Ad removed because of terrorist charges
According to news reports, Dunkin Donuts has pulled an ad that featured spokesperson Rachel Ray, a Food Network personality, because of concerns that her outfit was communicating a message of sympathy or support for Islamic terrorists.
The primary voice raising these concerns has been Fox News commentator Michelle Malkin.
According to news reports:
"Dunkin' Donuts has pulled [the] ad featuring the Food Network star after concerns grew about a scarf she wears during the commercial, the pattern of which bears resemblance to a keffiyeh, the traditional headdress that Arab men wear. The scarf has enraged conservative Fox News pundit Michelle Malkin and some others. [The keffiyeh], 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,' Malkin wrote in a column, claiming the keffiyeh 'has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad.'[...]Malkin took the removal of the ad as a chest-thumping victory for herself, and terrorist-hating Americans. 'It's refreshing to see an American company show sensitivity to the concerns of Americans opposed to Islamic jihad and its apologists.'"
According to Dunkin Donuts, the scarf pictured in the ad was a black and white paisley design that unintentionally appeared to be a keffiyeh.
Read the full report here.
This is really sad - almost comically sad, as Stephen Colbert noted. Ms. Malkin has for some time contributed to a culture of fear and distrust; one might call it her stock in trade. For those of us who seek more recognition and more reconciliation and more justice, this is a failure of corporate nerve in the face of a silly assertion.
Posted by Marshall Scott![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
|
May 30, 2008 8:49 AM
Don't terrorists like donuts too?
Posted by Paul Woodrum![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
|
May 30, 2008 9:51 AM
Rachel Ray - encouraging terrorists? This is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard.
Posted by Ann Fontaine![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
|
May 30, 2008 10:02 AM
The worst that can be said about that scarf is that it is, in my opinion, unbecoming to Ms. Ray.
I wish Americans would rise up in revolt against the manipulative yanking of our fear chains.
Ms. Malkin has evidently never watch Ms Ray at work. Her lack of guile is really quite self-evident.
Posted by SisterGloriamarie![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
|
May 30, 2008 11:21 AM
Amongst other things that make this ridiculous is that women do not wear the keffiyeh. Not only ridiculous but ignorant as well.
pam alger
Posted by pam![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
|
May 30, 2008 1:42 PM
For her next act, the obviously very worldly Ms. Malkin will go after "American Idol" judges for not wearing American flag pins on their outfits.
Honestly - such utter nonsense from a major media outlet!
Posted by Christopher Worthley![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
|
May 30, 2008 5:37 PM
They are treating Ray (and DD) as if they are politically minded. The truth is that my dog, both of my cats and my turtle are more political than Rachel Ray.
The Wacky Right has been on Dunkin's case because so many of their franchises are owned by immigrants (what's next....New York taxi drivers???). Some right-wing bloggers accuse DD of not being tough on illegals, so the company caved in and came up with draconian rules to keep our coffee being served to us by wetbacks and terrorists.
Since so many south-Asian immigrants buy into the franchise, it is assumed that they must all be Muslim and therefore must all be terrorists. The implication is that your neighborhood Dunkin Donuts is hiding a terrorist cell gathering hard data about the coffee habits of Americans in preparation for the next big terrorist attack.
That's the connection with the silly scarf and the ad: racism, no-nothingism, and xenophobia.
Posted by ATGerns![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
|
May 30, 2008 7:27 PM