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readpostlabels({"version":"1.0","encoding":"UTF-8","feed":{"xmlns":"http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom","xmlns$openSearch":"http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/","xmlns$blogger":"http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008","xmlns$georss":"http://www.georss.org/georss","xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841"},"updated":{"$t":"2022-05-12T01:26:29.064-05:00"},"category":[{"term":"fashion"},{"term":"politics"},{"term":"culture"},{"term":"travel"},{"term":"iran"},{"term":"becauseweveread"},{"term":"morocco"},{"term":"personal"},{"term":"teenvogue"},{"term":"featured"},{"term":"social action"},{"term":"tehranstreetstylebook"},{"term":"inspiration"},{"term":"minimal wardrobe"},{"term":"streetstyle"},{"term":"menswear"},{"term":"press"},{"term":"blogging tips"},{"term":"islam"},{"term":"comics"},{"term":"events"},{"term":"giveaway"},{"term":"video"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"JOOJOO AZAD | جوجو آزاد"},"subtitle":{"type":"html","$t":"Political fashion platform written by Iranian-American creative Hoda Katebi"},"link":[{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/feeds\/posts\/default"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8698872245648415841\/posts\/default\/-\/politics?alt=json-in-script\u0026max-results=7"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/search\/label\/politics"},{"rel":"hub","href":"http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/"},{"rel":"next","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8698872245648415841\/posts\/default\/-\/politics\/-\/politics?alt=json-in-script\u0026start-index=8\u0026max-results=7"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Hoda Katebi"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/18010214146196642383"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"generator":{"version":"7.00","uri":"http://www.blogger.com","$t":"Blogger"},"openSearch$totalResults":{"$t":"31"},"openSearch$startIndex":{"$t":"1"},"openSearch$itemsPerPage":{"$t":"7"},"entry":[{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-2040229867072703483"},"published":{"$t":"2018-09-05T14:37:00.005-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2020-08-09T00:52:00.324-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"fashion"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"politics"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"From Nike’s Kaepernick to McCain Eulogies: Revolution-Washing and How Compromise Crumbles Our Movements "},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ch4 style=\"line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: inherit;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: inherit;\"\u003E“Corporations have turned justice into an industry of human rights.”\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;\"\u003E-- Arundhati Roy, Capitalism: A Ghost Story (coming soon to a \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/search\/label\/becauseweveread\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eradical, international book club near you\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E!) \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Cb style=\"font-weight: normal;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: inherit;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-M8YfsekgKU4\/W5AuJF8y39I\/AAAAAAAAK8A\/lwmI6c7PszcnPnZHjuE8g8sisHghU_QlACLcBGAs\/s1600\/Chanel-Spring-2015-Fashion-Show-Protest-Pictures.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"682\" data-original-width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-M8YfsekgKU4\/W5AuJF8y39I\/AAAAAAAAK8A\/lwmI6c7PszcnPnZHjuE8g8sisHghU_QlACLcBGAs\/s1600\/Chanel-Spring-2015-Fashion-Show-Protest-Pictures.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENike \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/videos\/cnnmoney\/2018\/09\/04\/colin-kaepernick-nike-ad-controversy-nr-vpx.cnn\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ejust signed\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E former NFL star Colin Kaepernick as the face of their 30th anniversary “Just Do It” campaign. This is major.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKaepernick, who hasn’t played a game since 2016, the year he kneeled during the national anthem for the simple yet somehow controversial demand that Black Lives Matter, will now be affiliated with the brand that is the official outfitter of the industry that cancelled him. This is a strategic political statement--one that cannot be ignored by the NFL and their racists Kaepernick is actually currently in a lawsuit against. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut, unfortunately, like all political statements, Nike’s endorsement may do little more than remain symbolic, vacuous, and destructive when swallowed.  \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHere is where things get tricky (to say the least): \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFirst, we have the paradox that Nike continues to be the official brand of the NFL while simultaneously endorsing Kaepernick. Much like every single weapons manufacturer ever who fund boths sides of every war, this is truly an ingenious way to continue to reel in profits from both sides. Except, unlike weapons contractors who prefer to launch their ad campaigns in the barely-standing back-doors of formerly colonized nations with celebrity endorsements from U.S. politicians, Nike needs to be a bit more public to be successful. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOf course Nike knew far-right lunatics would \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nomasnomasno\/status\/1037136012806430720\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eburn and cut up their Nike gear\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E (oh how truly dreadful!) and attempt a boycott. You don’t need a major marketing and strategy team to have known that was going to happen (or even have to do much more than take off the words “Merry Christmas” from your Starbucks cups or simply exist as a woman of color to set the right-wing ablaze). But, Nike also understands the mass support that Kaepernick has, especially across the political left. Do you truly think that a brand would endorse someone who is controversial for symbolic value at the sacrifice of their profits? The answer is in a tweet that has already conveniently went viral: \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: xx-small;\"\u003EPhoto (above): Chanel 2015 Fashion Show \/\u0026nbsp;Image Source: Getty \/ Pascal Le Segretain\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ccenter\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"\u003EDetails on Kaepernick and \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Nike?src=hash\u0026amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003E#Nike\u003C\/a\u003E:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E- It’s wide endorsement. He’s going to have his own branded line. Shoes, shirts, jerseys, etc. There will be Kaepernick apparel.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E- Contract is a “star” deal on par with a top end \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NFL?src=hash\u0026amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003E#NFL\u003C\/a\u003E player. Millions per year. Star deals also include royalties.\u003C\/div\u003E— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CharlesRobinson\/status\/1036741136294064128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003ESeptember 3, 2018\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cscript async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\u003Ccenter\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EYou endorse a controversial “hero” such as Kaepernick, and immediately appear as if you’re “taking a stance”. Meanwhile, Kaepernick supporters watch, in mass, as far right-wing idiots burn their Nike paraphernalia (and of course sometimes their feet in the process but that’s okay because it’s not like they use them stand for anything of value anyway). So how do you respond? You make sure that sh*t sells out. You have to make sure the now poor and vulnerable Nike is not scared from their former fans burning Nike logos over this decision. You have to make sure Nike knows this was a good decision. You have to show those racists, through nothing but your consumption, that you are a Kaepernick fan. So you purchase their Kaepernick gear, \u003Ci\u003Een mass.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EThus, purchasing Nike has now become a political statement, as significant as voting; they’ve created a certain polarizing environment in which we feel that Nike, rather than \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/actionnetwork.org\/fundraising\/0dc1df18a31bc33ee01453f8bcfb805f92b6ac45\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eactual\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.drumnyc.org\/donate\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ecommunity\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.assatasdaughters.org\/supportus\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eorganizations\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E working to further civil rights, needs our support, praise, money, and visibility.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003ESpeaking of things that need our support, praise, money, and visibility, this 30th anniversary campaign also comes just months after Nike \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/2018\/03\/27\/news\/companies\/nike-nfl-gear-contract\/index.html\"\u003Esigned\u003C\/a\u003E an 8-year contract with the NFL, which some are speculating to be worth billions. And even further, the last time the #BoycottNike hashtag was trending was when Nike announced their annual “Law Enforcement Appreciation Sale” in the midst of hightented domestic police shootings of Black people.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: inherit;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cb style=\"font-weight: normal;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: inherit;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-RAfKUnrtIvw\/W5Aky1mIGFI\/AAAAAAAAK70\/uJK_EdT9-U8NwKNV9F-gb13N1www8IqKACLcBGAs\/s1600\/051415-national-nike-responds-to-boycott-over-law-enforcement-appreciation-day-sale.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: inherit;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"600\" data-original-width=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-RAfKUnrtIvw\/W5Aky1mIGFI\/AAAAAAAAK70\/uJK_EdT9-U8NwKNV9F-gb13N1www8IqKACLcBGAs\/s1600\/051415-national-nike-responds-to-boycott-over-law-enforcement-appreciation-day-sale.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: inherit;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: inherit;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003ESo, in Kaepernick’s lawsuit against the NFL, Nike is not only funding both sides of the war, but also the institutions at the very core of the suit: those that create, fuel, and enforce violence, both domestically and abroad. Meanwhile, Americans’ favorite past-time, selective amnesia, allows it all to go down like a spoonful of sugar to medicine. Nike is the Mary Poppins to our woes, except less fun and mostly just deceptive.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EOh but there’s more. (There is always more)\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EThere is another moment in the process of supply and demand that is always conveniently erased and preferably ignored, as exhibited by a fun, excited, little individual conveniently named @leastracist:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ccenter\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"\u003Ethat's probably why ur still single 💅🏾 \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/RWrxnESG6D\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/t.co\/RWrxnESG6D\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E— Hoda Katebi (@hodakatebi) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hodakatebi\/status\/1036795621557116930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003ESeptember 4, 2018\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003C\/center\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cscript async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/center\u003E\u003C\/center\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EWhen Nike sales shoot as high as Kaepernick’s basketball (totally kidding) due to their intentional media buzz causing fans to buy much more than what they normally would to compensate and outdo the feeble attempts at a right-wing boycott, the demand for these products rises, and the burden of which is transferred to their sweatshops, US-based incarcerated slavery camps (prisons), and the producers of their raw material. \u003Cb\u003EYes, \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/2018\/07\/ethical-fast-fashion-gender-based-violence-in-factories.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Esweatshops\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E and \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/glitch.news\/2017-03-01-left-leaning-microsoft-and-nike-both-rely-on-prison-labor-camps-to-produce-high-profit-products.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eprison slave labor\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E will be producing Nike’s new collection with Kaepernick. People of color domestically and globally will be exploited and violence against them justified in the name of civil rights.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EOf course, the fact that Nike’s endorsement of Kaepernick is nothing more than a marketing strategy is not a new or novel argument, nor does it take groundbreaking investigative research to uncover.