Fizza's Peace Cycle

Dunkin' Terrorists

We've seen the power of the Golden Arches in recent times, and what 'good' they do. But behold the power of the carb-loaded sugary hole, with which Dunkin' Donuts apparently are: "casually promoting the symbol of Palestinian terrorism and the intifada", according to a conservative blog site. "Where", I hear you cry. Did you miss the little Yasser Arafat-shaped head poking out through the middle of your sugary bun? Or the little pellet-sized ice cubes ready for you to throw at Israeli troops in your latte?

Nope. The uprising against the Zionists wasn't seen in those places. Maybe some notes were left on the back of a toilet door? Nup. You're not even warm.

In fact, the uproar began with the above TV ad for a iced cafe latte featuring American TV chef Rachael Roy. Did she cry her support at the end of her ad for Palestinians, with the hope that the there would be peace in the Middle East? Nope that wasn't even it. It was her choice of neckwear which pissed off bloggers on the Little Green Football site, with one saying it reminded them of the keffiyeh head-dress worn by Arab men. A second blogger - in keeping with the theme - dubbed it "jihadi chic".

With thousands of posts, and internet forums buzzing, Dunkin' Donuts decided to pull the ad last week, distancing themselves from the choice of clothing stating: "...it was chosen by a stylist. Absolutely no symbolism was intended". Yes, that's the problem Palestinian supporters, and those who want to wear the keffiyeh for symbolic reasons, other than it being the latest fashion trend are having issues with.

On the streets of London, (in particular around Hoxton) I've seen green versions, red versions and yellow versions of the keffiyeh popping up. In fact I know of a few people who are cautious about wearing the pro-Palestine scarf (the black-and-white one that is). It's sad to see people pick up trends just because they're in 'fashion'. I think the fact that the stylist chose it as a fashion item, shows the level of political ignorance in the world today. Even more upsetting is that the numpties wearing the black-and-white keffiyeh probably have no clue about where in the world Palestine is, or even the argument raging between them and the Zionists.

I went to Cuba a few years back and decided to do as a lot of other tourists do and buy into the cult of personality of Che Guevara with a T-shirt. The difference between myself and those keffiyeh-ists is that I understood and respect Che's message of social revolution. I also understand the message of the keffiyeh, and in spite of possibly offending the pro-Israel lobby I think the symbol of the scarf needs to be retained.

So I propose we go up to these people wearing them (you can tell the ones who have no understanding of it by the fact that they're normally wearing Uggs and carrying a huge Primarni bag) and ask them what the meaning of the scarf is. And if they don't know, we should teach them. Then maybe they'll think twice before donning the latest 'in thing', following the rest of the herd like little black-and-white sheeps.