Victimized? A Fashion Controversy

As if it wasn't bad enough that the keffiyeh has been warranting so much debate thanks to its inappropriate adoption by those who think Urban Outfitters invented the thing, Palestine is again making news in the fashion world due to the production of a this tee shirt (as featured on the Fashionista website) displaying the image of a Palestinian youth holding a gun with the word "Victimized" written below him. While Fashionista appears to dislike the shirt, as well as totally misunderstand its purpose (there's no explanation of "why it was intended to be funny or ironic" because it WASN'T, geniuses), Freshjive-- the company that created it-- has offered an eloquent, intelligent, and perfectly acceptable defense of the shirt and rationale for its production.

While I am very critical of Urban Outfitters (namely because their clothes are way overpriced and often way ugly, plus the keffiyeh issue of course), I am not surprised they sold the shirt, given their apparent habit of wrongly using Palestinian images and culture for capitalist purposes. I am also not surprised they pulled the shirt, as they obviously weren't selling it for political reasons (and clearly have no backbone). So of course, that fact is a source of annoyance. But the reason I have Freshjive's back on this issue is because this is not a matter of simple misappropriation. The company knew exactly what they were doing by making the shirt; it wasn't (only) a money thing. Rather, the shirt was created as a political statement, a part of the company's "The World's Got Problems" line in which true political issues facing the world today are brought into the open. As Rick, the owner of Freshjive, states in his defense, "is it not simply true that some Palestinian kids have become child soldiers due to the ongoing battle between Palestine and Israel?... Is it not simply true that some Palestinians and especially Palestinian children are victims of this terrible conflict?" Can't deny that.

Even more so, I have their back because of the criticism they have received for the shirt-- not just aesthetic (that people think it is ugly or in poor taste because it features an unfortunate truth) but political. People have actually complained that the shirt is, among other things, a "brutal, bloody, Jew-hating tee shirt." I am pretty sure, just by looking at the shirt, that there is no mention of Jews (or people of any religion or ethnicity other than Palestinian) on it, and that it claims no political opinion thereof; it simply states that Palestinian children have often been victimized as a result of the conflict in Palestine, as stated above. There's nothing else to it, and if you have to make that kind of leap to support your case, you don't have much of one-- and if you are so quick to label things as hateful or bigoted when they really aren't, you should probably examine why you need to be that defensive to begin with.

Personally, I like what the shirt is saying and the creator's reason for making it. I think anyone who wears it-- unlike the ubiquitous keffiyeh-usurpers-- knows what it means and knows why they are wearing it, which I support. While I do have to think that it might serve to objectify Palestinians even more so than they already are, I also appreciate the fact that a company is taking these risks to speak their opinions and speak the truth about what goes on in the world-- the things that people don't like to think about or admit.

Look Into My Eyes

Look into my eyes, tell me what you see
You don’t see a damn thing, cuz you can’t relate to me.
You’re blinded by our differences, my life makes no sense to you.
I’m the persecuted one, you’re the red white and blue.
You stay awake in tranquility, a face to cross your eyes.
Each day I wake in gratitude, thanking God he let me rise.
You worry about your education and the bills you have to pay,
I worry about my vulnerable life, and if I’ll survive another day.
Your biggest fear is getting a ticket as you close your cadillac,
My fear is that the tank that has just left will turn around and come back.
Do you know the truth of where your money goes?
Do you let the media deceive your mind?
Is this the truth, that nobody, nobody, nobody knows?
Someone tell me, ooohh
Let’s not cry tonight, I promise you one day is through
Ooohh my brothers, ooohh my sister, ooohh
Shine a light for every soul that ain’t with us no more,
Ooohh my brothers, ooohh my sisters.
See, I’ve known terror for quite some time.
57 years so cruel.
Terror breathes the air I breathe
It’s the checkpoint on my way to school.
Terror is the rivalry of my land, and the torture of my mother
The imprisonment of my innocent father, the bullet in my baby brother.
The bulldozers and the tanks
The gasses and the guns
The bombs that fall outside my door, all due to your funds.
You blame me for defending myself against the ways of my enemy,
I’m terrorized in my own land, and I the terrorist.
Do you know the truth of where your money goes?
Do you let the media deceive your mind?
Is this the truth, that nobody, nobody, nobody knows?
Someone tell me, ooohh
Let’s not cry tonight, I promise you one day is through
Ooohh my brothers, ooohh my sister, ooohh
Shine a light for every soul that ain’t with us no more,
Ooohh my brothers, ooohh my sisters.
America do you realize that the taxes that you pay
Feed the forces that traumatize my every living day?
So if I won’t be here tomorrow, it’s written in my faith
May the future bring a brighter day, the end of our wait.
Ooohh, let’s not cry tonight, I promise you one day is through
Ooohh my brothers, ooohh my sister, ooohh
Shine a light for every soul that ain’t with us no more,
Ooohh my brothers, ooohh my sisters.
Ooohh, let’s not cry tonight, I promise you one day is through
Ooohh my brothers, ooohh my sister, ooohh
Shine a light for every soul that ain’t with us no more,
Ooohh my brothers, ooohh my sisters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P12aqVeZkQ
I encourage everyone to listen to this beautiful song. It might just open up your eyes a bit... and maybe make them tear. (And yes, I transcribed it all by myself :)

The Bush-Capades

I am finally posting my long-awaited review of the day in Palestine when ...

