Score another undeserved victory for the disseminators of hatred and bigotry
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It doesn’t get any more ridiculous than this. Apparently the right-wingers, led by conservative commentator Michelle Malkin, have succeeded in getting Dunkin’ Donuts to pull a Rachel Ray ad for their iced coffee because the scarf she is wearing looks like a kaffiyeh. In case you don’t know what that is, it’s a traditional Arab headdress.
In her syndicated column, Malkin wrote “The kaffiyeh, for the clueless, is the traditional scarf of Arab men that has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad.” But her rant didn’t stop there. She continued on with her brand of misinformation. “Popularized by Yassir Arafat,” she continued, “and a regular adornment of Muslim terrorists appearing in beheading and hostage-taking videos, the apparel has been mainstreamed by both ignorant (and not-so-ignorant) fashion designers, celebrities and left-wing icons.”
The only ignoramus in this equation is Malkin and those who think like her. Amahl Bishara, an anthropology lecturer at the University of Chicago who also happens to specialize in Middle East issues, said in a phone interview that kaffiyehs “are worn every day on the street by Palestinians and other people in the Middle East — by people going to work, going to school, taking care of their families, and just trying to keep warm.”
In cowardly fashion, Dunkin’ Donuts pulled the ad rather than stand up to the right-wing oppressors that so dominate the discussion in print and on the airwaves. This is exactly the kind of slide into fascism that I spoke about in the first part of my article about America becoming a fascist state.
It’s time to stand up to these reactionary oppressors whose brand of bigotry is rarely based in fact, but almost always based in ignorance. Dunkin’ Donuts is giving Michelle Malkin and her ilk way too much credibility. They ought to bring the ad back.
Comment by Richard Cochrane on 31 May 2008:
Right or wrong the KALLIYEH has become a symbol of jihadist violence because of the likes of one of the chief proponents of terror tactics one Yasir Arrafat.
Malkin did not start the KALLIYEH KAFLUFFLE but you probably already know that. It seems to have st arted because DUNCAN DONUTS strenuously enforces a non-illegal immigrant stance and reports those with fact identification and social security numbersand it has been targeted because of that.
Comment by Deb Della Piana on 1 June 2008:
Hey Richard, we’re not arguing what the kaliyeh does or does not represent. The real issue here is whether or not Rachel Ray was wearing one. Get real. Rachel Ray????? Come on. The conservative commentators have a specific agenda to continue George Bush’s politics of fear and bigotry. What this country needs now is someone with a bit of perspective instead of this ridiculous “blind patriotism” we’re supposed to be exhibiting. Let’s focus on what’s really important here, like the sagging economy, a food crisis, getting gouged at the gas pumps so Exxon/Mobil and the like can reap record profits at our expense, an illegal war with no purpose and no end in sight…instead of worrying about whether or not a paisley scarf looks like a kaliyeh.
Comment by Al O'Raley on 1 June 2008:
With celebrity support, the kaliyeh has every chance to become a propaganda icon popularized like Che T Shirts and worn by the well meaning but naive. Such things help keep the divide alive but does provide much needed new styles to fashion industry requires.
Pingback by Fifteen minutes of fame and other lessons from the pulpit on 2 June 2008:
[...] Score another undeserved victory for the disseminators of hatred and bigotry - May 30th, 2008 [...]
Comment by Richard Cochrane on 3 June 2008:
SYMBOLS matter. Sometimes people wear them because they’re told it is “cool” like CHE shirts. Unfortunate that a mass murderer has come to be but other wear Marx, Lenin, Mao symbols too. Forest Gump said it best.