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Bullies, Scarves, Donuts and Laughter

This scarf thing was so ridiculous, it's preoccupied my thoughts (clear to any reader of this blog). When I'm confronted by something so insane, I have to wrap my head around it somehow before getting past it. I think I'm beginning to exorcise it now.

Bully

After talking to people here and there, some very wise and some less-so, I've put this thing into perspective. It's bullying. I think it can be boiled down to that, which may explain part of my dismay and also my disappointment with Dunkin' Donuts. It also explains my resistance to the idea of an actual boycott. Yes, the doughnut company lacked courage but does it make sense to victimize them twice? I still feel cool to them, but I can't muster outrage with this perspective.

Spitting in the wind

I don't imagine it's productive to attack Dunkin' Donuts. You can't out-crazy the crazies. You can't intimidate Dunkin' Donuts more than these people who make it their hobby to help spread an obscure symbol of Palestinian unity, emphasize violent aspects of that symbolism, and extend it to other, similar scarves. There's no way to frighten someone into courage, especially when they're staring into the faces of spittle-lipped hordes, and hoping to sell them fried dough.

Best defense

What you can do is foster an environment in which people feel comfortable even if it is the comfort to wear a stupid fashion. That's part of the job of satire. And clearly these people are wothy of satire and political ridicule. It's up to thinking people to see what's ridiculous and highlight it. Through this very small courage, you can give others courage to stand up. That's part of the power of Gandhi's statement "You must be the change you hope to see in the world."

You can intimidate people into not wearing a scarf, but you can't intimidate them into believing they shouldn't wear that scarf. Inside, people will still believe what they feel is right. Satire can talk to that kernel of understanding within people even as they are too afraid to act on it.

Failure of logic

If it were a matter of reasoning, there would be some indication of thought or ability to compromise. But in discussions with some of these folks I was told that a paisley keffiyeh (the wrong pattern) was still sending the message of terror. It was likened to a swastika. You can then point to McCain's daughter, who wore a keffiyeh of a different color, closer in pattern to the Palestinian one. The excuse there became that color change absolves the wearer. You can ask them then whether a purple swastika would then be OK. Suddenly, the color isn't an issue, the pattern is the issue (and we're back to the Rachael Ray scarf being the wrong pattern).

Do you see the pattern? Just run with the argument until it's meaningless. Never admit that scarves are generally not considered an automatic support of terrorists. You might as well bang your head against a wall.

We're expected to believe that the keffiyeh is equivalent to a swastika. If you were asked to have your picture taken in a chair covered with swastikas, would you? Do you think Michelle Malkin was thinking that when her picture was taken, as seen here? Of course she didn't.

Let the ridicule begin

And that's the heart of this. Attention-whores are trying to push manufactured social agendas that even they don't fully believe. The general public doesn't see these scarves as a symbol, and until it suits her cynical agenda, neither does Michelle Malkin.

Don't Tilt

In poker there is a term "on tilt." A player is said to go "on tilt" when he becomes the victim of either honest bad luck in a hand or in response to losing because of something another player has done (often when that other player does something slightly crazy). A player who is "on tilt" stops playing correctly, goes off his game and usually suffers for it until the madness passes and he can get control of himself again.

Terrorism is an attempt to put a militarily stronger foe "on tilt." And I think our country did go "on tilt" in response to terrorism. Some people are slower than others going off tilt.

As you can see from the description. though, tilt can lead to more tilt, because craziness can lead to more hands lost to crazy improbable plays.

In politics, as in life, as in poker, it's important to avoid tilt by keeping your sense of humor. And don't get too close to the crazy!

Join me in dismissing these folks to the buffoon-bin of history, until the next time they step on a burning bag of dog poop that they have ignited on their own doorstep.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. I leave you with this humorous video:

Technorati : dunkin, dunkin donuts, keffiyeh, little green footballs, malkin, michelle malkin, rachael ray, scarf

Technorati : dunkin, dunkin donuts, keffiyeh, little green footballs, malkin, michelle malkin, rachael ray, scarf

Posted by James at June 1, 2008 1:12 PM
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