On Thursday, January 10th, 2008, George W.B., along with 1700 US Soldiers, took their 1st trip to the WB, the West Bank, Palestine, the place over 4 million refugees and expatriates, including myself, call home. Not only did Bush bring 1700 US personnel along, but all the employed Palestinian police, army, and security forces were on duty that day. It was like a national holiday. All shops in downtown Ramallah (Al Manara) were required to close. The forces roaming Ramallah were doing everything at all costs to stop opposition to the President we all hate, not just in Ramallah, but in all the West Bank.
Those living in the streets surrounding the Muqat'a, the Palestinian President's headquarters, were forbidden to leave their homes or even look out the window. They were warned that they would be shot at if they did so. All the nearby streets were closed. Oh, yes, and schools were closed as well for this ... day.
As I woke up late and began walking toward the center of town with my laptop bag, sans laptop, I was stopped by a jeep full of Palestinian army men. They asked if they could talk to me for a minute and then the man in the passenger seat got out and asked if I had anything in my bag. I said yes. (I don't normally carry big bags without anything in them, I was thinking.) He asked me what was in it. I said notebooks (telling the complete truth), want to see? I opened my bag, looked at him dumbfounded, and then he appologized and returned to his seat. I set off walking, a bit frazzled, as they drove away. (At this time I was unaware of the security measures I described above).
As I walked on, I realized, a bit slow on hte uptake as usual, that my big bag had suspect written all over it and that I could have possibly been plotting to kill Bush or something. I guess it's a good idea I didn't plot ahead of time, as much as it sounds like a great idea looking back. I've never been that close to Bush! I arrive uptown disappointed ...
Not only was there no protest, which I later found out the reason for, but the only people who were there silently holding up signs were foreigners. Obviously non-Palestinian, native speakers of English, German, etc., and they were holding up signs about peace, "Bush = Terrorist," and one that completely irritated me which said, "Our Freedom Is NOT For Sale." A great message, yes, I agree, but shouldn't that message be coming from Palestinians who actually own the land that should not be for sale and not foreign activists? I was PISSED! Where were the PALESTINIANS??
I later found out where they were. The Palestinian protesters were stopped before they could even start. Two of my friends were planning to just pump up hundreds of black balloons to release upon Bush's arrival around 11am, but they were stopped in the place that was pumping them up, were physically searched, and had their hawiyyas (or ID cards) taken; all this dome by Palestinian police. (How did they know where they would be pumping?? Talk about secret service ...) All of the protests throughout the West Bank were instantly smothered, Gaza being the only region to take a stand against Bush's visit. Could this be a divide and conquer tactic? I am uncertain, but now I will pose more questions for you to ponder.:

1. Why can foreigners speak on behalf of Palestinians, but Palestinians can't speak on behalf of Palestinians?
2. If the Palestinian President, or anyone in the world for that matter, came to DC to speak with the US President, would work close? School close? Would people be threatened of leaving their homes or looking out windows? Would protests be stifled? (Shu? Bafakruna klab? - What? They think we're dogs?)
3. Why does the US worship Israel when their government allowed and didn't stop protests against Bush's meetings with Palestine and Israel? Why were Israelis allowed to work and go to school?
4. Why did Bush go out of his way to pay a visit to the graves of Israelis but refused to visit Yaser Arafat's grave when he was only 15 meters away? (It was literally 15 meters, for I was in the headquarters with a Presidential guard member just days after his arrival where he showed me how everything happened.)
5. After Ramallah Bush went to Bethlehem. Actually, he went to the Church of the Nativity. When asked cordially but the Minister of Tourism on Palestine multiple times to walk around Bethlehem, take a look at the wall, and get a better feel for what Palestinians live like, he REFUSED! Not that I'm optimistic in any way, but how much can Bush help the Palestinian people if he doesn't even care to know their conditions?

Occupation!

Well, well, our dear President's postcolonial vocabulary is recently expanded! Or, shall we say, his speech writer's vocabulary has expanded. (Quotations taken from the BBC.)

"There should be an end to the occupation that began in 1967," Mr Bush told reporters.

"Now is the time to make difficult choices..The agreement must establish a Palestine as a homeland for the Palestinian people just as Israel is a homeland for the Jewish people."

Holy hell! Vay mama jan! Yamma! The world leader against terr-ah actually knows how to pronounce "occupation?" And, as some other quotations imply, does this mean a return to pre-1967 borders? Is our dear Edward Said (we don't often invoke God, but God bless his soul) having a mini-revolt 'n' party in Heaven? Is Orientalism finally turned on its head?

Why is this happening, anyway? Has the Bush regime somehow deduced that an increased support of Palestine will somehow translate into "success" in Iraq?

For additional reference, check out this picture, courtesy of MSNBC. Dare we say: does America stand with Palestine? What other conclusion can we draw from this display of our great patriotism (aka our butt-ugly flag) aligned with the same display (albeit NOT butt-ugly) from Palestine? Please discuss in the comments, if you like.


WMEG has a member in Ramallah conducting some research for her UC Berkeley undergraduate thesis. We'll be able to include more from-the-homeland reactions and feedback in the next few weeks. For now, color us cautiously optimistic. These statements do not reveal a sudden abandonment of America's fetishism of Zionism. But could these public statements - from the leader of the most vocal supporter of Zionism - possibly lead to action? Let's see!

"Queer" as a Tool of Colonial Oppression

This ZNet article by a highly intelligent librarian of Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies, Blair Kuntz, discusses Israel's claim that lack of queer rights is just one more reason that Palestinians require suppression (and oppression), while themselves taking a hypocritical anti-queer stance in policies and attitudes-- oh, and the whole blackmailing and exploitation of gay Palestinians thing.

There are definitely issues with queer acceptance in Palestine, but clearly Palestinians have other more immediate concerns on their mind-- survival, for example? Using the queer card to further decry a people when you don't have the means to back it up is ludicrous, and in doing so, you insult queers as well. Haven't Palestinians been mistreated enough?

Read the article!