Supermarket staff wearing a keffiyeh

[Alpaccas]

I saw a member of staff wearing a keffiyeh today in Sainsbury’s. Do you think it’s a bit too political for a member of staff to be wearing, whilst wearing their work uniform?

I say it again. Don’t like what u see in a Shop.
put the basket down & leave.
stay silent .. or write to customer service

I don’t shop to be served by a political statement or opinion
i just want my lettuce without staff input on politics
That shop staff can just F-off …. I’d rather buy from a vending machine if possible.

Remind me, did that war start with the Ukrainians attacking 15 Russian villages, murdering or abducting up to a quarter of the residents of those villages, burning people alive in their homes and beating them to death with farming tools?

This has got to be the most gaslighting post I've ever read.

It’s just a stupid question really. Yes, it’s got an armed faction that carries out attacks and it’s also got a political wing and is the elected government in Gaza. Quite like Sinn Fein and the IRA. This means that anyone working in the civil service is working ‘for Hamas’, does not mean they ‘are a terrorist’. Why don’t you go and educate yourself on some history/politics etc? Good idea?

If it’s black and white keffiyeh then it typically represents Palestine. Red and white ones are common in neighbouring countries like Jordan.

Also, many Palestinians are white and have different facial features to other Arabs. Xh used to be mistaken for a European even by Arabs. Ds who is half Palestinian is blonde with green eyes. He’s fairer than me!

From Wiki:

’During the 2001 Iraq and Afghanistan wars, members of the United States Armed Forces began wearing keffiyeh for practical reasons. While the scarves were never issued by the American armed forces directly, many private tactical equipment retailers marketed and sold them to service personnel in the Marines and Army. The scarves were usually dyed into color schemes that closely matched the service uniforms, and bore symbols that appealed to Western consumers (e.g., skull and cross bones, Gadsdensnakes, and Spartan helmets). Black and coyote-brown keffiyeh are still commonly worn by military veterans without any implied support for Arab nationalism or similar causes, and at times can carry the opposite message.’

So, OP, maybe they were army vets. Make a difference?

I'm not pretending anything. I genuinely don't understand the logic and fully believe it to be based on prejudice. What happened on October 7th was dreadful. But an entire culture of people shouldn't have to change their dress/pride in their heritage/celebration of their religious festival because of the actions of a minority of people. Israel has bombed the sh!t out of Gaza since and far more Palestinians have lost their lives as a result, including children. Do we hold all Jews responsible and regard a person who presents as Jewish through their dress as being political/pro-Israel/anti-Islam? No, and rightly so.

It cannot and should never be assumed why someone is dressing a particular way. I live and work in a multicultural place. I experience the tolerance and respect between Muslims, Jews, Christians and Atheists within my workplace (an FE college of wonderful, open minded young people) daily. For the most part, people really do get along just fine, despite desperate attempts by media and those in power to stoke fear and division. It's classic divide and rule, and it only serves to benefit those in power - a fearful and submissive population is, after all, much easier to control.

Evidence?!

It is self-evident that anyone displaying something associated with a particular group and their aspirations - in this case the black-and-white keffiyeh which has been a symbol of Palestinian nationalism since the 1930s - supports that group and is conveying this message.

As such it is clearly political and not a mere "choice of dress".

This poster knows it was a political choice and not a cultural one because the whole scenario is completely made up BS posted on MN to spark convo's like this.

It happens literally all the time on here.

Reading this thread I get the distinct impression some posters can't tell the difference between a keffiyeh and a hijab. Between a keffiyeh and a poncho, even.

Agree, though the post will probably be deleted. It’s every weekend.

I wore mine to work because I'm against genocide. It wasn't political in that I'm against children being murdered by Israeli and American bombs. Luckily I work around people who understand that and dont see it as a personal attack.

There most definitely has. Being unable to acknowledge it just perpetuates the atrocity 🤷‍♀️

Thank you for posting this OP, it has prompted me to order a few with funds going to support those who need it most

I used to wear the black and white keffiyeh in the 00s because I was an emo kid and it was fashionable. I got it from my mum who also wore it as a teen 20 years before me. I wasn't remotely political then. Maybe people thought I was an angsty teen who was angry about the middle eastern conflicts of that time? I know many were, but that wasn't my personal intention. Therefore anyone who thought that's why I was wearing it would have been making an assumption, and it was certainly not a "self evident political statement".

Are you physic?

I'm Jewish, and very well aware of the existential threat that Israel has faced and does face. I know how antisemitism has ebbed and flowed in the Middle East, Europe, and beyond and has posed and now maybe even more poses a serious threat to Jews.

From a UK perspective, yes - arguably, this is the worst time in a long time to be Jewish IN the UK, and that is regrettable. In many ways, the UK is now a typical European country in terms of antisemitism. But that does not erase its long history - especially in Scotland - of being a haven for Jews and a safe place and a place where religious freedom and faith-based equality was, if not a reality, at least an ideal.

I am also aware of the extremely perilous situation for anyone living in Gaza right now, and the many many years of suffering there and in the Palestinian Territories that led up to this.

I'm absolutely fine with someone wearing a kaffiyeh whilst performing their duties in a UK supermarket. If the kaffiyeh posed a health or safety risk I'd assume that a supervisor or manager would intervene, and perhaps a policy would be written to disallow it, but I don't see that it does.

And yes, I'd classify Hamas as a terrorist organisation. But I don't equate all Palestinians or all Palestinian sympathizers with Hamas. And I certainly don't equate a kaffiyeh with Hamas, or view it as anti-Israel - in fact, there are plenty of Palestinians who are Israeli citizens and still wear the kaffiyeh.

This poster knows it was a political choice and not a cultural one because the whole scenario is completely made up BS posted on MN to spark convo's like this. Agree, mostly. It's possible that this poster doesn't know/care about any Jews or Israelis or Palestinians and doesn't know/care about anyone personally affected by the conflict, and therefore honestly thinks it's normal and possibly constructive to post this. But it isn't likely that they have such a strong interest in the topic AND absolutely zero historical knowledge or emotional intelligence about it.

That was then - 20 and 40 years ago. This is now. Now, here, it is a symbol of solidarity with the Palestinians.

That's quite a reach.

@Izzy54321
Israel are literally destroying a country, murdering and starving people.
And Starmer is spending tax payers money supporting this.

What specifically have we funded?

This.

And I'm not Jewish either.

No, just Islamophobic.

Idiotic comment

Well done for making yourself look foolish. If you've ever come across my posting history you would know I have Muslim family.

So... you were making statement about a serious and very controversial political conflict.

How is that not political?