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EBut what is particularly frightening is that this is not simply a marketing strategy. It is much more powerful, and much more destructive than that. It is part of a larger, decades-long movement of brands, corporations (and their philanthropic shields), and even some progressive politicians revolution-washing our movements until there is nothing left but logos and slogans as empty as our pockets and foresight.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EIt’s like green-washing (in which environmentally destructive fast-fashion brands paint themselves as “sustainable” or “ethical” by creating one-off conscious collections) but for our movements, reducing our systematic approaches for change to pacification with representation, and movement building to celebrity endorsements.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERevolution-washing is an incredibly effective and destructive tactic, encouraging us to further silo and divide our issues, become increasingly America-centric and exclude those beyond our borders from our consciousness and solidarity, normalize compromises that strip the very essence of our values to the tastelessness of white people’s “seasoned” cooking, and justify the exploitation of those who are not “in our backyard”. Essentially, as more and more corporations and brands attempt to “buy” their way into the “resistance”, the faster our movements compromise and crumble.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003ERevolution-washing is externally not asking the larger questions of “who is ultimately profiting”, “at whose expense”, and “what are the larger, more complex parts of this issue”, and internally preparing your self for a slide down the steepest, most slippery slope called compromising. And your values are strapping in for the ride.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EBecause the thing is, once we start allowing our values to become increasingly nothing more than a set of compromises in one avenue (such as fashion), this will ultimately become a trend that spreads to different avenues in our lives faster than gossip travels in Iranian dinner parties.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EAnd according to the Iranian khalehs (aunts) on the Whatsapp group chat, this wasn’t a great week for liberals.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EAnother major moment of a massive values-slip in the left this week were progressive politicians’ somehow collective eulogies of war criminal John McCain.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Ccenter\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"\u003EJohn McCain’s legacy represents an unparalleled example of human decency and American service.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs an intern, I learned a lot about the power of humanity in government through his deep friendship with Sen. Kennedy.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHe meant so much, to so many. My prayers are with his family. \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/iu28V3snDm\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/t.co\/iu28V3snDm\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Ocasio2018\/status\/1033538876370046977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003EAugust 26, 2018\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003C\/center\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cscript async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Ccenter\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"\u003EJohn McCain is a hero, one of the most respected senators and a friend. The hopes and prayers of the nation are with him and his family.\u003C\/div\u003E— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BernieSanders\/status\/887862563056300037?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003EJuly 20, 2017\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003C\/center\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cscript async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ccenter\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"\u003EToday, people are grieving for the loss of a great statesman. I extend my deepest condolences to those that he loved, and those that loved him in return. Our nation parts with him in pain. \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ZeklgQw1Zo\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/t.co\/ZeklgQw1Zo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IlhanMN\/status\/1033737325656846336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003EAugust 26, 2018\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003C\/center\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cscript async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EFrom Bernie Sanders to Ocasio, progressive politicians have “gotten high on their own supply” of America’s potent selective amnesia drug, re-writing John McCain’s legacy as one of “sacrifice” and “heroism” giving respect and honor to a genocidal war criminal responsible for taking the lives of 100s of thousands and demanding the carnage of millions more.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EThis was a clear instance of a values-slip, at a time when it was not needed nor can be afforded.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Ccenter\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"\u003EJust another reminder that politicians can't be trusted to stand on stated values. Please explain yourselves to your Iranian, Afghan, Iraqi, Vietnam, Libyan, Palestinian, etc constituents. I hope the 100s of thousands of lives McCain was responsible for taking can rest in peace.\u003C\/div\u003E— Hoda Katebi (@hodakatebi) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hodakatebi\/status\/1033782638421598208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003EAugust 26, 2018\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003C\/center\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cscript async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EThe scary thing is, selling-out or losing yourself is a gradual, typically incremental process that starts with a series of negotiations of values. We begin with slow, conscious justifications for why it would be okay for us to accept that money, say this thing, buy the swoosh, and ultimately end in a place where we have nothing but hollowed-out words that to us still seem to be the same from the outside.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EMost people don’t make the decision to lose themselves and what they stand for. It happens naturally when compromises reshape and redefine our values, platforms, and movements.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EIf you claim to support Muslims you cannot be pro-war, or memorialize war criminals responsible for mass Muslim deaths. If you endorse a movement for Black lives you cannot simultaneously exploit Black (non-American) lives abroad and Black incarcerated lives domestically while also profit off of feigned support for both the plaintiff and defendant in a civil rights lawsuit.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EI currently have a lot of respect for Kaepernick and I hope this decision was not easy for him. I am happy that Kaepernick is getting a major check cut to him, as someone who has donated millions and is actively engaged in important, activist work. But unfortunately, knowing that Kaepernick endorses Nike is also opening the floodgates for other left-leaning celebrities and activists who might otherwise have heeded \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1W13YqV29LHgl84c48DRyOVQGENhC1WZo\/view?usp=sharing\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cu\u003ENike garment workers’ calls for solidarity\u003C\/u\u003E,\u003C\/a\u003E to now also sign on to endorsements and campaigns with Nike, which normalizes garment worker exploitation and deeply undercuts the power of their organizing and demands.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EThe same goes for our politicians. Calling yourself a progressive or liberal (such as Obama) and administering \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.thebureauinvestigates.com\/stories\/2017-01-17\/obamas-covert-drone-war-in-numbers-ten-times-more-strikes-than-bush\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ethe most drone strikes\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E and \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/programmes\/upfront\/2017\/01\/barack-obama-deporter-chief-170113105930345.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Edeporting more people\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E than anyone else before you, sets a similar rubric of what is acceptable and will remain unchallenged. Knowing you can get elected on a progressive platform and then or say, \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/ocasio-cortez-slams-israeli-occupation-walks-it-back-i-am-not-expert-1029386\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ego back\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E on your calls for justice in Palestine or memorialize a sexist, racist, murderer (no, I’m not talking about Trump), normalizes war criminal eulogization in progressive spaces.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EThis type of compromising (both on their end on their stated values and on our end for not holding them accountable for it) across industries inevitably leads to a complete reduction, destruction, and redefinition of our movements for tangible, systemic, liberation-based change.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EAfter all, if you lose your values, what are you even fighting for?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003ESo now what?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003ERepresentation is important. Brands taking a stance is important. Progressive politicians should be voted for. Ethical brands are desperately important and currently one of our only few alternatives. But none of this will save us.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003ELiberation will not come through a series of compromises within industries that rely on those very systems of oppression to function. Liberation comes from unapologetic, unequivocal, uncompromising values that poses a very threat to those institutions of oppression -- ones that cannot be made from within the system.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EWe cannot allow ourselves to continually allow symbolic efforts to become enough, or even more important than or in place of, tangible change.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EI’m not asking for perfection. \u003Cb\u003EI’m asking that we work to continually shift our own understandings of the role of brands--be it a representative or Nike--in acting as the sit-in for our own actual organizing and work, and look at the larger system in which they are a part of producing and reproducing.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EI’m also asking that those with influence -- from brands to representatives to the people they sign -- can and should be held to a higher standard. I’m not asking for call-out culture, but accountability. If you claim to support me, people who look like me, and the movements I’m a part of, I have a right to question to what extent. At whose expense. We have a RIGHT and obligation to demand better and more, especially for what is attempted to be done in our name.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EThese are not complex, difficult demands. Why do we feel like asking a billion dollar brand to increase worker wages and improve factory conditions (barely even reducing profits) is out of the question? If a politicians whose base is majority Muslim eulogizes someone responsible for their families’ deaths why is it unheard of to hold them accountable? Why have we allowed ourselves to set the bar so dreadfully low?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EAs movement organizers, people of values and morality, people who stand for something: we need to set the bar, be intentional about who we’re including in our fight for justice, and frame the conversation before it is set and defined for us, before we are revolution-washed of our goals, ambitions, and hope. Otherwise, our wins will always be negotiations at other oppressed groups’ costs. And that’s not how we’re gonna get free.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EAt the end, seeing the left cover themselves and their social media headers in brand nike because of the Kaepernick endorsement is much like watching progressive politicians memorialize a war criminal: it’s reductive, equivocating, and another compromise closer to a total loss of values.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EJust (don’t) do it.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u0026lt;(')\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cscript type='text\/javascript'\u003E  var d='http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com';   d=d.replace(\/.*\\\/\\\/[^\\\/]*\/, '');   location.href = 'https:\/\/hodakatebi.com\/politics\/from-nikes-kaepernick-to-mccain-eulogies-revolution-washing-and-how-compromise-crumbles-our-movements\/'+d; \u003C\/script\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/feeds\/2040229867072703483\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/2018\/09\/from-nikes-kaepernick-to-mccain-revolution-washing.