The recent controversy surrounding a donut company’s ad featuring Rachael Ray prompts me to predict that scarves will be OUT this fall. Apparently Rachael Ray while promoting some of Dunkin Donuts’ iced coffees is seen sporting a light paisley print scarf with fringe, which perfectly offsets her tank tee and leather handbag with enough skin exposed to tease. The fashionista says “Is she cold? Is she hot?” She’s both at the same time! It boggles the mind!
The commercial itself is an avant-garde commentary on the state of fashion, global warming, and coffee cuisine and makes me crave donuts. mmmm…Boston Creme filling…
Michelle Malkin, conservative columnist, who apparently single-handedly stirred this controversy (who says one person can’t make a difference) says,
So it was with some dismay that I learned last week that Dunkin’ Donuts spokeswoman Rachael Ray, the ubiquitous TV hostess, posed for one of the company’s ads in what appeared to be a black-and-white keffiyeh.
The keffiyeh, for the clueless, is the traditional scarf of Arab men that has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad. Popularized by Yasser Arafat and a regular adornment of Muslim terrorists appearing in beheading and hostage-taking videos, the apparel has been mainstreamed by both ignorant (and not so ignorant) fashion designers, celebrities and left-wing icons…
…It’s just a scarf, the clueless keffiyeh-wearers scoff. Would they say the same of fashion designers who marketed modified Klan-style hoods in Burberry plaid as the next big thing?
I’ll zing Michelle on a few points. One, she’s condescending. No, I’ve never heard of a keffiyeh which is apparently a black and white checkered scarf that Yasser Arafat used to wear. I know what you’re thinking: Chess players beware! Two, a keffiyeh is a traditional Arab headdress that is purely functional in use. The only keffiyeh that has been villainized is the white and black design popularized by Arafat and the Fatah regime. I think he wore a red and white one, too, at times. Watch out picnic tables! I guess that means we should eliminate anything checkered from our wardrobes. Three, I doubt that the Nazi Swastika or the KKK hoody will come back into popular fashion anytime soon. Comparing a traditional piece of clothing to symbols of terror is a bit of a stretch. Four, Burberry plaid? That is soooo last year, girlfriend. Sounds like it’s time to clean out your closet.
Michelle, kudos for using the word “ubiquitous” in a sentence. I had to look it up as well as keffiyeh (thanks, wiki). For years I have heard the complaint that liberals have caused us to be too politically correct while at the same time being criticized for not being politically correct (see flag burning, PETA, ACLU, and anyone involved in the arts). It makes me wonder why a conservative is so concerned about a scarf in a donut ad leading to Armageddon. Is this whole left-right thing just a crock? I think so. Let’s remember that the same people who brought us eight years of Bush have abandoned him for the last three. Point being, there ain’t too many people who are all right or all left, whatever that means.
This kind of post-9/11 paranoia could be the beginnings of a new McCarthyism if we continue to let ourselves be guided by our fears. It’s a wonder we don’t have Arab internment camps already. So with that in mind I’m writing Dunkin Donuts to ask they reinstate the ad:
Dear Dunkin’,
I think your decision to pull the Rachael Ray ad was stupid. Just because some conservative columnist was having a slow week and made an inordinate stretch to tie a SCARF to a Palestinian Jihadist symbol is nothing short of crazy. I think sometimes you just have to take criticism with a grain of salt, or a Boston Creme donut. Bowing to it only adds fuel to the fire.
If you continue to worry about what wardrobe says about your company, please be advised not to wear the following:
1. Anything blue or red, so as not to be associated with the Crips and Bloods.
2. Don’t wear anything with an X on it, so you aren’t labeled a Malcolm X follower.
3. Avoid any clothing with a pattern that could be construed as an inverted triangle, so as not to be associated with gay people or Dan Brown followers.
I know the media makes a lot about “bloggers” these days, but remember these people are in the entertainment business. By pulling your ad, you’ve validated their opinions and given them a license to ridicule and opine on a bigger stage.
Put the ad back. Everyone knows that Dunkin Donuts is not a Palestinian supporter and neither is Rachael Ray.
“Come on, people! Wake up!”
That’s a great slogan for a coffee company, by the way.
Your friend in pastry,
Joe
So, if you are thinking about a scarf for your fall wardrobe, I would advise against it lest you be imprisoned in an internment camp while enduring the ridicule of conservatives.
And if you want to see Michelle Malkin in a Burberry cheerleading skirt, see below:
Defeatocrat Cheer
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Comments ( 2 )
Abbie added these pithy words on May 31 08 at 3:58 amYour best by far hon. Smart and biting. Rawr…
Jon added these pithy words on Jun 10 08 at 10:59 pmThis is some funny s#!t. Kudos to you, sir. You’ve opened my eyes to a world of controversy I never knew existed. Rachael Ray, the rabble-rouser. Food for thought … or even a 30-Minute Meal for thought.
