All over social media I’m seeing people saying it’s in support of Palestine. I’m also seeing a TON of ads for people selling them claiming that purchasing one is a form of support for Palestine. I’ve noted that most of them do not specify that proceeds are going to aid, just a more general form of support.

I just saw one white burgerlander insist that wearing one is the bare minimum for anyone who cares about Palestine because by adopting the clothing, you’re preventing total genocide by making sure their culture survives. To me that reads like the most unhinged justification for cultural appropriation I’ve ever heard. Even using cultural appropriation as a value-neutral term, it’s appropriation, not immersion and adoption. It does not prevent the people from being murdered who actually are of that culture you’re saying you’re preserving.

Am I missing something? I’m a white burgerlander myself so it’s very possible. Does wearing/buying these actually support Palestinians in any way? Or is it just quickly becoming the next liberal simulacrum for activism?

  • Barabas [he/him]
    ·
    7 months ago

    This thread makes me feel very old, wearing them as a signal of solidarity isn’t new, nor is it cultural appropriation. I remember it being a thing back in the 90s during the lead up to the Oslo Accords. Never really disappeared as a pro-Palestine symbol after that, and it was probably one long before that but I wouldn’t be able to remember. Maybe it is a new thing in the US given how overwhelmingly Zionist friendly it has been.

    The way people treat cultural appropriation is starting to border on the ridiculous. It isn’t a deeply religious or culturally significant garment other than specifically as a symbol of Palestinian resistance. At worst someone is unknowingly spreading a message of solidarity with Palestine, which is good.