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8698872245648415841\/posts\/default\/2040229867072703483"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8698872245648415841\/posts\/default\/2040229867072703483"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/2018\/09\/from-nikes-kaepernick-to-mccain-revolution-washing.html","title":"From Nike’s Kaepernick to McCain Eulogies: Revolution-Washing and How Compromise Crumbles Our Movements "}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Hoda Katebi"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/18010214146196642383"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-M8YfsekgKU4\/W5AuJF8y39I\/AAAAAAAAK8A\/lwmI6c7PszcnPnZHjuE8g8sisHghU_QlACLcBGAs\/s72-c\/Chanel-Spring-2015-Fashion-Show-Protest-Pictures.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-5302472700352579938"},"published":{"$t":"2018-07-05T08:51:00.002-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2020-08-09T00:53:46.151-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"fashion"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"politics"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"All Fast-Fashion Requires Systemic Gender-Based Violence: Conscious Collections are Fake News"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-_9CX8yRkp7E\/Wz2r9rdmaFI\/AAAAAAAAK48\/9MpLqR4r2J0_Nrh8I3oL21zbrRZ-FbwAgCLcBGAs\/s1600\/gender-based-violence-fast-fashion.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"551\" data-original-width=\"980\" src=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-_9CX8yRkp7E\/Wz2r9rdmaFI\/AAAAAAAAK48\/9MpLqR4r2J0_Nrh8I3oL21zbrRZ-FbwAgCLcBGAs\/s1600\/gender-based-violence-fast-fashion.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"tr_bq\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\"It hurts us to be paid so little. I have to do this and they sell one piece of clothing for more than I get paid in a month. We cannot eat nutritious food. We don't have a good life, we live in pain for the rest of our life and die in pain.”\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003E-- Sakamma, a 42 year old garment worker in GAP’s factory in India and mother of two\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003E(photo: garment worker strike in Bangladesh met with police violence \/ libcom)\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ca name='more'\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBetween conscious collections, in-store recycling programs, and campaign spreads of more raised fists than you’ll see at the average protest, the fashion industry has delved into the deep end of the latest trend: sustainability and political awareness -- or at least, the appearance of such. Sexy catch phrases such as “organic cotton”, “sustainable development“, and of course the beloved “on sale now” plaster nearly every major fast-fashion label, fusing the seemingly compatible concepts of ethical production standards with the fast-fashion model of production. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWe’re able to clear our conscience with conscious collections and recycle our worries into feelings of optimistic do-goodness. After all, we’re all becoming \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.gap.com\/browse\/info.do?cid=1008049\u0026amp;mdts=true\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E“one stitch closer”\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E to supporting and empowering women of color in impoverished nations globally thanks to fast-fashion labels’ self-proclaimed commitment to sustainability and ethical production.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E*cue kumbaya music while birds chirp softly in the background*\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003ENot so fast.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EUNDERSTANDING FAST-FASHION\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EDespite fast-fashion prevalence and domination of the industry, this particular manufacturing model developed just recently (in the late 1990s and early 2000s) as a form of producing clothing from the runway to a mass market, quickly and inexpensively. \u003Cb\u003EIt depends on both the continual creation of desire for consumption within the minds of consumers and the Quick Response Manufacturing model of production. \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/qrm.engr.wisc.edu\/index.php\/what-is-qrm\"\u003EQuick Response Manufacturing (QRM)\u003C\/a\u003E centralizes timeliness as the central and highest priority in the production process in order to create the mass output and scale of profits needed to remain competitive within the Western capitalist system.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFor example, H\u0026amp;M, the second largest retailer internationally after Inditex (which owns Zara), has been \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/fashionunited.uk\/news\/fashion\/h-m-accused-of-burning-12-tonnes-of-new-unsold-clothing-per-year\/2017101726341\"\u003Eaccused\u003C\/a\u003E of incinerating 12 tonnes of new and unused clothing every year, is \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/03\/27\/business\/hm-clothes-stock-sales.html\"\u003Ecurrently\u003C\/a\u003E sitting on over $4.3 billion of unsold inventory, and actively produces between 550 and 600 million garments annually. They simultaneously have one of the most aggressively-marketed \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/2017\/06\/how-hm-erases-war-crimes-in-israel-marketing-campaign.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Egreenwashing\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E campaigns of fast-fashion brands.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch4\u003EThis central focus on time and low production costs to produce countless new styles every week (currently the fast-fashion industry has to work to meet their 52 “micro-seasons” annually) are directly reproduced in every aspect of fast-fashion supply chains and creates the very environments that necessitate violence on the production floor. \u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003ETherefore, this seeming harmonious blend of fast-fashion and ethical production is not only deceptive marketing, but inherently and wholly incompatible. In the midst of all the smiling faces of brown Muslim women at sewing machines excited and ready to sew another pair of ripped jeans in Bangladesh,\u003Cb\u003E \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.globallaborjustice.org\/gap\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ethree\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.globallaborjustice.org\/handm\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Enew\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.globallaborjustice.org\/walmart-report\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ereports\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E published by \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.globallaborjustice.org\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EGlobal Labor Justice\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E and \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/asia.floorwage.org\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EAsia Floor Wage Alliance\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E, describing severe gender-based abuse in some of the largest fast-fashion labels’ supply chains, indicates a deep and systematic incongruity between what brands are saying and what is actually happening.\u003C\/b\u003E The abuse was documented between January and May of this year in \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.globallaborjustice.org\/handm\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EH\u0026amp;M\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E, \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.globallaborjustice.org\/gap\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EGAP\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E, and \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.globallaborjustice.org\/walmart-report\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EWalmart\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E factories across Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka and reveals the horrifying working conditions women of color are subjected to on the job, \u003Ci\u003Edaily\u003C\/i\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EGENDER-BASED VIOLENCE INSIDE THE FACTORIES\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe reports, developed by an international coalition of human rights organizations, unions, and other labor organizations active on the ground including Global Labor Justice, Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA), CENTRAL Cambodia, Sedane Labour Resource Center (LIPS) Indonesia, and Society for Labour and Development (SLD) India, detail sexual violence and verbal abuse against female garment workers on top of their already oppressive sweatshop working conditions.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPulling hair, hitting breasts, firing pregnant women, threats of sexual violence and non-renewal of work contracts are just some of the forms of difficult-to-read gender-based violence documented in the report that frame the daily realities of female garment workers\u003C\/b\u003E across South and Southeast Asia:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"tr_bq\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E“...my batch supervisor came up behind me as I was working on the sewing machine, yelling “you are not meeting your target production.” He pulled me out of the chair and I fell on the floor. He hit me, including on my breasts. He pulled me up and then pushed me to the floor again. He kicked me.”\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis is just one of the abusive experiences reported by Radhika, a widow, single mother, and garment worker in one of H\u0026amp;M’s major supplier factories in India. Unfortunately, such harrowing reports of gender-based violence and economic exploitation are not unique to H\u0026amp;M, GAP, and Walmart, nor are they the simple result of mismanagement, or careless top-down inspection. \u003Cb\u003EThese experiences sit at the intersections of particularities of class, gender, and race: the abuse female garment workers face is no isolated accident. Garment factories exist in nations of color due to the legacies of colonialism, and are systematically dependent on exploitation and gender-based abuse to function within the fast-fashion model of production.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-ItBgxAmdKQI\/Wz2k_Co191I\/AAAAAAAAK4M\/ODbDrC5p72oCMAzH7hwbcavDMnOFNBpjACLcBGAs\/s1600\/hm-sweatshops.png\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"861\" data-original-width=\"705\" src=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-ItBgxAmdKQI\/Wz2k_Co191I\/AAAAAAAAK4M\/ODbDrC5p72oCMAzH7hwbcavDMnOFNBpjACLcBGAs\/s1600\/hm-sweatshops.png\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003ETable:\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.globallaborjustice.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/GBV-HM-May-2018.pdf\"\u003EH\u0026amp;M report\u003C\/a\u003E, Global Labor Justice \/ Tweets: via our \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/i\/moments\/1014263365076705282\"\u003ETwitter town hall\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ccenter\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"\u003ETo sell clothes so cheap, turn over new styles fast, and deliver such high profits, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hm?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003E@HM\u003C\/a\u003E \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Gap?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003E@Gap\u003C\/a\u003E \u0026amp; \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Walmart?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003E@Walmart\u003C\/a\u003E suppliers rely on a business model that utilizes the discrimination and exploitation of women garment workers as a cost saving measure. \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/EndFastFashionGBV?src=hash\u0026amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003E#EndFastFashionGBV\u003C\/a\u003E \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/TimesUp?src=hash\u0026amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003E#TimesUp\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E— ICAR (@theICAR) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/theICAR\/status\/1014195630598770689?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003EJuly 3, 2018\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003C\/center\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cscript async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ccenter\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"\u003EViolence in \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Gap?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003E@Gap\u003C\/a\u003E \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hm?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003E@HM\u003C\/a\u003E \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Walmart?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003E@Walmart\u003C\/a\u003E garment supply chains is rooted in the structure of the industry: impossible production targets, women in high stress, low wage, temporary work drives industrial discipline practices. \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/MeTo?src=hash\u0026amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003E#MeTo\u003C\/a\u003E to \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/UsToo?src=hash\u0026amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003E#UsToo\u003C\/a\u003E - these are not isolated cases \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/EndFastFashionGBV?src=hash\u0026amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003E#EndFastFashionGBV\u003C\/a\u003E \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/WFD81sRaok\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/t.co\/WFD81sRaok\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E— shikha silliman bhattacharjee (@shikhaphone) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/shikhaphone\/status\/1014205406573355008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003EJuly 3, 2018\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003C\/center\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cscript async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EFurthermore, according to the GLJ \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.globallaborjustice.