Mr. President, They Don’t Hate Us Anymore

Headdresses have been a part of the human race since humanity first found itself on earth. Headdresses (or head coverings) have been used for protection from the elements, for ceremonial reasons, or to signify some sort of an official affiliation. Many headdresses worn today are often highly symbolic and deeply entrenched in tradition. The black and white Arab Headdress has, since the sixties, been identified with the Palestinian people even though it has been worn by many people in the Arab World. In the West, the Palestinian Keffiyeh became the symbol of freedom and resistance for many people fighting for many social, economic and, political issues. In the last Forty years as sympathy for the Palestinian cause has increased so did the use of the Palestinian Keffiyeh and other versions of it such as the scarf. People wore the scarf and the Keffiyeh in Anti-War Rallies, protesting the G-8 Summit, World bank and IMF meetings, G&L, Union protests, Greenpeace, etc… The Palestinian scarf became a universal symbol for people seeking freedom and justice in their lives as much as the ‘Don’t Tread On Me’ image of the snake was during the times of the American Revolution. Don’t blame the Palestinians if their claim to fame happens to be the longest oppressed people in modern history.

Dunkin’ Donuts abruptly canceled a coffee ad in which homemaking guru Rachael Ray wears a scarf similar to a Palestinian scarf, even though in actuality it was not even a scarf. This was the result of the efforts of one Philippino-American Michelle Malkin (hatemonger and Neocon wannabe) a commentator for Fox News who played a big part in lying to the American people into annihilating Iraq after 9/11 as part of the Neocons’ planned war in the Middle East. Too intellectually challenged to do anything substantive, Malkin has made the business of bashing Arabs and Muslims her reason for being. Americans of Philippine decent know very well the danger of stereotyping and profiling as they look back at the concentration camps built in this country for Japanese Americans during WWII where Philippinos and other Orientals were imprisoned for no other reason than their looks.

“The keffiyeh, for the clueless, is the traditional scarf of Arab men that has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad,” Malkins wrote. Mixing fashion with politics, she went further in describing it as “hate couture”. She and other bloggers (with similar small-minded-mindsets) thinking that they had found yet another way of kissing up to their Neocon masters threatened DD with a boycott. Sadly, DD–like so many other entities these days fearful of displeasing the Jewish lobby–found themselves ‘Malkinized’ and thus, succumbing to the brief reign of terror, pulled the ad down, rewarding Malkin’s lies and fear tactics.

In September 2001, during a joint session of Congress, President George Bush in answering the question ‘why do the terrorists hate us?’ said: “They hate our freedoms…our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech…” He went further by saying ‘We must find the terrorists and stop them…’ Well, my dear President, I hate to be the first one to tell ya, but the fact is this–we lost to the terrorists…they don’t hate us for our freedoms any more. When the bride of fear mongering–Malkin–terrorizes an American corporation and forces it to take down an ad just because the spokesperson appears to be wearing a scarf similar to a Palestinian scarf, we definitely lost the war on terror. Our freedoms you talked about that the terrorists hate us for? Gone, no more.

For many years now many Americans used the Palestinian scarf, to mean freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and freedom period. Now however, thanks to the Neocons’ totalitarian culture so much the fancy of Mz. Malkin and others like her we do not even have the freedom to wear a scarf. WE need to clean our house from terrorists before we presume to deal with someone else’s house. Shame on Dunkin’ Donuts for compromising our freedoms, a precious gem for which our Forefathers sacrificed everything to include them in our constitution and for which many of our people died to protect. Whatever happened to “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it’?

I exhort my fellow Americans, indeed my fellow lovers of freedom and justice and REASON to wear your Pali-scarf proudly and head to the nearest Dunkin’ Donuts. Don’t give them your money, but instead just stand there in front of the store eating your favorite non DD brands while proclaiming your freedom.

If you like to donate scarves or money, please send them to:

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Current issues with Hesham Tillawi can be viewed Live every Thursday at 8:00 PM Central Standard Time on Cox Cable system Channel 15 in Louisiana as well as Live on the Internet at www.currentissues.tv and can be contacted at Tillawi@currentissues.tv The show is also broadcast on Bridges TV via cable, satellite, and broadband and on Amazonas satellite World Wide. Current Issues the radio show airs live around the World on Broadband and shortwave 5.050 and many stations around the U.S. every Saturday 4-6 PM Central Time on www.republicbroadcasting.org
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Last updated 08/06/2008

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