Comments on: Keffiyeh Chic and Symbolic Meanings

By: Kelli

Kelli — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:46:32 +0000

I think that the Keffiyeh is a beautiful and comfortable scarf. It keeps you warm when it’s cold and it keeps you cool when it’s hot. The simple two tone color scheme allows it to be worn with just about any color. I love the fringy bits.

I understand that many people associate this scarf with terrorists, but I agree with Alan’s original article: If everyone starts wearing them, it will dilute any negative symbolism. Soon terrorists may be riduculed for wearing scarfs made by The Gap. If you refuse to give a symbol any power, it will have none. The more we talk about the Keffiyeh as a symbol of terrorism, the more it is. I just don’t buy it.

By: Deen

Deen — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 23:18:23 +0000

I see alot of those scarves being worn around campus and the city and to be honest i don’t think the majority of people know what it means! I definatly don’t think that anyone saw it on TV during terrrorist attacks and political movements and immediatly thought to themsevles, i know i should wear that beacuse it looks cool!! Most people think its just a neat pattern not that its a political statement, and to assume that the majority of people are wearing it for any reason other than fashion is probably wrong. Im not saying that this is a good thing and its right, but ignorance of the general public here in North America is more common than anyone cares to admit.

By: Bob Aman

Bob Aman — Fri, 30 May 2008 17:18:31 +0000

Frankly, this is some serious mountain of a molehill stuff. Except that in the case of Dunkin Donuts, the molehill really didn’t even exist. Malkin and LGF never really had any credibility to begin with, but if it wasn’t obvious before, it sure is now.

By: john

john — Fri, 30 May 2008 01:22:38 +0000

Since WWII German soldiers wore helmets that look like the current U.S. military helmet, we must be secretly trying to bring about the 4th Reich.
Your first thought about Malkin was correct, she is an idiot.

By: TerenceC

TerenceC — Thu, 29 May 2008 23:54:19 +0000

Jimmy

It’s not a symbol of resistance – it’s a symbol of how F’ing hot it is there and the need to keep the sun off exposed skin, create shade, and absorb some sweat. The colors are more accurately reflected as “tribal” rather than political.

By: Jimmy the Dhimmi

Jimmy the Dhimmi — Thu, 29 May 2008 23:17:52 +0000

The point is, it wouldn’t be fashionable, and no one here in the west would even know what one looked like, if the PLO and Hamas hadn’t put the image of the Kaffiyeh on TV while rallying with AK 47’s and blowing up Jews.., er, “resisting occupatuion.” The Palestinians themselves have adopted the Kaffiyeh (the black one, not the red one) – which is traditionally manufactured and worn by Arabs in the levant, as a symbol of “resistance.” They are the ones deliberately associating the kaffiyeh with terror, not the right-wing bloggers.

Hear hear(!) to Rouge’s point about the Confederate flag.

By: Rob in Denver

Rob in Denver — Thu, 29 May 2008 22:22:48 +0000

The kaffiyeh’s meaning has nothing to do with terrorism. It’s a traditional garment worn by countless Arab men of all political stripes, some of whom are also to be terrorists. Some coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan wear them, too. Is that also problem.

Michelle Malkin’s fuss is political correctness hypocrisy.

By: Bob

Bob — Thu, 29 May 2008 22:21:06 +0000

The swastika is thousands of years old but no one would ever think of wearing it or putting it on a logo.

By: Rogue

Rogue — Thu, 29 May 2008 22:06:42 +0000

The confederate flag is about treason. It was the enemy of America and is very little different from waving a Taliban flag. By waving it you are rubbing the noses of the proud American that you are different and still consider yourself ‘against’ the rest of us.

It’s a completely vile symbol and I don’t know why we put up with it.

By: Justin Gardner

Justin Gardner — Thu, 29 May 2008 21:58:55 +0000

First, the Keffiyeh has been around FAR longer than the past 30 years. So to say it’s a symbol of terrorism is disingenuous. It’s not. But it can be in the eye of the beholder.

Second, when people start talking about the Confederate flag being offensive, Malkin and her motley crew start going after them for being too politically correct.

So then, if somebody is offended, that’s fine. They should speak out. But they should do so consistently, not when it suits them to so they can appeal to a specific political audience. Malkin has been guilty of this for quite some time, which is why she’s known far and wide as a sad, political hack.

However, I did side with her when the proposed memorial for Flight 93 was going to be a red crescent. I don’t think I have to explain why that didn’t make a lot of sense…especially in the context of the memorial, etc.

The answers are never easy. Personally, I think Washington’s football team shouldn’t be the Redskins. That’s HUGELY offensive, but they haven’t changed it.

By: Jimmy the Dhimmi

Jimmy the Dhimmi — Thu, 29 May 2008 21:15:14 +0000

Think about it this way…It would never occur to anyone in the West to wear a kaffiyeh for any reason, if it hadn’t been made popular over the past 30 years or so by Palestinian terrorists.