American fashion victim

This is the offending Dunkin' Donuts advertisement.

Now that much of the primary election dust has settled, we can pause to take a look at another American event that captured quite a bit of attention at home and abroad over the past fortnight: Dunkin' Donuts' decision to yank a coffee advertisement because popular and perky chef Rachel Ray wore a "terrorist scarf."

While media from the British papers to the Wall Street Journal were reporting on the scarf "scandal," an excellent overview of world citizen reaction to the controversy could be found on a Web page the BBC devoted to readers' comments made in response to the BBC's original story about the affair.

Several writers on the BBC page -- and elsewhere in the blogosphere -- blasted conservative pundit Michelle Malkin for igniting the firestorm by asserting that Ray wore a keffiyeh while smiling and holding her caffeine, in this case an "Ice Latte Lite."

Malkin, an occasional Bill O'Reilly "correspondent" who has written books with titles like "In Defense of Internment: The Case for Racial Profiling During World War II and in the War on Terror," has been looking for instances of celebrities wearing jihadist scarves since 2006. She calls it "hate couture."

The keffiyeh, a traditional Arab head dress, "has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad," Malkin wrote, and has been "mainstreamed" as fashion by "ignorant (and not-so-ignorant) fashion designers, celebrities, and left-wing icons."

Dunkin' Donuts responded in a statement that the scarf chosen by a stylist for the Ray photo shoot was in fact paisley -- certainly not a pattern one might associate with the late Yasser Arafat -- but decided to play it safe and yank the ad anyway, according to the Associated Press.

Fans of Rachel Ray have started a petition to Dunkin' Donuts saying she's no terrorist, and they defend the celebrity chef as "sweet." 

Brits writing into the BBC site commented almost universally on the ridiculousness of the whole affair -- from Malkin's assertion to the company's reaction:

I think the BBC should remove this story as it perpetuates the stereotype that Americans are xenophobic, Islam-hating idiots. Although it's great to see the intelligent and articulate comments from our cousins in the U.S. that prove this stereotype is by no means accurate.
Will, Billericay, UK

Americans writing in pretty much pleaded with the rest of the world not to judge Americans by the incident:

To the rest of the world: we're not all this way, I promise. I'm pretty certain no one will confuse Rachael Ray with an Islamic extremist because of her accessories. I think we should all hold our news agencies (including my beloved BBC) responsible for making a story about a scarf and a chick with a blog this important. Let's get our priorities straight.
Jyl, Tennessee, USA

One British writer summed up the entire affair:

Brilliant! Everything that is wrong with America in a single news story. Neo-Con extremism, the inability to distinguish between 'Arab' and 'terrorist', corporate kow-towing to inarticulate ranting, and huge diabetes-inducing donuts with icing on top.
Mike, UK

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