Everyone criticizes me for reading CNN, but today I came upon this article. Basically, conservative wacko Michelle Malkin--who I am sure everyone other than me knows all about, since I am fairly out of touch and get my news from places like CNN.com--put the hit out on a Rachel Ray Dunkin Donuts online ad in which she is pictured wearing a black and white paisley scarf. According to Malkin, Rachel Ray was not wearing a scarf, but a keffiyeh, which, "for the clueless, is the traditional scarf of Arab men that has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad." Malkin goes on to note that designers and left wing icons have high jacked the style in a display of anti-American sympathy for murderous terrorists.
Though I did not know anything about Michelle Malkin before today, I have done a little background research and I have to say that I'm sorry I even stumbled upon this story in the first place. My life was probably much better before I knew that Malkin even existed--like my life was better before I went fishing for the first time and had to ask my Dad what happens to the fish when it isn't moving any more.
The most frustrating part of the story is that Dunkin Donuts actually pulled the ad and issued an apology. Really? Really? I thought this was a joke when I first started reading it. I could be wrong, but isn't the keffiyeh simply a piece of clothing that people wear in the Arab world? Isn't associating a piece of clothing with terrorism a watered down version of assuming that the middle eastern guy on the plane is going to blow it up? The only real analogy I can think of would be an Arab person thinking someone is anti-Muslim because he is wearing a suit and tie.
What people like Malkin do is divisive, counterproductive, and plain irresponsible. This sort of scare mongering is exactly the type of shit that got us into the global mess that we find ourselves in today. If she were sitting here right now, she would tell me that I am being anti-American and that I'm helping the terrorists, but I think we are all sick of that bullshit rhetoric--at least I hope we are.
1 comment:
Agreed. See Olbermann in my post above.
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