Hi there friends.
Fashion is such a strange and varied creature isn’t it? I mean, one persons opinion of a garment can seldom be viewed as normal. While there is most certainly fashion staples, like the humble t-shirt and the every evolving jeans. We are for the most part all very individualistic about our own styles and just how lowly we regard other peoples clothing choices. I myself rip off girls who wear gladiator sandals all the time, but I’m sure my cartoon character t-shirt style wouldn’t sit well with most.
There is however an even more delicate line that needs to be closely scrutinized, especially in our day and age with global insecurity and lack of understanding. I’m talking about religious fashion.
Religious fashion? Have I gone off the deep end again? Perhaps, however there is no doubt in my mind that certain religious styles of clothing are confusing to the average person and can lead to problems in a social setting. Many moons ago I wrote a blog about the fashion craze of wearing Arab men’s traditional scarves called keffiyeh and commented on their social significance. The keffiyeh is mostly related to male masculinity and to the extreme the Palestinian militant movement. I found it rather odd to see guys and especially girls running around sporting this very iconic garment. The problem with the keffiyeh is that it is in many circles related to terrorism, which is not actually true. Can you imagine wearing something from generation to generation, but now suddenly because of a few idiots you are looked upon by the rest of the world as evil. That is just not cool boys and girls. Likewise I think the keffiyeh is a sacred garment to the Arabic people, I would not wear it because I see it as an insult to their culture. But hey, thats just me!
I was reading a news article today about a plane in the US that had to divert and land because an orthodox Jewish man was wearing a religious fashion that set off alarm bells in people’s heads.
The phylacteries, which are a set of small square leather boxes that contain prayers, are worn on the arm and head when observing certain Jewish religious dates.
Obviously the passengers, who were ignorant to the religious items thought they were bombs and informed the flight crew. Obviously because of the bungled bombing of another plane during Christmas everyone is on high alert, so anything could…if you will pardon the pun, set them off!
There were no arrests made after the plane landed! They questioned the young man wearing the phylacteries, but soon understood that they had made a mistake. I suppose it’s better to be safe than sorry in the case of explosives on a plane, but I’m pretty surprised that nobody else on the plane knew what these items were for. I know it’s easy to look at a situation afterwards and laugh, but panic mixed with hysteria over imminent death is a powerful blend for unclear thought.
I just keep running that scene from Harold & Kumar: Escape from Guantanamo Bay, when the old lady freaks out when she says his bong on the plane LOL.
I know this isn’t exactly funny to a lot of people and that the more hardcore Jewish community will be pretty upset with this incident. However, I think it’s quite a good thing that this happened. We are so shut off in our little bubbles that we don’t realize other cultural norms and activities. We react with fear and hate, instead of trying to logically understand each other.
It’s a terrible world out there…that is for sure!
Have you had any experiences where you were misjudged by another person because of your own cultural aspects, or religious fashion as it where?
I’d love to hear your stories. Maybe you can enlighten us to some popular misconceptions about your own religion and beliefs. I don’t even mind if it is a Wicca chatting about their Pentacle!
Duncs.
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