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?

There’s a major effort from some quarters to paint all Palestinians as subhuman terrorists, and to try and make everyone forget about them. This way it will make it easier to kill them all off with minimal resistance.

It won’t work.

No strong view on someone wearing this but Sainsbury's staff don't really accessorise with any scarves, and the clothing policy is probably quite strict as I've only seen the standard uniform there.

Oh. Not cultural appropriation then? Gosh, how confusing. How on earth is one supposed to discern the difference when the rules are so arbitrary?

Keffiyehs were a bit of a trend amongst some of the white middle class guys when I was at uni and that was almost 20 years ago. They’re not a new thing. They’re also worn by men across the Middle East, not in one specific country or area or for one specific political movement.

I see rainbow lanyards and pin badges worn by workers all the time though so even if it was being worn as a symbol it seems supermarkets don’t mind that.

But if you worked in a supermarket in the middle east and wore a Christmas jumper it might be interpreted as a religious and/or political statement.

I think there are more things going on to worry about! It isn't a new thing.

When I was at school (sadly I bunked off on that day!) two women teachers got in a fight on the stairs, watched by pupils!

Why do people feel the need to be so openly hostile to other cultures at the moment? Are they feeling emboldened by the likes of Musk and his public Nazi salute? To me, many of the comments in this thread just come across as racism and it’s very sad.

Hypothetically, it probably wouldn't. When I lived in the ME (not Saudi) you could buy Christmas decorations and Christmas trees, Christmas jumpers etc. with ease in places like BHS, M&S, IKEA, Carrefour etc. The goods were chosen carefully to make sure there was never any specific reference to Jesus, Christmas or Christianity and Christmas music was confined to pop songs and Jingle Bells type stuff rather than religious carols. The word 'holidays' was used rather than Christmas but certainly the locals didn't seem offended by it. It's unlikely there would be any Christians among the staff to start with though so the likelihood of them wearing a Christmas jumper is low. That's why I say hypothetically.

It’s interesting you see my view as hostile because I see wearing this as a symbol of hostility to Jews and people who support Israelis right to exist. It’s worn by people on hate marches calling for the eradication of Israel and genocide against the Jews. If the employee didn’t mean to signal that, then they need to be told how it can be interpreted and asked not to wear it. Which is perfectly straightforward as it’s not part of the uniform. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone else in any supermarket wearing a scarf or a flag with their uniform.

Some people are honestly so petty, it wouldn't bother me in the least. BTW they could be wearing scarves worn in most Arab countries that at first glance may look similar to a keffiyah but is not. Either way don't you have more important things to worry about?

Thank you.

I rather suspect this may be true. Could @MNHQ please check behind the scenes? As we have had too many fake threads recently.

The OP hasn't come back either.

Did it stop them doing their job? Why are you bothered?

Are we picking on people for what they choose to wear again? Really?

Is this your biggest problem in life? Would you be here asking questions if they had a poppy pin on or smth?

Do you know them personally? If not then you don't know that it was 'clearly political '.

or for Muslims during Ramadan - which it is - and therefore fits your personal criteria.

Would you object to a supermarket worker wearing a turban or a kippah?

Which I'm very sure did happen. You always happen to witness/take part in events/ have everyday conversations about Israel/Palestine which are almost always negative.

It might be but what does that have to do with what we do in our own country?

That's probably the exact reaction the wearer wants. In reality they stack shelves in a supermarket. Doing it whilst having something on their head is hardly going to achieve anything.

I'd speak to the manager and then I would boycott the store.

And you know this hie exactly?

Other than being massively judgemental, ride and frankly racist, why the hell does it matter what they are wearing?

If they did the job they were paid for and were polite then wtf does it matter what sort of scarf they wear.