Rachael Ray's scarf sends blogosphere nuts

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"Buzz of the day: A Dunkin’ Donuts ad featuring Rachael Ray wearing a scarf that looks like a keffiyeh, a traditional headdress worn by Arab men, has been yanked. “The keffiyeh has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad,” said conservative Fox News commentator Michelle Malkin, fueling the controversy.

Dunkin’ says in a statement that the scarf was “selected by (Ray’s) stylist for the advertising shoot. Absolutely no symbolism was intended. However, given the possibility of misperception, we are no longer using the commercial.”

blogs.usatoday.com/entertainment/2008/05/rachael-rays-sc.html?csp=34
 
Yep, it DOES look like a Keffiyah…all the “cool kids” in Germany seem to be wearing them too. I don’t think there was any symbology behind it, it was a wardrobe choice…I own three of them, bought in Jordan, but would never EVER wear one, even as a scarf.
 
Are you having a laugh?

I don’t know what the hell Michelle Malkin’s on, but people everywhere are wearing them here and I saw people wearing them in Spain when I was there too.

What an idiot.
 
I couldn’t give a crispy flip about Rachael Ray, personally, but this is just silly. Anecdote to follow:

I was in Morocco during July/August when I was in my late teens, and we got hit by a blistering dust storm down from the Atlas Mountains one day. Keffiyeh are slightly less-common in the Maghreb (knitted caps are fairly usual too for everyday wear there), but still used pretty often.

I was kinda in a bind, since I didn’t have a scarf that would handle going out and doing stuff (heck, I didn’t have a scarf at all - I was carrying all my gear in a smallish duffel-bag for months, though I did have a light cotton shawl to cover my shoulders in areas where being very respectful of local custom was appreciated), so a few Arab and Berber guys my age walking by, noticing my distress, said ‘oh, no problem; here, use one of these!’ and handed me a (rather attractive and spotlessly clean) keffiyeh, which I used to keep my mouth and nose covered to keep the dust out, and even my eyes sometimes, since the weave was loose enough to see through pretty well. They said 'There ya go, hope you’re more comfy now! (We were speaking in French, in case anyone’s wondering.)

And absolutely no one I saw all day had any problem with that - they were meant to be practical anyway! One elderly part-Tuareg man did ask ‘You’re American, why the keffiyeh?’ I just said ‘Well, check out that dust! You’ve got your face wrapped for it too, after all!’ And he just smiled and said, essentially, ‘Smart girl! Have a good day!’ and that was it.

Now, if I’d been wearing it atop my head with an akal (the rope ties usually used to keep them on top of the head) that would have been tacky, but that’s part of being in other countries - combining the pragmatic with the local idea of good taste. Sheesh.
 
so much for freedom of expression. to be honest, this makes me want to dig out my old keffieh out of the closet and wear it (except the temperature is in the seventies here).

malkin is right about one thing though – in europe it is an expression of radical chic.
 
roanoker said:
I’ve got to ask: Then why buy them?
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People buy stuff all the time that they never plan on wearing or using. My daughter bought a couple of native dresses in Cote d’ Ivore when she was in the Peace Corps just because she wanted them as memories of her time there. My wife has dish towels she bought in her home town in Sicily that she would kill someone over if they ever used them to dry a dish. I have a corn crate that says ‘Georgia Crate and Basket Company’ that will never be used. I picked it up because my dad worked there for 40 years and it brings back nice memories.
 
Yeah, these are pretty popular with a few of my friends. They obviously don’t mean to offend.
 
tomarin said:
so much for freedom of expression. to be honest, this makes me want to dig out my old keffieh out of the closet and wear it (except the temperature is in the seventies here).

malkin is right about one thing though – in europe it is an expression of radical chic.
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Then why the hysteria over the rebel (dixie) flag?
 
Also, the scarf has been worn as a statement before, in fairness to Malkin.

In her column, Malkin also noted that it could appear at times that actor Colin Farrell, rapper Kanye West and Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean have been photographed in similar scarves that were “distinctive hate couture.”
 
He_Man said:
Then why the hysteria over the rebel (dixie) flag?
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Because there’s a difference between a hate group misappropriating a traditional cultural fashion and the display of an icon that was created to symbolize division. The Confederate flag falls in the latter category. It is the symbol of America divided. If indeed United We Stand, then why is there any reason to display the Confederate flag? It’s not like it can be considered a symbol of patriotism.
 
He_Man said:
Then why the hysteria over the rebel (dixie) flag?
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i’m not in favor of suppressing the stars and bars in any way. what gave you the impression that i was?

i think we should live in a free and open society.
 
Michelle did her part in the “war on terror” and is now celebrating her victory over the donut terrorists.

Above all, she needs prayers, for she definitely has issues.
 
I saw the video clip on Yahoo! News and I don’t think it’s a Keffiyah at all. It looks more like a shemagh. A shemagh is typically 44" by 44" has a fringe and comes in several colors. I understand these are issued–in olive drab–to our fighting forces deployed in the middle East as protection from sun and wind-driven sand. I bought 4 of these from eBay (different colors). A shemagh kept my old bonehead warm on the one day it snowed, Aside from a fashion accessory, it can be used for a variety of things (an arm sling, to carry bulky items, etc.). If Rachel Ray wore it for an advertisement, I do not believe she meant it as a barb to anyone.

I may be wrong again but the cloth itself is a shemagh; when it’s worn Arafat-style, the headcovering is called a Keffiyah. Yes? No?

Joe
 
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