keffiyeh

i know i'm not the first to be snarky about this, BUT ...

this is a keffiyeh (here being worn my arafat)


it is a "symbol of Palestinian nationalism"

NOT
A FASHION ACCESSORY
YOU WICKER PARK
HIPSTER FUCKS!!!!!!!!


idiots.
*note: asian girlfriend shown in picture, keffiyeh not shown in illustration

and i know i shouldn't be presumptuous, but it's clear what the "rationale" is. "i'm wearing this to show my solidarity with the palestinian cause." it is probably a safe bet that the extent of knowledge, for most of these douches, on the palestinian cause is that "uh, yeah, well, they used to live in israel and now they don't and the israelis are like, really mean to them." i exaggerate. but it still begs the question "what have you actually DONE!?" ... ie: have you attended public discussions/lectures on the conflict? supported resolution funds? read the history to understand the roots of palestinian displacement ? at least spoken up when hearing uninformed or hateful comments ? i am no saint when it comes to the whole "practice what you preach". i am a staunch supporter for the removal of our current occupation in iraq. however, i have not done much to make any real difference except spout off whenever opportunities arose (living in chicago, it's hard to find a war supporter), and used my "power" of vote to attempt to make a difference. my point is that simply wearing something does not immediately dictate a sympathetic stance with a cause. now obviously i am making a blanket statement, but it is rather disturbing when i see revolution turned into fashion, because fashion (in most "developed" countries) by definition is vain, and one of the ways in which "vain" is defined ... "without real significance, value, or importance; baseless or worthless". not to mention that is once again turning a revolutionary image into capitalist gain. urban outfitters carried keffiyehs for a while in 2006 but pulled them after controversy and concern that they "supported sympathy for terrorists". here's a story about that.

you know the media is portraying a biased image if a traditional cloth worn for hundreds (thousands?) of years by the same people that (arguably) jesus christ drew lineage from is only equated with terrorists.