.

The point is the unusual tolerance found in the offbeat combination it is unusual for those strongly religiously traditionalist as those who wear burkas willingly to /not be bothered/ by something like same sex public displays of affection. Not being offended or leaving immediately at the sight or anything. The combination is fairly high entropy in an information theory sense.
Where exactly does it say anything about the botheredness of the burkaed?
It is certainly a sign of being liberal that one is allowed to wear whatever they like for any reason, and the state does not say, "Your religion is bad and you are oppressing yourself, and we are here to rescue you."

There have of course been illiberal but left-wing states that are willing to say exactly that. Most Communist governments have banned religion of any form on the grounds that the state knows better, but I don't think those governments are usually called "liberal."