This article makes me want to scream! That chipmunk-faced squeaking crazy lady Rachael Ray does an ad for Dunkin Donuts. She’s wearing a scarf. The scarf is modeled on a keffiyeh - a traditional Arab headdress - and if you’ve walked into an Urban Outfitters once in the past 2 years, you know these scarves a huge and widespread fashion trend that, for better or worse, refuses to die.

Those rational and logical pillars of journalism at Fox News saw the ad and accused RR and DD of being clueless, saying that the keffiyeh symbolizes “murderous Palestinian jihad”. When DD pussied out and pulled the ads, Fox congratulated them and said that it was “refreshing to see an American company show sensitivity to the concerns of Americans opposed to Islamic jihad and its apologists”.

This is utter craziness, and makes me really, really angry. Fashion draws inspiration from all over the world and across history, and rarely does the inspiration come from meaning. Plain and simple: usually, especially in the modern age, fashion is devoid of meaning or direct symbolism - it’s more about a lifestyle or character. It’s a purely aesthetic borrowing of past colors, shapes, silhouttes extracted from what might have been the historic meaning behind their original forms. Take the recent gladiator sandal trend: Fox News’ argument is like saying people wearing the popular strappy Greco-Roman sandals are advocating animal cruelty and human rights abuse.

UGH! So much infuriating stuff today on the internet.