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/GBV-HM-May-2018.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ereport\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E, “Examples of physical abuse reported by workers interviewed for this study include slapping workers and throwing heavy bundles of papers and clothes at workers, especially during high stress production times. \u003Cb\u003EWorkers reported that physical discipline practices spiked after second tier management came out of meetings with senior management driving production targets.”\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch4\u003EMuch like Radhika’s experiences quoted above, the findings from the reports clearly indicate that these impossible time and production demands that fast-fashion places on factories are one of the major causes for factory violence.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-h_9UrxJZBAc\/Wz2qakwzHwI\/AAAAAAAAK4s\/dltQf40l4007xm44NBbOjqDqSDYiKSVrgCLcBGAs\/s1600\/walmart-supply-chain.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"320\" data-original-width=\"927\" src=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-h_9UrxJZBAc\/Wz2qakwzHwI\/AAAAAAAAK4s\/dltQf40l4007xm44NBbOjqDqSDYiKSVrgCLcBGAs\/s1600\/walmart-supply-chain.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: small;\"\u003EPhoto: Walmart supply chain demands on garment workers\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGLJ’s report also uncovers\u003Cb\u003E gendered hiring practices across fast-fashion supply chains\u003C\/b\u003E: women workers are overwhelmingly dominant (up to 95% of the garment workforce in many of the South and South East Asian countries investigated in their reports) yet “rarely” hold any positions of power within management. This results in women becoming especially vulnerable to sexual abuse and violence that are enabled from such gendered power structures. One example of this is illustrated in an interview conducted with a female garment worker in H\u0026amp;M’s factory in Sri Lanka:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"tr_bq\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E“When girls scold machine operators for touching them or grabbing them, they take revenge. Sometimes they give them machines that don’t function properly. Then they don’t come and repair it for a long time. After that, supervisors scold us for not meeting the target.”\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cb\u003EWomen are not only routinely threatened or mocked for not working fast enough to meet the demands placed on them by fast-fashion brands, but are also punished for reporting the sexual violence that is cited as justification for not meeting quotas, oftentimes being fired and blacklisted from all factory jobs.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003EOne garment worker notes that factory supervisors have even hired informants to ensure the women do not talk with anyone outside of the factory. Even more so, local press that document or report on the factory conditions are often retaliated against as well.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EFurthermore, such time sensitivity and high production demands also violate garment workers’ general rights and liberties, beyond the vulnerabilities of gender-based violence:\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;Muslim garment workers in Indonesia are unable to take prayer breaks, as they will not be able to meet production targets otherwise; in Cambodia overtime is forced and normalized (leading to “mass fainting” from exhaustion on particularly hot days); and job insecurity is widespread across all factories by imposing short term contracts with compensation far below living wages.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-FA75kDm167A\/Wz2m9_NEUmI\/AAAAAAAAK4g\/iOmF9_1jefs_tfK4cLwKHZaW-nGT6m3LQCLcBGAs\/s1600\/cambodia_garment_factory_protest_1.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"551\" data-original-width=\"980\" src=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-FA75kDm167A\/Wz2m9_NEUmI\/AAAAAAAAK4g\/iOmF9_1jefs_tfK4cLwKHZaW-nGT6m3LQCLcBGAs\/s1600\/cambodia_garment_factory_protest_1.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-small;\"\u003EPhoto: \"Woman shot dead and several injured in protest by garment workers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia\" \/ South China Morning Post\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch3\u003ECAN BRANDS DO BETTER?\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EMeanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, H\u0026amp;M, GAP, and others are putting up a seemingly noble front: \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/sustainability.hm.com\/content\/dam\/hm\/about\/documents\/en\/CSR\/2017%20Sustainability%20report\/HM_group_SustainabilityReport_2017_FullReport_en.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EH\u0026amp;M’s 2017 Sustainability Report\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E claims transparent supply chains, minimum wages, and codes of conduct for all formal subcontractors. So how does this all fit together? Buzz words such as “creating jobs”, “investment in developing countries,” or, as proudly \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/about.hm.com\/en\/sustainability\/sustainable-fashion\/working-conditions.html\"\u003Edeclared\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E on H\u0026amp;M’s website, “Everyone should be treated with respect and the suppliers should offer their workers fair wages and good working conditions” seem to set the scene for progress. Indeed, workers should have fair wages and good working conditions. But such deceptive terms and phrases do not do much else than ease consumers’ conscience who fall for their branding tricks. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOftentimes, such deceptive greenwashing, accelerated by H\u0026amp;M’s “Conscious Collections” or Zara’s “Join Life” collection, leave consumers assuming that, in the off chance that they learn about such violent factory conditions, such conditions are simply the result of either flexible local laws or independent factories, rather than intentional corporate decisions. Because, at least they’re trying, right? H\u0026amp;M especially prides itself on its corporate sustainability and is oftentimes one of the first brands to conduct independent investigations of their supply chains when sweatshop conditions are publicized. Shouldn’t we support the brands that are attempting to do better? \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EActually, the majority of the violations reported in H\u0026amp;M, GAP, and Walmart factories also violate international and local labor laws--this is not simply an unfortunate \"third world\" situation that fast-fashion corporations are taking advantage of; rather,\u0026nbsp; factories’ pressures that lead to violence are a direct result of the production processes and demands inherent to fast-fashion.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: inherit;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: inherit;\"\u003EMoreover, fast-fashion corporations most definitely have the means and resources to do better. In the first three months of 2018, Inditex (parent company to Zara, Pull and Bear, Stradivarius, and\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cu style=\"font-family: inherit;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.inditex.com\/en\/about-us\/our-brands\/zara\"\u003Eother\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: inherit;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;fast-fashion labels)\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cu style=\"font-family: inherit;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.inditex.com\/en\/article?articleId=588064\u0026amp;title=Inditex+Group%E2%80%99s+net+sales+climb+2%25+to+%E2%82%AC5.7+billion+in+the+first+three+months+of+2018+fiscal+year\"\u003Ewitnessed\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: inherit;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;a record-breaking $6.6 billion in revenue, with CEO Amancio Ortega’s personal net worth currently sitting at $73.9 billion (making him one of the top 10 richest people in the world). Supply chains are left intentionally opaque to distance themselves from responsibility, and use phrases like \"should be treated with respect\" or\u0026nbsp; “independent investigations”, which are as meaningless as Trump’s white house iftars.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: inherit;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch4\u003ERegardless of how a brand frames its “corporate responsibility” policies, the bottom line still stands: all fast-fashion is deeply and wholly dependent upon violent working conditions due to their production needs. Sweatshops, economic exploitation, and gender-based abuse of garment workers are not a reformable by-product of fast-fashion; they are a systemic, inevitable, and necessary component central to fast-fashion’s model of production, at almost every level of the supply chain.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETherefore, top-down approaches to change factory conditions (such as working with or supporting brands that appear to be more sustainable or conscious) are ultimately futile and have historically failed. \u003Cb\u003EThe only way H\u0026amp;M, GAP, Walmart, Zara, Forever21, and other fast-fashion brands can truly systematically end the abuse and gender-based violence that frames their supply chains is to minimize their production quotas (i.e. no longer work within production timelines that fill the demands of 52 faux seasons), allow unionization and collective bargaining, and pay living wages, among other proposals outlined in the GLJ reports. \u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cb\u003EIn the specific cases of H\u0026amp;M, GAP, and Walmart, in light of the Global Labor Justice report they need to immediately\u0026nbsp;meet with the leadership of women of Asia Floor Wage Alliance to pilot programs to end gender based violence in their supplier factories.\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003ERather than supporting fast-fashion brands that are putting on the best “green” front, which would be marginally noticeable and only encourage more campaigns that use sexy words that carry no value, it is absolutely integral that we support and follow the leadership of garment workers organizing globally for their human rights. Sweatshops are “in”, and as long as we don’t end fast-fashion, they’re not going anywhere.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETo those who are now thinking about your consumption of fast-fashion and, much like the high schooler who, after I finished a presentation on the production chain of fast-fashion for his class are wondering if you now are “a bad person,” I leave you with this: all fashion is political, complex, and more than just a t-shirt on a clothing rack. Beyond an individual decision of what clothes you chose to adorn your body with, we need to redefine our relationship to consumption and understand the complexities of the particular political and economic contexts that create and maintain the capacity for such forms of exploitative labor. \u003Cb\u003EYour individual consumption is not unimportant, but for us to truly be able to transform the fashion industry and the violence that plagues it, we must support the organizations investigating and reporting factory abuse and pushing for policy change, the on-the-ground organizing and unionizing led by garment workers, and movements challenging militarization and occupation globally. \u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch4\u003EEspecially in the wake of the #MeToo movement in the West bringing attention to the normalization of sexual violence in Hollywood and other workplaces, we’re left asking ourselves how exclusive such movements are, and whose sexual violence we’re allowing ourselves to ignore or justify. \u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-small;\"\u003EThis piece is part of a global campaign aimed at pressuring H\u0026amp;M and GAP to meet with their garment workers to pilot programs to immediately end gender based violence in their supplier factories. Learn more about the campaign on \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.globallaborjustice.org\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EGlobal Labor Justices' website\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E or reading through \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/i\/moments\/1014263365076705282\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eour twitter town hall\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E, in collaboration with various unions, human rights groups, and others working to challenge gender-based violence in the fast-fashion industry.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-small;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-small;\"\u003E\u0026lt;(')\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cscript type='text\/javascript'\u003E  var d='http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com';   d=d.replace(\/.