Opinion piece in newspaper -RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: The only purpose of these endless marches is to intimidate British Jews.

[floodlightonwhatisright]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-12878659/RICHARD-LITTLEJOHN-marches-intimidate-British-Jews-tolerate-hatred-streets.html

He raises some interesting ideas.

Because leaping on that ad campaign and taking it in the worst possible light can only be explained by the fact that people were already looking for reasons to be offended

To be fair those statues or mannequins or whatever they’re meant to be did look like body bags. It was almost certainly a genuine mistake but it’s pretty tasteless even if there wasn’t a war going on.

Well no. You’ve said that people who are concerned by the bigoted head designer at Zara harassing a Palestinian model and the ill-thought out images of bodies in shrouds from the same creative team are ‘too sensitive’.

The poster upthread has invited you to consider how it might feel to be told that this genuine alarm is just ‘oversensitive’.

It might not be alarming to you, but you could consider how it might make others feel.

You’ve said that people who are concerned by the bigoted head designer at Zara harassing a Palestinian model and the ill-thought out images of bodies in shrouds from the same creative team are ‘too sensitive’.

I didn't that people shouldn't be concerned by those awful comments by that designer at all.

But nice try trying to conflate it with what I said about objections to that advert 👍

I think you’re posting in bad faith.

I’m not trying to have a go at you or argue with you.

You seem to take everything in the most combative interpretation.

Given the timing of the photo release, and apparently as someone mentioned above a high up employee may be bigoted against Palestinians, that we can't say it was "definitely not" intended to offend TBH. I would say that's a questionable claim. And I certainly question the morals of a company that chooses to air it at this time.

What I am trying to say is your empathy and concern is very selective and only extends one way when you say you are an anti-racist.

I think you’re posting in bad faith.

You said that I called people who were concerned about a bigoted designer 'oversensitive', which is just balls.

I don't know if fashion tries to be gritty to get attention. There was a fashion company that had models trudging round in mud not long ago. I didn't know there was controversy around anti Palestinian sentiment at Zara. But I do know that Zara, like other fashion outlets, has big questions hanging over appalling conditions at their factories around the world. Slave labour disproportionately affects the poor, women and children. The way fashion intersects with global inequality and oppression is cynical and suggests they need an overhaul of their philosophy. If their fundamental model is we produce affordable clothes off the backs of other's suffering - I'm not surprised if they come up with tasteless campaigns. And if they do allow abusive conditions in factories, I'm not surprised if they have little compassion for people in war zones.

Thank you. She sounds hideous.

I don’t agree, there is no way any responsible company would put a media campaign out like that, the timing was particularly bad no matter when it was made. There was never any other light to see that advertising in. To suggest otherwise assumes the public are all stupid.

Agree 👏👏👏

There was never any other light to see that advertising in.

Beg to differ.

Honestly, almost everyone is biased, consciously or unconsciously and sees things through their own lens. Whether it’s the Zara ad campaign or the greta thunberg octopus, in these difficult times, imagery matters. We may never know the intent behind these things, but some sensitivity would not go amiss.

And it helps if people recognise their own bias. I know I have a bias as my internal reaction to news items shows. But I do ‘own’ it and have a quiet word with myself when I get carried away by my thoughts and feelings.

There is so much bias on MN of course. I think most of it is unconscious, and driven by passion and concern for ‘one side’ rather than blatant hypocrisy.

We may never know the intent behind these things

I think if the ad campaign was conceived in July and filmed in September then trying to make out that it was deliberately meant to offend Palestinians is just nonsense.

@noblegiraffe doesn't matter when it was created. It was that it was knowingly put out at this certain time that is the problem.

So possibly when it was created the intent wasn't there to offend, but sharing it when there's an intense bombing was offensive, and companies should have strong marketing procedures to check before posting to ensure content doesn't clash with current climate and world events, like TV programmes that are cancelled in line with current events, lest they be insensitive, or at worst, downright offensive.

Yes, people said the same thing about the green and red hats.

It wasn't a great argument then either.

I think putting it out when it did could be seen as a poor decision. Well it was really, as many people were offended by it and found it tasteless.

And given Zara’s recent problems regarding the Palestine issue, you would think they would be more cautious.

In your opinion, this point against Zara isn't a "great argument". In the opinion of many others, such as the many posters on here, it is a strong argment.

To many Palestinians, it was very offensive. Oh but they are just being "too sensitive". Ok.

Yes, people said the same thing about the green and red hats.

It wasn't a great argument then either.

Not sure you should be throwing stones Giraffe.

@Anotherdayanotherdiet what does that mean?

what does that mean?

I meant to imply her argument (“yes but red and green hats”) was not that great.

(As in those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones)

Fascinating to see the wagons circling.

Thing is, I'm not going to be dragged into any purity spiral insistence that the advert is deliberately offensive or whatever, despite the insistence that actually that's what Palestinians are really concerned about right now.

I've seen Palestinians posting on social media that they find it offensive and asking people to boycott Zara. I don't know why you would doubt that. Palestinians live all over the world, they aren't all dodging Israeli bombs and snipers. Perhaps you could explain why you would think Palestinians wouldn't be concerned about it?

I think it is pretty sad the way people seem so comfortable shouting down Palestinian voices tbh. This isn't the first time I've seen it here. There are also the posters that refuse to acknowledge what Nakba meant to Palestinians.

You don't have to be 'dragged into' anything. You could just take the time to maybe follow some Palestinians on social media and actually listen to what they are saying rather than insisting that you know better than they do what they find offensive.

Fascinating to see the wagons circling.

Is it High Noon?

I do not the not think the ad campaign is intentional racist, it was shot months ago but I do think using it at the current time shows a lack of awareness and sensitivity.

I think it's interesting that you are upset by some posters who think you would have to be in a "particularly bad faith frame of mind" to interpret peace marches as antisemitic and yet here you are being as dismissive of something other people have found offensive.