Dunkin’ Yanks Online Rachael Ray Ad Amid Complaints

Maybe you saw this news yesterday. Dunkin’ Donuts, amid much claptrap and twaddle from critics, has pulled an online Rachael Ray ad that depicted the spunky chef in a scarf that they claimed looked like a kaffiyeh, supposedly a symbol of Muslim extremism and terrorism.

What the what?

I’ve seen the ad (and if you haven’t, you can find it right here) and find the whole thing ludicrous. (Did I mention this particular blog post was opinion? If not, make it so.)

The scarf, which is admittedly black and white, looks shockingly like – a scarf -- and a paisley one, at that. Could you squint your eyes, tilt your head and decide that the scarf is reminiscent of a kaffiyeh (seen here)? I suppose. It’s a stretch, considering the context.

And why doesn’t anybody take context into consideration anymore? It’s Rachael Ray – in a Dunkin’ Donuts ad, for cryin’ out loud. This reminds me of the popular Proctor & Gamble myth, in which various fine citizens alleged that the company’s logo was satanic. Or, if you want to slide the scale toward the serious side, it stinks of McCarthyism.

My favorite quote, from an Associated Press story: "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.," said Amahl Bishara, an anthropology lecturer at the University of Chicago. "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."

I guess I don’t blame Dunkin’ – which makes a fine cup of coffee, by the way – for yanking the ad. Sometimes the grief just isn’t worth it.

But to those who lodged the complaints … What the what?