*\\\/\\\/[^\\\/]*\/, '');   location.href = 'https:\/\/hodakatebi.com\/politics\/all-fast-fashion-requires-systemic-gender-based-violence-conscious-collections-are-fake-news\/'+d; \u003C\/script\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/feeds\/5302472700352579938\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/2018\/07\/ethical-fast-fashion-gender-based-violence-in-factories.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8698872245648415841\/posts\/default\/5302472700352579938"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8698872245648415841\/posts\/default\/5302472700352579938"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/2018\/07\/ethical-fast-fashion-gender-based-violence-in-factories.html","title":"All Fast-Fashion Requires Systemic Gender-Based Violence: Conscious Collections are Fake News"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Hoda Katebi"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/18010214146196642383"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-_9CX8yRkp7E\/Wz2r9rdmaFI\/AAAAAAAAK48\/9MpLqR4r2J0_Nrh8I3oL21zbrRZ-FbwAgCLcBGAs\/s72-c\/gender-based-violence-fast-fashion.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-3535308887079619992"},"published":{"$t":"2018-04-27T07:00:00.001-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2020-08-09T00:55:16.535-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"politics"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"You Cannot Challenge Gun Violence Without Challenging the Military"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-7r23wEa_drk\/WuKkTqCNZFI\/AAAAAAAAKy8\/xBX-YfHaTrA9iGyuooLwJKKvIdErok2PQCLcBGAs\/s1600\/veterans-for-gun-reform-march-for-our-lives.png\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"Veterans for Gun Reform, March for Our Lives, gun reform, march for our lives protests\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"659\" data-original-width=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-7r23wEa_drk\/WuKkTqCNZFI\/AAAAAAAAKy8\/xBX-YfHaTrA9iGyuooLwJKKvIdErok2PQCLcBGAs\/s1600\/veterans-for-gun-reform-march-for-our-lives.png\" title=\"March for Our Lives Veterans\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOne of the headlining endorsers of \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/marchforourlives?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Ehashtag\"\u003E#MarchForOurLives\u003C\/a\u003E held last month in Washington, D.C. was the organization \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.military.com\/daily-news\/2018\/03\/25\/veterans-join-march-our-lives-push-gun-reform.html\"\u003EVeterans for Gun Reform\u003C\/a\u003E. The group \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/wepresent.wetransfer.com\/story\/veterans-for-gun-reform\/\"\u003Ereleased a video\u003C\/a\u003E that played during the flagship march, featuring 16 veterans who had served in wars from Vietnam to Iraq. They spoke to their personal experience using the M-16—the military-grade counterpart to the commercially-available AR-15 used in the Parkland shooting—and the meaninglessness of differentiating between the two.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EThroughout the video, veterans comment on their experiences with the AR-15:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"tr_bq\"\u003E“There is no reason...why anyone other than military and law enforcement should have an assault weapon like this.”\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"tr_bq\"\u003E“High powered, rapid-fire assault rifles like the AR-15 are meant for one thing...That’s not something I want in my country.”\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKyle Hausmann-Stokes, the video’s director and a veteran himself, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/wepresent.wetransfer.com\/story\/veterans-for-gun-reform\/\"\u003Esays\u003C\/a\u003E in reference to the availability of the AR-15:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"tr_bq\"\u003E\"It's like taking a soldier off the battlefield with a machine gun and bringing it into the civilian world.\"\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Ciframe allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pSwEq8Pym8k?rel=0\u0026amp;controls=0\u0026amp;showinfo=0\" width=\"560\"\u003E\u003C\/iframe\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-small;\"\u003Ecover photo: screenshot from Veterans for Gun Reform PSA, above\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cb\u003EThe rhetoric of the video draws a familiar line between the acceptable use of gun violence on the foreign “battlefield” and its unacceptable use in the domestic “civilian world.” Yet, the persistence of this imagined dichotomy derails the very message many of the march’s young leaders were beginning to raise: Any real challenge to gun violence in the U.S. requires questioning the very culture of militarism that makes it possible—and the U.S.’ role in proliferating it globally.\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Israeli military came under \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2018\/04\/03\/israel-gaza-killings-unlawful-calculated\"\u003Einternational scrutiny\u003C\/a\u003E in late March when snipers shot live ammunition into crowds of Palestinians participating in the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.alaraby.co.uk\/english\/indepth\/2018\/4\/5\/gazas-great-return-march-is-just-the-beginning\"\u003EGreat Return March\u003C\/a\u003E within the Gaza Strip. In the first day alone, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2018\/04\/gaza-protest-latest-updates-180406092506561.html\"\u003Emore than\u003C\/a\u003E 750 were injured, and at least 18 were killed--including youth, and \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/palestinian-journalist-in-vest-marked-press-shot-dead-by-israeli-troops-in-gaza\/2018\/04\/07\/ac57b524-3a30-11e8-8fd2-49fe3c675a89_story.html?utm_term=.651d8244e161\u0026amp;noredirect=on\"\u003Ejournalists\u003C\/a\u003E wearing clearly-designated press vests. Videos showed unarmed protesters murdered as they prayed, as they ran, at times being shot down \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2018\/04\/10\/gaza-protests-palestine-israel-sniper-video\/\"\u003Eto cheers from the soldiers\u003C\/a\u003E. Days later, the U.S. blocked a vote by the U.N. attempting to launch an investigation into the Israeli military’s claim that the shootings were part of a “precision strike.\" Two additional protesters\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/electronicintifada.net\/blogs\/maureen-clare-murphy\/two-gaza-protesters-die-their-wounds\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Edied from their wounds\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;earlier this week.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThere are deep ties between Israeli militarism in occupied Palestine and gun violence in the United States. From the U.S.’ multi-billion dollar fiscal sponsorship of the Israeli army, to the weapons tested on Palestinian protesters before they are sold to the U.S. military, transitioned into local police departments, and eventually made available on the civilian market, the way military, police, and interpersonal gun violence are connected internationally is exemplified by the relationships that bind the United States and Israel.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA prime example of this are the tactical trainings \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2017\/09\/15\/police-israel-cops-training-adl-human-rights-abuses-dc-washington\/\"\u003Eoffered\u003C\/a\u003E by the Israel Defense Forces to police departments across the U.S., passing on the very strategies used to brutally suppress Palestinian protesters to law enforcement and private security forces internationally. The St. Louis police department participated in these trainings in 2011—one of the many reasons \u003Cb\u003Ethe state’s response to protests in Ferguson after Mike Brown’s murder \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2014\/08\/14\/ferguson-gaza_n_5679923.html\"\u003Elooked so similar\u003C\/a\u003E to scenes from occupied Gaza. Indeed, military ties between the U.S. and Israel also lay bare the deep interconnectedness of the fight for Black lives with Palestinian liberation.\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: 700;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ccenter\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"full-width\" style=\"background: url(http:\/\/chicagomonitor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/missouri-master1050.jpg); height: 1200px;\"\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/center\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 12.8px;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 12.8px;\"\u003EFerguson, Missouri. 2015. (Photo via IVN)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EMany Black organizers \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.theroot.com\/why-it-hurts-when-the-world-loves-everyone-but-us-1823253675\"\u003Eexpressed dismay\u003C\/a\u003E at how the country rallied to support Parkland youth in ways it has never supported the victims of police shootings. One of the primary demands of The Movement for Black Lives has been ending the militarization of local police departments—a phenomenon the Veterans For Gun Reform video perpetuates rather than criticizes.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cb\u003EYet, as many pointed out, the difference between #MarchForOurLives and #BlackLivesMatter isn’t merely the skin color of lead organizers, nor their access to resources and the ears of celebrities. It is equally that the former calls for state intervention to stop interpersonal violence, while the latter implicates the state as a primary culprit for interpersonal violence. While one demands gun violence be restricted to “the battlefield,” the other acts from the knowledge that “the battlefield” exists wherever there are Black people, Muslim people, border-crossers, and those resisting the inherent violence of militarism.\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EWhere is the line between “the civilian world” and “the battlefield?” Were protesters killed in Gaza, and the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.democracynow.org\/2018\/4\/9\/apartheid_rogue_terrorist_state_glenn_greenwald\"\u003Ethousands of Palestinian children\u003C\/a\u003E who have been murdered by the Israeli military, acceptable victims of gun violence? If automatic weapons weren’t meant to take the lives of young people attending school in Parkland, were they meant to take the lives of young people attending schools in Baltimore, Kabul, Brooklyn, Waziristan?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ccenter\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"\u003EDeeply disturbing news that child killed yesterday was yet another student at UNRWA school - two others were killed previously.\u0026nbsp; \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Children?src=hash\u0026amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003E#Children\u003C\/a\u003E should never be targets! \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/uFapQwjQ3t\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/t.co\/uFapQwjQ3t\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E— Matthias Schmale (@matzschmale) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/matzschmale\/status\/987546891276742657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003EApril 21, 2018\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003C\/center\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cscript async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOnly days before #MarchForOurLives stormed Washington, hundreds of protesters blocked traffic and interrupted a King’s basketball game in Sacramento, CA, protesting the death of Stephon Clark at the hands of police. While they had no permits, had raised no money, and had no celebrity endorsements, they insisted their message was just as crucial as the one lifted up by Parkland students. They insisted that being shot in your grandmother’s backyard is as unconscionable as being shot in your classroom, or being shot during prayer, no matter the qualifications of the individual pulling the trigger.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe same weapons that killed young people in Parkland are killing young people in Damascus, in Chicago, in Baghdad. And just as there is no meaningful difference between an M-16 and an AR-15, no meaningful difference between “the military” and “law enforcement,” there is no meaningful difference between “the battlefield” and “the civilian world.” The distinction merely delineates the communities the state deems deserving of gun violence, and the populations on which it condones the testing of deadly weaponry for the sake of private profit.\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EInstances of gun violence are connected through the governments, weapons manufacturers, and systems of dominance that make them possible. To truly challenge gun violence, our conversations about the international reach of militarism must be connected, too.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E--\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cspan id=\"goog_355029749\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan id=\"goog_355029750\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-_jRhwCUQUww\/WuKY08VBSSI\/AAAAAAAAKys\/knmytkJ3hPYYq14i42U817U2xAaTlFXWgCLcBGAs\/s1600\/Benji-Hart-Rad-Fag.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"Rad Fag, Chicago abolition\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"480\" data-original-width=\"640\" height=\"240\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-_jRhwCUQUww\/WuKY08VBSSI\/AAAAAAAAKys\/knmytkJ3hPYYq14i42U817U2xAaTlFXWgCLcBGAs\/s320\/Benji-Hart-Rad-Fag.jpg\" title=\"Benji Hart\" width=\"320\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EThis essay was written in collaboration with the inspirational, talented, visionary writer and dear friend \u003Cu\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/benjihart.