Firstly, Those scarfs you speak of…ARE NOT considered a religious item or attire in the Middle East. For a website, and a blogger which claims to tailor to Middle Eastern youth, it would be wise for you to check your statements before posting them for the world at large to view. If anything, it is considered a symbol of Palestinian nationalism.

Secondly, Westerns have been wearing keffiyehs for QUITE some time now. Have you never seen a U.S. Military member wearing them? All though, those serve as function as opposed to fashion. None the less, your arguments are all based on some sort of ill-founded idea that it is religious blasphemy for people outside of the Middle East to wear them.

What if I live in Arizona or Texas and would like to wear one to avoid sand and dirt in my face during dust storms? What if I want to wear one because I think it matches my clothing? What if I want to wear one just to PISS YOU OFF? The answer is, I WILL. Unlike the Middle East, us westerners can wear ANYTHING WE WANT because our country is free and does not oppress or judge based on clothing or attire accessories.

Also, the most recently posted comment is the most intelligent statement I have seen on this website. Thank you and God Bless America.

come across yours. The post SoCon Or Bust ” Blog Archive ” The Four Cardinal Virtues of Secularism is very interesting and I thing the…

wow, having written this I feel more self absorbed and ignorant about the world around me than ever.

But, I’m half israelian, and i see nothing wrong with wearing these scarves.
true they are a symbol of culture, but what’s cultural diversity for? You have to understand that we live in a transcultural society. We borrow things from different cultures now and then, and don’t think of it as “consumerists activism”, cause i’m pretty sure everything you’re wearing right now defeats that statement, cause I don’t think you’re dressed in a spodik and reckel. Don’t bracket yourself into thinking the israelian culture is going to end with scarves. Don’t be naive.

If anyone is going to end this culture, it would start with people thinking that it’s ending.

My scarf is actually Australian defence force issue and as an ex service man I feel it is part of my uniform, it also draws many comments from “Redneck Americans” about me being a terrorist. Unfortunately these people are so ignorant they cannot tell enemies from allies.

It does not matter what you wear it is how you treat other people that is important. I am in favour of peace and tolerance I do not care if the peacemaker is a Jew Christian Muslim Hindu or atheist I will support them.

Horatio wrote:I can have an intelligent conversation about Hamas and Hezbollah without having to use the word terrorist…

Peter Jacob wrote: But they are terrorist organizations, so why talk about them without discussing such things?

I stand by that statement, but let me clarify because it is an important point. What I mean is if we can ONLY have a conversation about groups like Hezbollah, Hamas or any armed non-state actor (ETA, FARC, EZLN, etc.) by ONLY seeing them as terrorists–flat and one-dimensionally–than we have already lost the ability to have a meaningful conversation about real social change with these groups and any others in society. I for one am not willing to call a Hezbollah engineer in the Dahiyeh or Bint Jbeil or a teacher in some part of Rafah or Bil’in a terrorist simply because they may identify with or ideologically support, to varying degrees, these groups in some form.

I also think we have to be able to see the intricacies of politics in their many forms, and simple statements like Hezbollah or Hamas or any armed group is a terrorist—therefore end of story—and dialogue, in my opinion fails to hold weight. I think this goes for all discussions of violence and “terrorism,” especially since much of the international world media only talks about terror when it is done by non-state actors, and never by nation-states. Why aren’t the U.S. actions in Iraq acts of terrorism? (as portrayed in the hegemonic media narrative) It’s all about how we use the language. I think filmmaker Bassam Haddad did a great job of addressing this problem of label limits and the complex realities they mask in his film Arabs and Terrorism.

Peter James wrote:My guess would be that you are more than willing to talk about the good that Israel does as long as you constantly remind people that the Occupy the West Bank or that the US is a great place to live but must remember they started a war. (all of this is true, and important to remember but you can’t talk about Hamas or Hezbollah without talking about their terroristic activities.)

Your guess would be off point Peter. I am willing to talk about either Israel or Palestine if asked, and I feel no need to withhold my opinions about actions taken from either side on various matters, whether I view them as begin positive or negative. I look at actions more than rhetoric. Are you suggesting that we should not discuss the fact that Israel is illegally occupying Palestinian land, or that the U.S. is illegally occupying Iraqi land? I agree its not enough to only talk about that, but I refuse to exclude that from legitimate discussion.

And specifically as to the U.S., I don’t know that the U.S. is a great place to live. I haven’t lived in other country yet, so I can’t compare my own experience there. But I can give you dozens of reasons why living in the U.S. is not all its cracked up to be, top among those being a public with a near complete lack of concern for anything in the world that is different, inferior or a threat, leading to a deep skepticism and withdrawal from civic activism. I think the analogy I best heard for this goes something like: this country is a man in a plane who just jumped off the cliff and is gliding on the wind, but very soon he will realize the engines have failed and he will go into freefall.

It’s amazingly disempowering–whether amidst the privilege and excess of urban elites or living near poverty in rural the United States–growing up with your head filled with grand dreams about making your dream come true only to grow up and find out how unlikely those dreams really are, and what has to happen to make those dreams come true…you can have it all, if you don’t mind spilling someone elses blood to get it. All I can say is that it is very difficult growing up and living in a country when you feeling like you are opposed to almost everything that is held up as an ideal and as the goal, but no matter what you say, it is still being done in your name, without your consent.

Peter James wrote:And here is the other thing. I may be wrong here but in my limited travels in the Middle East I have never seen any Kaffiyeh in a color other than black/white or red/white, both meaning different things. This black and green Kaffiyeh you speak of is part of the making money situation everyone else is talking about. About five years ago it was Buddah who’s face adorned t-shirts and necklaces. I don’t see a difference.

Yes, red and white or black and white are the ones I am most familiar with, although I have also seen blue and occasionally purplish. My friend said it is a rare color she had never seen before, and that was one of the reasons she had originally offered it in her hijab store. I’ve also seen odd colors, or ones like these as well. Ultimately, buying fabric and clothing from Palestinian craftsman and women, as she does, helps in some little way to support their domestic market and make a living. I fail to see how that, even if the color may not be a “traditional” or typical color you would find in the streets of Gaza, West Bank or wherever, does that make it any less valid to wear? If anything, that would seem like a positive way, through direct purchases, to help support an above-ground economy in Palestine that has been choked through blockades, sanctions, and internal instability? I still see that as a legitimate form of expressing my support. Perhaps it would be more accurate if I said I have a green and black scarf made by a Palestinian scarf maker, and not a Palestinian kaffiyeh…? I don’t know.

Ultimately for me what matters is the intent behind something. For me, it’s not to look cool or try to show my politics, but about seeing interconnected relationships, be they in clothing, culture, music or food, between people and their struggle for real justice. I wear the green and black scarf because it feels right, and I trust my instincts. Here’s a picture of me in it, you can draw your own conclusions. But that’s my take on this personally.

That may not seem any different than a Buddah shirt to you Peter, but to me it feels different… Although on your point, this post by kabobfest is a good one to explore. I’d love to hear more feedback, as I am trying to be open to all opinions, but also explain where I am coming from.