Thursday, May 29, 2008

Donuts: An Instrument of Death

Rachel Ray is a terrorist, an radical Islamic apologist, and someone who is able to make a decent meal in 30 minutes or less. How dare she wear a scarf in a Dunkin' Donuts commercial? (For anyone who has yet to hear about this- http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/29/news/companies/dunkin_donuts)
Michelle Malkin says that this scarf is a kaffiyeh. What the hell is a kaffiyeh? According to Malkin ''The kaffiyeh, for the clueless, is the traditional scarf of Arab men that has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad". That's right, for the clueless. It is your duty as an American to be an expert in all things that could possibly be misinterpreted, bastardized, and used to accuse someone of being a terrorist or a sympathizer. Is this really what we have reduced ourselves to? Here is a bit of information that the Ms. Malkin may be unaware of: ARAB DOES NOT EQUAL TERRORIST. Wearing a fruity white scarf with frazzled ends does not make you a terrorist. And being a liberal does not make you a terrorist, despite the ignorance of many in this country. Had Rachel Ray appeared in a Donut commercial wearing a swastika or holding a burning cross, believe me I would be outraged. But she is wearing a scarf, one which resembles a common style worn in the middle east by common people in the middle east. If she were to appear in the commercial wearing a hoodie would Malkin accuse her of being the uni-bomber? If she were wearing a red shirt would she be accused of being a communist? No.

Where then does this accusation originate? Ignorance. Cultural ignorance, and the right's desperate attempts to distract us from the issues effecting us here at home. It is the accusation of a conservative screaming out "Hey, look over here! Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain who has tanked our economy and backed us into foreign policy corner! Who cares if people are dying in Myanmar and China, who cares if you can't afford to drive to work because gas is $3.95 a gallon while oil companies make billions? RACHEL RAY IS A TERRORIST! And Dunkin' Donuts is Satan!" Yes, terrorism is a horrific thing which is a tremendous blight on human society. The mere fact that one person feels they are so superior to another that they have the right to kill them reflects ignorance and barbarism. But overreacting to ridiculous things like a scarf does nothing to decrease the incidence of terror attacks in the world. I can say with extreme confidence that no terrorists are going to be emboldened by a dumpy scarf in a Donut commercial. Rachel Ray is not signaling Bin Laden with her scarf, and she is not sending 30 minute meals to Afghanistan disguised as iced coffee. If she were, her bank transaction behavior and travel habits would probably be better indicators than her clothing.

Think about what your saying before you say it.

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