Martin Eisenstadt’s Blog

By way of an update to yesterday’s observation about Disney’s popular Jonas Brothers boy band, apparently the web has picked up on this story in strange ways. On the one hand, Shawarma Mayor very generously linked to me and added his own well-reasoned thoughts on the matter. Sadly, though, he has been attacked (Fark.com) from all sides of the pop-culture media, and has issued his own eloquent update today. I agree with his points completely, so let me just quote him:

Was it a keffiya? Maybe not, but perhaps fark readers should ask themselves why are they attracted to reading about it? Yea, I know the answer – Jonas Brothers are pop stars. I stumbled into something explosive, pop and politics…..

Now to the keffiya point – I’m not going to argue in favor or against it. For some it might not be understood how a garment can be offensive, so google it and read Debbie Schlussel’s or Michel Malkin’s point of view on the subject. It should be disturbing to you if something that is offensive to many becomes very popular and those who wear it are simply clueless as to why.

I will not and would not call a person a supporter of terrorism just because he wore something, especially not when he doesn’t know what it means. I will never fault an Arab for wearing what is obviously rooted in his culture and means a lot more to him than what it has turned out to symbolize in the latest few decades. But try to grasp this point; making a kefiye a popular and acceptable western attire is disturbing to many. If you don’t respect their opinion – at least acknowledge their sensitivity.

Let me just add - as I’ve said on this blog before - that it’s one thing for Meghan McCain to inadvertently wear a keffiyeh once or twice in public. But from what I hear from my cohorts on the campaign team, John McCain has wisely counseled his daughter, and you won’t be seeing her wear it again. The difference here is that Disney is proudly exploiting the poor fashion choices of these presumptively talented young kids, even after the Rachael Ray controversy came and went. The imagineers at Disney should know better.

Of course, like Shawarma Mayor, my principle bailiwick is in the realm of politics, not pop culture. Apologies to him for having to take the brunt of the untoward comments, so if you must comment about this matter, please feel free to have your say here.