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBenji Hart\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E of \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/radfag.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cu\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERadical Faggot\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E.\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;Benji is a Black, queer, femme artist and educator currently living in Chicago. They have essays featured in the anthologies Rebellious Mourning: The Collective Work of Grief (2017) and Taking Sides: Radical Solidarity and the Poverty of Liberalism (2015), both from AK Press. Their writing has also been published at Black Youth Project, Truthout, Salon Magazine, and other feminist and abolitionist media.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThey are the recipient of the Rauschenberg Residency (2018), Chicago Women and Femmes to Celebrate (2016), and the 3Arts Award in the Teaching Arts (2015).\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cb style=\"background-color: #f4cccc;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cb style=\"background-color: #ea9999;\"\u003EP.S. We're also honored to have Benji as our official \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/2018\/04\/a-radical-reading-club-becauseweveread.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003E#BecauseWe'veRead\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E discussant! Tune in to \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/becauseweveread\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: white;\"\u003EInstagram\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E live at 11am CST Sunday, April 29th to join the conversation as we discuss Assata Shakur's autobiography!\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cscript type='text\/javascript'\u003E  var d='http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com';   d=d.replace(\/.*\\\/\\\/[^\\\/]*\/, '');   location.href = 'https:\/\/hodakatebi.com\/politics\/you-cannot-challenge-gun-violence-without-challenging-the-military\/'+d; \u003C\/script\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/feeds\/3535308887079619992\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/2018\/04\/challenging-gun-violence-means-challenging-militarism-globally.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8698872245648415841\/posts\/default\/3535308887079619992"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8698872245648415841\/posts\/default\/3535308887079619992"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/2018\/04\/challenging-gun-violence-means-challenging-militarism-globally.html","title":"You Cannot Challenge Gun Violence Without Challenging the Military"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Hoda Katebi"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/18010214146196642383"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-7r23wEa_drk\/WuKkTqCNZFI\/AAAAAAAAKy8\/xBX-YfHaTrA9iGyuooLwJKKvIdErok2PQCLcBGAs\/s72-c\/veterans-for-gun-reform-march-for-our-lives.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-4442244389564058696"},"published":{"$t":"2018-03-08T09:17:00.000-06:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2018-03-09T22:35:14.276-06:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"politics"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"On International Working Women's Day, Please Understand Complexity"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"What do Hilary Clinton, Google, L'Oreal, Wonder Woman, and \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/2017\/03\/ethical-muslim-owned-alternatives-to-nike-pro-hijab.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ENike\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E all have in common? They are all fairly successful at convincing mass audiences that they are inclusive and support women despite actively causing violence against women from particular racial, ethnic, socio-economic, gender, and religious identities whose voices are \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.truth-out.org\/opinion\/item\/40261-from-drone-strikes-to-moab-the-strategically-silenced\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Esystematically silenced\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E: those who are not white, not American, working-class, trans, and Muslim.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-hiGOQLaCvBU\/WqFOZaTia1I\/AAAAAAAAKuI\/k9vHqvu6t7IIe8cjTFCHO8kz3dHW8j-vgCLcBGAs\/s1600\/International-Working-Womens-Day%2B%25283%2529.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"484\" data-original-width=\"600\" height=\"516\" src=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-hiGOQLaCvBU\/WqFOZaTia1I\/AAAAAAAAKuI\/k9vHqvu6t7IIe8cjTFCHO8kz3dHW8j-vgCLcBGAs\/s640\/International-Working-Womens-Day%2B%25283%2529.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-small;\"\u003EIllustration: \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/stephaniemcmillan.org\/international-womens-day\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EStephanie McMillan\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETwo days ago, on March 6th, Google \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/people.com\/human-interest\/international-womens-day-google-encourages-ladies-to-share-stories\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eannounced\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E its campaign for International Women's Day \"encouraging ladies across the world to share their stories\" while \u003Ci\u003EThe Intercept \u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2018\/03\/06\/google-is-quietly-providing-ai-technology-for-drone-strike-targeting-project\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eannounced\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E that \"Google is quietly providing AI technology for drone strikes targeting project.\" Quietly, indeed.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EWhile Google is receiving praise from media outlets for collaborating with artists to celebrate and uplift women's voices \"from Japan to Pakistan,\" they are simultaneously supporting U.S. military efforts to drone strike women, mothers, grandmothers, and girls. Truly, a feminist icon.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch4\u003EBut, we permit them to get away with it, as we do with others every single day. We tend to continuously allow negotiations in our feminism or support of women: we forgive multi-billion dollar exploitative corporations as fast as they can put a headscarf on a model or imperialism as fast as it can put on a pink pantsuit.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EBut of course, these exclusions are intentionally meant to be so: if we questioned how everyone--from the (most likely) child picking the cotton in Burkina Faso to the mothers in Bangladesh sewing it all together in stuffed factories--were getting paid behind every $5 t-shirt we saw at Forever21, we no longer would have the \"luxury\" of cheap clothing. And God forbid we can't hit the sale rack and impulsively buy in the name of self-care.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003ESo, we're taught to not think beyond \"our borders\", shut up, and just buy the damn thing. It's easier to not think about the complexity: it takes less time, it sounds nice, and ultimately, it is not in our favor after all?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-puxdj4I7Ywg\/WqFOfc6wsMI\/AAAAAAAAKuM\/tWBjJqhN93k0wjwgJt4K7FfkXGPATOmbwCLcBGAs\/s1600\/International-Working-Womens-Day%2B%25282%2529.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"424\" data-original-width=\"600\" height=\"452\" src=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-puxdj4I7Ywg\/WqFOfc6wsMI\/AAAAAAAAKuM\/tWBjJqhN93k0wjwgJt4K7FfkXGPATOmbwCLcBGAs\/s640\/International-Working-Womens-Day%2B%25282%2529.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-small;\"\u003EIllustration:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cu style=\"font-size: small;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/stephaniemcmillan.org\/international-womens-day\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EStephanie McMillan\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: normal;\"\u003EIntersectional feminism--a holistic understanding of women's rights that includes space for women from aforementioned identity groups whose realities challenge our privilege--comes right down to your own body and the conscious (and unconscious) choices you're making every day as you decide what to wear. Or whose surface-level narrative you might be buying into (and therefore paralyzing you from doing something about it).\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EIt's not easy, because it if it was then we would already be out of this mess. It is an intentional set of decisions we must make, every single day, as we choose where we buy our clothes, what we are and are not using our platforms for, how we choose to love or not love ourselves and our communities, and the extent we choose to engage with or not engage with the realities of privilege and violence we find ourselves in.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/2017\/03\/if-you-use-our-faces-maybe-stop-killing-our-people.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EAs written previously on JooJoo Azad\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E, it is increasingly important to see past surface-level inclusion, ask important questions, love our communities over corporations, and understand the complexity of narratives designed to sail smoothly down our throats.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003EOn International Working Women's Day, \u003Cbr \/\u003Elet's make this a commitment.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E--\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EI'm sharing the quick speech I gave one year ago today at the International Working Women's Day rally in Chicago, adapted a little to read better as a standalone piece, as it remains unfortunately relevant. I've been getting a lot of messages recently from people asking for support in articulating the politics of JooJoo Azad in speeches they're giving at protests and rallies, so I hope this can be of help. I'll also be uplifting women I love across my social media today, as well as\u0026nbsp;\u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.drumnyc.org\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EDRUM's (Desis Rising Up and Moving)\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E's \"Working-Class SHEroes\" campaign, for those following along. I encourage people who are able to, to donate to their important work.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-Hc42P6MRkyY\/WqFOhFNl5yI\/AAAAAAAAKuU\/7QaDlNvgXIAf56-0tvqCA7-79esuQYxWQCLcBGAs\/s1600\/International-Working-Womens-Day%2B%25284%2529.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"417\" data-original-width=\"600\" height=\"444\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-Hc42P6MRkyY\/WqFOhFNl5yI\/AAAAAAAAKuU\/7QaDlNvgXIAf56-0tvqCA7-79esuQYxWQCLcBGAs\/s640\/International-Working-Womens-Day%2B%25284%2529.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003EIllustration:\u0026nbsp;\u003Cu style=\"font-size: small;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/stephaniemcmillan.org\/international-womens-day\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EStephanie McMillan\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003EMarch 08, 2017:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EToday we are at a time of exacerbated anti-Muslim racism that has only been increasing throughout my lifetime.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESo as our mosques continue to get burned, our people continue to be banned, harassed by police, killed by white supremacists, stalked by DHS, as I continue to get called a terrorist and spat on as I read my book on the red line, let me set the record straight on the multiple layers of anti-Muslim racism that is prevalent in society that you might not have noticed.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFirst, Stop draping your american flags over our Hijabs to make us American enough for your solidarity.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EStop infantilizing us in your bystander intervention comics, stop localizing international politics, and stop flattening our identities as Muslim women into a single hijab.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESo here is what you should know.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKnow that anti-Muslim racism existed long before Trump.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKnow that “counterterrorism” or “national security” are only code words for anti-Muslim policies. Know that Obama administered more drone strikes than any other president before him and is largely responsible for creating many of the refugees who Trump is now banning.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKnow that if Hilllary Clinton would have become president, one of the only things that would have changed is that many of you would not be standing here today, in protest.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKnow that hyper-militarization of police is largely fueled by anti-Muslim racism. And know that the police are only here to serve and protect upperclass white people, and that you cannot be pro-Muslim and support the police. Know that if you are Muslim you must not say but demand that Black lives matter not only because the first Muslims in this country were Black slaves, but because our community is also Black, and our individual liberation is wholly dependent on each other.