Wednesday, May 28, 2008

No Scarf For You

Dunkin' Donuts caves into radical right bloggers protesting an ad where the actress wears .... a scarf. Not just any scarf, mind you. A black and white scarf. Which might be (but in fact, is not) a kaffiyeh. Which could be taken as a symbol of Islamist Jihad and the Intifada. Logically, the only proper move was to boycott.

Now, I'd like to just giggle at how these bloggers are making fools of themselves (mixed with a bit of chiding for Dunkin' Donuts for giving in), but unfortunately as Modern Mitzvot reminds us, when folks such as this (who get a disproportionate amount of attention directed to those who "support Israel") advocate in this manner, it makes all the rest of us look bad. By which I mean crazy.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

David, you're clearly missing the point. I can think of at least two clear reasons why Dunkin' Donuts = terrorism, and I'm already on summer vacation.

First: (a) Democrats love Dunkin' Donuts. (b) Democrats love terrorists. (c) Therefore, Dunkin' Donuts loves terrorists.

Second: (a) Dunkin' Donuts is everywhere in New England. (b) New England contains Massachusetts. (c) Massachusetts contains John Kerry. (d) John Kerry loves terrorists. (e) Therefore, Dunkin' Donuts loves terrorists.

I never cease to be amazed at how brainwashed you liberals are.

Cycle Cyril said...

More than just a chic checkered scarf

David Schraub said...

That would be a fascinating article if what Ray was wearing was a kaffiyeh. But she wasn't. She was wearing a scarf.

Cycle Cyril said...

I would agree that it was a scarf but on the photos available through your link it could and has been viewed as a kaffiyeh. Hence the tempest in the teapot concerning the ad.

None the less the political significance of a kaffiyeh must be acknowledged.

Further several of those who are suggesting a counter protest/boycott of Dunkin' Donuts are usually in the forefront of anti-Israel agitation. In my opinion not very desirable company.

PG said...

According to the article, it actually *would* be a good thing if Rachel Ray had been wearing a kaffiyeh:

"Ideally, I want everyone to wear the kaffiyeh," says Habib, "but if it's just worn for the aesthetic value, without the spirit of resistance wrapped up in every thread, then they might as well not wear it at all, and if it becomes appropriated by commercial interests, then that's even worse." ...
"It bothers me a lot to see the kaffiyeh go mainstream because now when you see someone wearing it, you don't know if they're wearing it for that reason, or just because it's a fashion," says University of Toronto student Jameela Jaber, a Palestinian.


Hello, American capitalism? You're missing an opportunity here.

It boggles my mind that conservatives have gotten so obsessed with differentiating US from THEM (Muslims) that they've forgotten that one of the things America does best is to take something fraught with religious/ political/ cultural meaning, and cheerfully turn it into a commodity. I suspect the Palestinians will have to give up the kaffiyeh in disgust once the new Paris Hilton sex tape comes out where she's wrapped one around her dog and then uses it for other unclean purposes.

Seriously, unless cycle cyril wants to claim that Rachel Ray has turned political from consuming Palestinian EVOO, it's ridiculous to care whether she wears a kaffiyeh or not. The kaffiyeh is a very old way to keep sun and dust off your face in the desert -- it was worn by Lawrence of Arabia, British troops and now the U.S. military (who must be really puzzled as they hear from Michelle Malkin that kaffiyeh = terrorist sympathizer).

Cycle Cyril said...

The differentiation has been created not by anyone in the West, conservative or otherwise, but by Islamofascists. That is part of the problem.

I don't claim to know anything about Ray. My concern is the creeping acceptance of Islamofascism via the innocent acceptance of various aspects of Islam without the deeper knowledge of Islamofascist intent.