Arabisto: Not waiting around for Dunkin' Donuts

This past May, Dunkin' Donuts caused a stir amongst conservatives as an advertisement featuring daytime TV darling Rachael Ray wearing a keffiyeh almost aired. On the front lines of the conservative attack was Michelle Malkin, whose yips and yowls contributed to Dunkin' Donuts' decision to pull the ad. The story received significant media coverage, with many journalists clearly opposed to Malkin's ridiculous rhetoric. Dunkin' Donuts' official line on the controversy, according to the Boston Globe, was:

‘‘In a recent online ad, Rachael Ray is wearing a black-and-white silk scarf with a paisley design. It was selected by her stylist for the advertising shoot. Absolutely no symbolism was intended. However, given the possibility of misperception, we are no longer using the commercial.’’

Funny, that. The scarf wasn't even an actual keffiyeh...but of course, that's still enough for the ignorant crowd to get all riled up. The blogosphere, from New York to Beirut, is also riled up, but in a different way. Bloggers are now calling for a boycott of Dunkin' Donuts products. A petition has been circulated.

Personally, I won't put my name on a petition. I wear a keffiyeh occasionally, and proudly, but a petition is not going to kill the ignorance that abounds in this world. I did, however, write a kind letter to Dunkin' Donuts, telling them that regrettably, although I love their donuts and iced coffee, I can't support a company that panders to the American Right (never mind a company that doesn't pay their employees a livable wage).

On the lighter side, this great post highlighting the keffiyeh went up today on About.com. The author says:

"For all its famous wraps around the late PLO chairman Yasser Arafat’s head, the keffieh isn’t primarily a symbol of Palestinian militancy. It is, as it has always been, primarily a symbol of the Arab heartland, as human and humanizing a cloth as the smile on that Cairo man’s face at the top of this blog post. The last thing reactionaries want is humanized Arabs."

In the meantime, I will wear my keffiyeh, perhaps even more often. And I won't sit around waiting for an apology from Dunkin' Donuts. After all, the little Syrian café down the street makes better coffee, anyway.

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Added: December 04, 2008. 05:09 AM CST

Footnote

I disagree in one important respect. While the kufiyyah is primarily a traditional garment that is part of Arab culture and a symbol of Arabism, it is not just that. Symbols do evolve and recent history has seen the kuffiyah evolve into a symbol of resistance, primarily to Israeli colonialism and Western imperialism. We have no reason to deny that. Indeed, we should be quite open about it.

Arabisto

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Added: July 17, 2008. 02:22 AM CST

I like Crispy Cream better anyway.

Arabisto

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Added: July 15, 2008. 12:46 AM CST

Really? Seriously?

Since when if you wear a Keffiyeh you are looked at as a terorrist? This is just another way to discrimate against the Arabs in the USA. Good for you Jillian for writing this. It's very sad what America has become.

Arabisto

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