How did I know the rightwing bloggers were responsible for this nonsense?

Donkey® · 05-29-2008, 08:10 PM

'Paisley' or 'jihad?' Dunkin' Donuts yanks Rachael Ray ad - May. 29, 2008

Originally Posted by article

Dunkin' Donuts pulls Rachael Ray ad

The coffee and donut chain says it yanked online spot to avoid 'misperception'; professor says links to extremism are narrow-minded and even racist.

BOSTON (AP) -- Dunkin' Donuts has pulled an online advertisement featuring Rachael Ray after complaints that a fringed black-and-white scarf that the celebrity chef wore in the ad offers symbolic support for Muslim extremism and terrorism.

The coffee and baked goods chain said the ad that began appearing online May 7 was pulled over the past weekend because "the possibility of misperception detracted from its original intention to promote our iced coffee."

In the spot, Ray holds an iced coffee while standing in front of trees with pink blossoms.

Conservative commentator Michelle Malkin complained that the scarf wrapped around her looked like a kaffiyeh, the traditional Arab headdress. ''The kaffiyeh, for the clueless, is the traditional scarf of Arab men that has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad,'' Malkin wrote in her syndicated column.

"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," she said.

A statement issued Wednesday by Canton, Mass.-based Dunkin' Brands Inc., however, said the scarf had a paisley design, and was selected by a stylist for the advertising shoot.

"Absolutely no symbolism was intended," the company said.

Dunkin' spokeswoman Michelle King said the ad appeared on the chain's Web site, as well as other commercial sites.

Amahl Bishara, an anthropology lecturer at the University of Chicago who specializes in media matters relating to the Middle East, said complaints about the scarf's use in the ad demonstrate misunderstandings of Arab culture and the multiple meanings that symbols can take on depending on someone's perspective.

"I think that a right-wing blogger making an association between a kaffiyeh and terrorism is just an example of how so much of the complexity of Arab culture has been reduced to a very narrow vision of the Arab world on the part of some people in the U.S.," Bishara said in a phone interview. "Kaffiyehs are worn every day on the street by Palestinians and other people in the Middle East - by people going to work, going to school, taking care of their families, and just trying to keep warm."

While some extremists and terrorists may wear kaffiyehs, "To reduce their meaning to support for terrorism has a tacit racist tone to it," Bishara said.

Malkin, in a posting following up on last week's column, said of Dunkin's decision to pull the ad, "It's refreshing to see an American company show sensitivity to the concerns of Americans opposed to Islamic jihad and its apologists."

Ray, host of the Food Network television program "30 Minute Meals" as well as a syndicated daytime talk show, began appearing in ads for Dunkin' Donuts in March 2007. When Dunkin' announced the partnership, it said Ray would be featured in TV, print, radio and online spots in a campaign running through 2010. To top of page
First Published: May 29, 2008: 10:04 AM EDT

Are you kidding me with this nonsense?

Scrum · 05-29-2008, 08:21 PM

I've been following this for a couple days.

kinggovernor · 05-29-2008, 08:45 PM

I wore one almost everyday while in Iraq

Donkey® · 05-29-2008, 09:33 PM

Originally Posted by kinggovernor

I wore one almost everyday while in Iraq

You just booked your first class ticket to Gitmo Osama.

Smull · 05-29-2008, 10:29 PM

Arms and influence: Pants against Nazism
I chuckled...

kinggovernor · 05-29-2008, 10:34 PM

Originally Posted by Donkey®

You just booked your first class ticket to Gitmo Osama.

I still wear it in the states

DosEquis · 05-29-2008, 11:33 PM

Making issues of non-issues... fuck they are so good at it...to the point it is scary.

Stylerod · 05-30-2008, 02:44 PM

DD should have just laughed it off and said "fuck you". Spineless.

thewise1 · 05-30-2008, 06:00 PM

Originally Posted by Stylerod

DD should have just laughed it off and said "fuck you". Spineless.

It just goes to show how bad the witch hunting can be, though.

We've created a monster in this.

motivez · 05-30-2008, 06:14 PM

Originally Posted by Stylerod

DD should have just laughed it off and said "fuck you". Spineless.

That's what they should have done, but it also shows how powerful the right wing tactic of labeling anything they disagree with unpatriotic can be..

thewise1 · 05-30-2008, 06:20 PM

Originally Posted by motivez

That's what they should have done, but it also shows how powerful the right wing tactic of labeling anything they disagree with unpatriotic can be..

The right wing has terrorism, the left wing has green or if they want to break out the really big guns, selfishness and self-profit :\

motivez · 05-30-2008, 06:24 PM

Originally Posted by thewise1

The right wing has terrorism, the left wing has green or if they want to break out the really big guns, selfishness and self-profit :\

Hardly comparable really.

thewise1 · 05-30-2008, 09:43 PM

Originally Posted by motivez

Hardly comparable really.

bullcrap it isn't

JaJae · 05-30-2008, 09:45 PM

Originally Posted by motivez

That's what they should have done, but it also shows how powerful the right wing tactic of labeling anything they disagree with unpatriotic can be..

This is interesting because I saw a clip of Olbermann comparing the people who complained about this to "jihadists."

Dumpy Dooby · 05-30-2008, 11:15 PM

Originally Posted by Stylerod

DD should have just laughed it off and said "fuck you". Spineless.

DD? Me???

avsp · 05-31-2008, 11:01 AM

'kin advertisers

6SpeedTA95 · 05-31-2008, 06:35 PM

YouTube - Dunkin' Donuts Pulls Ad w/ Rachael Ray - Find Out Why?

thats pretty hilarious

SoFlaJDM · 05-31-2008, 06:41 PM

Originally Posted by thewise1

The right wing has terrorism,

not anymore.

Most Say They Are Not Safer Since 9/11 (washingtonpost.com)

and that article is from '04

one can only imagine how much worse the republicans' reputation has become since then

Stylerod · 05-31-2008, 09:07 PM

Originally Posted by motivez

That's what they should have done, but it also shows how powerful the right wing tactic of labeling anything they disagree with unpatriotic can be..

Please. It's not like the left doesn't do it. How many companies has Jesse Jackson blackmailed to get his way.