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKnow that Israel is an apartheid state that spends millions creating and perpetuating anti-Muslim propaganda. That Israel trains American police. That you cannot be pro-Israel and support Muslims.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELet me repeat: You cannot be pro-Israel and support Muslims\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EYou cannot be pro-war and support Muslims\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EYou cannot be pro-drone strikes and support Muslims\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EYou cannot remain silent or ignorant about the genocide of Rohingya Muslims in Burma and support Muslims\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EYou cannot be transphobic or pretend that this land was not stolen and call yourself an immigrant and support Muslims.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EWhy? Because we, as Muslims, should and will refuse to be complicit in support that marginalizes or causes direct violence and injustice to our own or others. That does nothing to move us forward. But also, if you look deeper, you see the roots of all of these systems of violence are one and the same.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd know that with all of this, if you cannot, therefore, support Muslims, you cannot call yourself a feminist either.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd no, I will not, under any circumstances, compromise any of this. I will not excuse you if you are a zionist. I will not smile at you if you are “wearing a hijab for a day.” I will not join your movement if you forget Americans are privileged at the expense of people of color around the world.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELet us not compromise our values, our identities, our histories, our spiritualites to have one extra person show up at our rallies, for one extra person in my march who refuses to accept the complexity of my identity, my family trauma and displacement, and my oppression.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd finally, at a time where violence against our communities is becoming increasingly normalized, let us not forget to show up for our people. We must love our people--those who are truly here with us-- we must show up for, support, build with, and love, deeply, intentionally and intensely. Because The movement forward will be rooted in radical love. It will be uncompromising in our values.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESo I thank you all who came out today to celebrate and resist.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd I encourage you to come out tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after. And for Black lives. and for indigenous people and for trans people. And for working class people. And for Palestinians. And for Muslims.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBecause we will not remain silent when the trump regime makes trans people feel unsafe to use the bathroom. We will not remain silent when they expand military and police and ICE raids. Or when our mosques are burned and synagogues vandalized. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd we should not remain silent \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blackyouthproject.com\/tag\/laquan-mcdonald\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eafter 16 shots\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E. Because we are stronger when we are together. Because we are powerful when we are together. Because we will win when we are together. Because love trumps hate...and Trump.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESo thank you for being united. Thank you for coming together Muslim and non-Muslim, from different sects and backgrounds and languages and abilities and genders and ages. Thank you for refusing to remain silent.\u0026nbsp;In honor of working class women around the world, let's actively work to complicate our world views, internationalize local politics, and take shit down together, with a holistic understanding of what that will look like.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-En5LxUP44Aw\/WqFOgQetjFI\/AAAAAAAAKuY\/Jo_l1ODKhugN-PFtR51pzUWA6PdUnwv-ACEwYBhgL\/s1600\/International-Working-Womens-Day%2B%25281%2529.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"561\" data-original-width=\"600\" height=\"598\" src=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-En5LxUP44Aw\/WqFOgQetjFI\/AAAAAAAAKuY\/Jo_l1ODKhugN-PFtR51pzUWA6PdUnwv-ACEwYBhgL\/s640\/International-Working-Womens-Day%2B%25281%2529.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003EIllustration:\u0026nbsp;\u003Cu style=\"font-size: small;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/stephaniemcmillan.org\/international-womens-day\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EStephanie McMillan\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u0026lt;(')\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E* Edit March 8, 10:50am CST -- I incorrectly used feminism and womanism interchangeably, and have updated the piece accordingly. (\u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.goldwomyn.com\/blog-1\/the-womanist-reader\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Emore on \"womanism\" and why it's different from feminism here\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E)\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/feeds\/4442244389564058696\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/2018\/03\/on-international-working-womens-day.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8698872245648415841\/posts\/default\/4442244389564058696"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8698872245648415841\/posts\/default\/4442244389564058696"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/2018\/03\/on-international-working-womens-day.html","title":"On International Working Women's Day, Please Understand Complexity"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Hoda Katebi"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/18010214146196642383"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-hiGOQLaCvBU\/WqFOZaTia1I\/AAAAAAAAKuI\/k9vHqvu6t7IIe8cjTFCHO8kz3dHW8j-vgCLcBGAs\/s72-c\/International-Working-Womens-Day%2B%25283%2529.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-3621964607955603953"},"published":{"$t":"2018-02-10T06:00:00.003-06:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2020-11-13T22:59:18.118-06:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"politics"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"\"You Do Not Sound American\": A Live Interview on WGN-TV"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-x2fpR7-ni3A\/Wn4J5N4lP9I\/AAAAAAAAKqU\/wtvZ4LcSstsq8BUVn-l8N-01Yo85HPc8ACLcBGAs\/s1600\/hoda-katebi-interview-wgn.png\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"769\" data-original-width=\"1375\" src=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-x2fpR7-ni3A\/Wn4J5N4lP9I\/AAAAAAAAKqU\/wtvZ4LcSstsq8BUVn-l8N-01Yo85HPc8ACLcBGAs\/s1600\/hoda-katebi-interview-wgn.png\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E*This piece has been updated as of February 14, 2018*\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI was on WGN for a live interview last week, and was asked to speak about my work and my book, but when I gave answers the hosts didn't like, their questions (and comments) started to get hostile, literally telling me I \"don't sound American.\" They gave me 5 minutes on-air. I'm going to give myself this short article instead. Here are a few quick thoughts about this interview (which they also did not publish online, or give us access to the clip), as I feel it serves as a good example for a bit of commentary that can be applied to so many conversations happening now, and relevant to the work that is happening here on JooJoo Azad.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;- Watch the interview below or \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=fNwzxPpRVoA\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eon Youtube here\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E -\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ciframe allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fNwzxPpRVoA?ecver=1\" width=\"560\"\u003E\u003C\/iframe\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: \u0026quot;Times New Roman\u0026quot;; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: \u0026quot;Times New Roman\u0026quot;; font-size: medium; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;\"\u003E\u003Ch3 style=\"margin: 0px;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\"Do you think, you would like to see Iran go back to that before women were wearing hijabs?\"\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis question is assuming that there was, in fact, a time in recent Iranian history where women were wearing miniskirts and not hijabs as if there were no Muslim people in Iran before the revolution or that everyone is wearing black now and all sense of personal expression has been stripped from them. So wearing a black chador is not \"expressing yourself\"? Is expression of self through the body truly only limited to dressing in Western fashion?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFor more elaboration on my response, a dear friend Alex Shams wrote a brilliant piece: \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/ajammc.com\/2017\/09\/06\/weaponization-nostalgia-afghan-miniskirts\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\"The Weaponization of Nostalgia,\u0026nbsp;How Afghan Miniskirts Became the Latest Salvo in the War on Terror\"\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E, discussing how this exact dichotomous framework of seeing women's bodies in the middle east (mini skirts as freedom and liberation and hijabs as repression and lack of rights) is established as justification for keeping troops on the ground in Afghanistan. Fashion is powerful, but it's not a gauge of a state's morality or progress based on how it frames women's bodies.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\"Let's talk about nuclear weapons\"\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESo hindsight is always 20\/20, and I honestly should have just stopped him right there and questioned why he thought it was okay to make this ridiculous comment and pose it as a question (I think I was too excited to answer the question than question his premises). Nothing to do with what we are talking about and yet, I'm forced to take up a role as an expert on all things related to Iranian politics -- a position I know other POC\/Muslims have found themselves in if they have ever been the token Muslim on a panel or interviewed about their work. The title they gave me on the show was \"fashion blogger,\" yet here I am being asked about nuclear weapons. Would they ever bring on a white chef to their show and then ask him about Brexit or his thoughts on the rise of white supremacy?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\"You don't sound American\"\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EClearly, this is not the interview they expected. Identifying me as an Iranian-American, just moments before they wanted me to swiftly and unquestionably denounce Iran and then am immediately called out for not blindly pledging to the USA. Of course, both countries deserve their questioning, but the double standards is mind-blowing. Not to mention that what, then, must an American \"sound like\"? Are they saying that Americans must not question their government, must see the world in black \u0026amp; white, and chose simplicity over nuanced understandings? In that case, you all are doing it right.\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut furthermore, what an incredibly loaded statement to say to a visibly Muslim woman on live TV, pushing every stereotype of \"other\", \"foreign\", and \"incompatible with America\" that Muslims are so systematically characterized as--and therefore used as justification to commit violence against, both here and abroad. If a white person said the same things as I did I guarantee you their \"American-ness\" would not have been questioned.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis is so deeply related to my piece \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/2017\/01\/keep-your-american-flags-off-my-hijab.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\"Please Take Your American Flags Off My Hijab\"\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E I published around this time last year, where I write:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"tr_bq\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\"Know that Muslims are tired of having to \"prove\" they are American. But also, know that one does not need to be American to deserve respect, humanity, dignity, equality, rights, and freedom from hate and bigotry. An over-emphasis on being American as a prerequisite of deserving respect is harmful for immigrants and refugees. Especially under the new administration that already has plans of \"extreme vetting\" to prove American-ness. This is only pushing their agenda further.\"\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis is also why I work with the medium of fashion\/art -- images and image production (such as the American Flag Hijab) are not just abstract, harmless \"expressions\" but truly are so deeply connected to our understandings of ourselves and others.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E--\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI could go on, but I think these three points in particular work to highlight the absurdity of this interview the best. Thank you Heba \u0026amp; Nausheen for literally buying this interview from a third party so I could share and dissect it. Also shout-out to whatever editing\/lighting that was done to make my skin look a few shades darker.