Comments on: Keffiyeh Kerfuffle Enters Comic Book Land

By: steve87

steve87 — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 15:49:03 +0000

Reading a message into an ambiguous article of clothing is wrong though , especially when you are using it to vilify people- to predict their beliefs.
It’s like saying a guy with a moustache must support Stalin or Hitler- it’s that nonsensical.
It’s different from a Che shirt because it doesn’t deify a person or their belief system would a Keffiyeh sell at all if it had a picture of Arafat on it?
And even then- how many of the kids wearing Che shirts know anything about him or that he ordered 2000 people to death in Cuban jails. Do you think that they would wear those shirts if they knew that? Do you believe our youths are so twisted that they would support that act through a T-Shirt?

Don’t accuse these kids of lying either just because it would fit your opinion. It’s the wrong course of action, if you feel that strongly about it then educate but don’t dictate and don’t talk about them like they are all evil minions of the palestinian regime.

I don’t think anybody uses the term ‘hipsters’- not since the 60s so I’m not exactly how in touch with these kids you could possibly be. No offence meant. The amount of people you are talking about is so small that they are not worth worrying about.

The fact remains though, it’s a piece of clothing with no meaning except that which is read into it by it’s detractors and the thin strand of lunatics who want it to use it a symbol of solidarity- but yet again incredible minority.
The major issue here is that certain people want to accuse everyone who’s ever worn one of being a pali sympathiser.
My girlfriend has worn one in the past but the only she knows about my countries fight with the palestinians is what I have told her. She is definitely not a sympathiser and nor are our friends.

You guys are smart enough that I don’t have to tell you not to judge a book by it’s cover.
But until you see people walking down the streets in Hizbullah T-shirts and burning Israeli flags then it might be better to reserve judgement until you have met them.

By: Trish

Trish — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 04:42:52 +0000

Another thing to remember:
The term “hip” doesn’t just mean “fashionable,” and “hipsters” are not just people who wear fashionable clothing and use up-to-date slang. As an aging baby-boomer I can tell you that being “hip” meant being “in the know,” and “hipsters” considered themselves better informed and more intelligent than anyone else. Teenagers being what they are, I doubt that this has changed.

The so-called hipsters may not have any real understanding of what they’re promoting, but believe me, they do know what it is.

By: jusa

jusa — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 03:05:15 +0000

if thug clothes are cool because of what they represent, why wouldn’t a terrorist uniform not also be cool because of what it represents?
And let me guess, all the Che shirts I hear about is just a photo of some random guy no one knows about?

I can’t say I agree or disagree that the author does or doesn’t know what the scarf means. So I’ll keep a neutral view of him since not everyone is plugged in. But I strongly disagree when it comes to hypocritical hipsters.

By: Trish

Trish — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 23:19:40 +0000

The fact that kids wear the thing without knowing what it means, doesn’t mean that it is meaningless. And I’m not so convinced they don’t know. What they tell adults is not always the truth.

By: steve87

steve87 — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:44:32 +0000

I have to agree with Kalman. I know a lot of kids who wear these things, they don’t know what it means, most of them don’t even watch the news or could point out Israel on a map.
They are simply following fashion trends.

I don’t know who started the trend so I don’t know what their original intention was but I know that most these kids don’t give a damn about Palestinians and accusing them of supporting something is the wrong course of action and will only drive them away from our viewpoint.

Support can’t be found round some ones neck, it’s in the heart and soul of a being that is what matters.

Furthermore, when did they hijack the Keffiyeh for themselves? It’s a practical garment that has been worn for thousands of years and as has been pointed out is of Jewish origin anyway.

We shouldn’t be mad about it, we should be manufacturing them.

By: Lynne T

Lynne T — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:11:38 +0000

I would dearly love to see it pointed out where, in the Quran, Muslims are commanded to wear a garment with fringes around and tassels in the corner.

A few months ago, over at the Point of No Return blogspot (Jewish refugees from Arab lands), a story about Yemen’s tiny Jewish remnant featured a picture of one of its rabbis with what might easily be mistaken for a fashionista’s keffiyah around his neck. I don’t believe it was worn as the obligation of a dhimmi or to identify with an oppressed people — at least not Palestinians.

Kalman is, to say the least, showing an enormous amount of naivite if he thinks the wearing of the kefiyah is only a fashion statement and not to show support for a political movement that has always used violence to attain its goals. It’s being worn in the streets of Toronto on extremely hot days this summer and assume that that is the case in other trendy urban areas in Europe and North America, so it’s not just a fashion accessory.

By: JonnyGee

JonnyGee — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:43:41 +0000

Perhaps we should encourage the widespread wearing of this thing and thus make it so ubiquitous that it loses its meaning as a political statement. Yes, this strategy could backfire, but if all of us Zionists and pro Israelis started wearing it, the others would cry foul and claim that we stole this from them too.