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u0026lt;(')\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EUpdate February 13, 2018:\u003C\/b\u003E Wow, thank you for blowing me away with love and support for this piece\/interview, I truly appreciate it! But, I have seen a lot of viscous comments toward the two anchors interviewing me. I do not condone this, as I feel their comments were out of ignorance rather than malicious intent (well, mostly). Of course, this doesn't excuse what happened, but calling people b*tches is sexist and unnecessary, I find.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EAlso, mom, I've made it -- I'm officially a meme:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-mb-Tm60si0g\/WoNvibAXk5I\/AAAAAAAAKq8\/c4Z_Xt7rO5Egwg4ObRlwtajoI26Z5Yu5QCLcBGAs\/s1600\/hoda-katebi-ive-read-wgn-interview.gif\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"352\" data-original-width=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-mb-Tm60si0g\/WoNvibAXk5I\/AAAAAAAAKq8\/c4Z_Xt7rO5Egwg4ObRlwtajoI26Z5Yu5QCLcBGAs\/s1600\/hoda-katebi-ive-read-wgn-interview.gif\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EUpdate February 14, 2018, 10:15am CST:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ccenter\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"\u003EFew updates: 1\/ First, I can't thank you all enough for your love \u0026amp; support, it's so refreshing \u0026amp; appreciated! I hope we continue to support Muslim women \u0026amp; women of color who challenge state violence\/bias, whether that is laughing through an interview or demanding \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FreeAhedTamimi?src=hash\u0026amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003E#FreeAhedTamimi\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E— Hoda Katebi (@hodakatebi) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hodakatebi\/status\/963814709127467008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003EFebruary 14, 2018\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003C\/center\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;\"\u003E\u003Cscript async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ccenter\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\" data-lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"\u003E2\/ WGN just called and Robin, the female anchor, sincerely apologized. (I also didn't realize so many of you called in! Like I said, ya'll on top of this -- thank *you* for making this happen and refusing to normalize this)! I accepted, and proposed a few ways to fix this --\u003C\/div\u003E— Hoda Katebi (@hodakatebi) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hodakatebi\/status\/963815773922832385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003EFebruary 14, 2018\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003C\/center\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cscript async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ccenter\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\" data-lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"\u003E3\/ One proposal I suggested of course, is for WGN to publish a reading list I put together \u0026amp; do an on-air interview where we discuss what happened for their audience, what went wrong, and then to talk about Fanon, Assata Shakur, Edward Said, etc, \u0026amp; American imperialism 😇\u003C\/div\u003E— Hoda Katebi (@hodakatebi) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hodakatebi\/status\/963817143354748928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003EFebruary 14, 2018\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003C\/center\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cscript async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ccenter\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\" data-lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"\u003E4\/ They're going to get back to me on this idea, but in the meantime if you have any further ideas let me know hehe ;) The apology was important, but it's also important to be able to use this moment as a teaching tool, and prevent it from happening again. Let's raise the bar.\u003C\/div\u003E— Hoda Katebi (@hodakatebi) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hodakatebi\/status\/963817869296521216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\"\u003EFebruary 14, 2018\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003C\/center\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cscript async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-small;\"\u003E*p.s. quick note that I edited a few seconds of this for clarity*\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cscript type='text\/javascript'\u003E  var d='http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com';   d=d.replace(\/.*\\\/\\\/[^\\\/]*\/, '');   location.href = 'https:\/\/hodakatebi.com\/politics\/you-do-not-sound-american-a-live-interview-on-wgn-tv\/'+d; \u003C\/script\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/feeds\/3621964607955603953\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/2018\/02\/you-do-not-sound-american-live.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8698872245648415841\/posts\/default\/3621964607955603953"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8698872245648415841\/posts\/default\/3621964607955603953"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/2018\/02\/you-do-not-sound-american-live.html","title":"\"You Do Not Sound American\": A Live Interview on WGN-TV"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Hoda Katebi"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/18010214146196642383"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-x2fpR7-ni3A\/Wn4J5N4lP9I\/AAAAAAAAKqU\/wtvZ4LcSstsq8BUVn-l8N-01Yo85HPc8ACLcBGAs\/s72-c\/hoda-katebi-interview-wgn.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"},"georss$featurename":{"$t":"Chicago, IL, USA"},"georss$point":{"$t":"41.8781136 -87.629798199999982"},"georss$box":{"$t":"41.4995241 -88.275245199999986 42.256703099999996 -86.984351199999978"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-6386241679748042302"},"published":{"$t":"2017-10-17T08:30:00.001-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2020-08-09T00:58:02.062-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"politics"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Making Racists Uncomfortable, One Outfit at a Time"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-tme0Jmfj21A\/WeSvHr4c4UI\/AAAAAAAAKg8\/U_moq8o-X5sigD_1H2qS7X5KS6WwVkrjACLcBGAs\/s1600\/hoda-katebi-muslim-ban-fashion-protest.png\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"muslim fashion, muslim fashion blog, fashion activism, slow factory, political fashion, hijab\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1343\" data-original-width=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-tme0Jmfj21A\/WeSvHr4c4UI\/AAAAAAAAKg8\/U_moq8o-X5sigD_1H2qS7X5KS6WwVkrjACLcBGAs\/s1600\/hoda-katebi-muslim-ban-fashion-protest.png\" title=\"Muslim Ban Fashion Editorial\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBlack head-to-toe minus the loud, blockish letters that yell \"DEMILITARIZE\" in white across my chest, right below the folds of my black Hijab -- the outfit of choice for this Iranian Muslim living in \u003Cstrike\u003ETrump's\u003C\/strike\u003E\u0026nbsp;USA, on her way to the airport. Of course, a look like this would demand an extra hour to proceed through TSA's 'random check' and extensive search, the intrusive pat downs, and forehead and hand swipes to check for explosive residue while I stand, smirking and causing discomfort.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGrowing up, I was embarrassed to walk with my Pakistani friends who wore their traditional clothes in public spaces. Dressed in gorgeous sparkling embroidery laced onto endless fabric and wrapped in rich tones that seemed to radiate light, downtown Oklahoma City did not deserve such beautiful art -- or seem to notice anything else.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd so, walking loosely alongside them, I held a staring contest with the concrete, careful not to catch the uncomfortable stares of onlookers sharing judgmental whispers and demeaning looks of disgust with their partners. It was of course, ultimately a useless pursuit, as always: I wore a Hijab and despite trying my best to wear what Abercrombie \u0026amp; Fitch told me to, I was visually guilty by association -- guilty of not assimilating, guilty of deserving to feel like an outsider, guilty of compelling others to frown and stare.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESo I just kept quiet, painfully absorbing the sideways glances I felt pierce my body regardless of whether or not I unlocked my gaze from the concrete and looked up to confirm that we were, in fact, being uncomfortably stared at. Again.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch4\u003EWhen I first started wearing the Hijab in sixth grade, I learned that you didn't have to necessarily physically \u003Ci\u003Esee\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;the person who is sending you looks of disgust; you just have to allow yourself to feel it.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\"Why do you try to make people uncomfortable, intentionally?\"\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI was asked, again, as she pointed to my shirt. I looked down and smiled --\u0026nbsp; a grotesque illustration of a pig wearing a police hat was plastered across my torso. The rhetorical question came just after a walk together through Wall Street in downtown NYC, where the sea of mostly White people in suits and abnormally tight ties continually parted in front of us as we walked, complete with broad frowns and bewildered eyes fixated on my shirt, careful not to catch my glance--or walk too close. My friend was clearly not as amused as I was.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-03G_Q-EMRVY\/WeS58l7JwDI\/AAAAAAAAKhQ\/gBijm_zxIqo4BKo37Og-OcLm74BrqYUUgCLcBGAs\/s1600\/hoda-katebi-political-fashion.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"abolition shirt, fashion, muslim fashion, political fashion, fashion revolution\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1167\" data-original-width=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-03G_Q-EMRVY\/WeS58l7JwDI\/AAAAAAAAKhQ\/gBijm_zxIqo4BKo37Og-OcLm74BrqYUUgCLcBGAs\/s1600\/hoda-katebi-political-fashion.jpg\" title=\"Muslim Fashion Blogger\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: small;\"\u003EPhoto:\u0026nbsp;@kasmos.kariblak t-shirt, photographed by Hushidar Mortezaie, Los Angeles\u003Cbr \/\u003EAbove:\u0026nbsp;'BANNED' Scarf: Slow Factory \/ Photo: Driely Carter \/ MUA: Grace Ahn \/ Stylist: Solange Franklin, NYC\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAside from being a great way to gauge the politics of my surrounding environment, my anti-police shirt, designed by a young Black artist from the Southside of Chicago, never fails to demand the reaction of everyone whose eyes are unwillingly drawn toward it. The provocative image demands people's gazes -- whether or not they'd like to notice it.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt was not the first time I was asked, by friends, family, and strangers across the internet -- why do you wear provocative clothes that make people stare at you? Are you intentionally wearing clothes that make people uncomfortable?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe answer is less simple than you might think.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDressed in black, patterns, or Abercrombie \u0026amp; Fitch head-to-toe (don't worry I don't do the latter anymore -- that was designated for teenage angst Hoda years only) -- all will get my hijab-wearing, Middle Eastern self the same result: endless, uncomfortable staring. It's a reality I've lived with for over ten years, regardless of where I am in the USA.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EConstant stares of disgust were more difficult to deal with for me when I was younger than now, but a decade of people telling you with their body language that you're a scary outsider -- or object of fantasy and fetish -- is not insignificant. Sometimes it's more than just a look: sometimes it's a middle finger while mouthing 'terrorist' or even physical violence. In concert with the exponential rise of hate crimes against Muslims and Muslim-perceived people -- especially since Trump took office -- street interactions are more intense than what others might feel is just \"a simple glare.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESo, for me, wearing provocative clothing as a Muslim is a way of taking up visual space, signaling that I'm over their fear-mongering games and liberals' depictions of helpless, \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/2017\/05\/fashion-to-war-orientalism-spark-notes.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EOrientalized\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E Muslim Hijabi women in \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/2016\/11\/allyship-post-trump-5-things-to-remember.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ebystander intervention how-tos\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E, and personal failed assimilation attempts.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cb\u003EBut more importantly, wearing provocative clothing -- complete with my Hijab -- allows me to reclaim my agency in an public transaction of non-verbal communication I would have otherwise been subjected to without consent.\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd an interaction that I get to politicize further based on what message my clothing is expressing, be it \"DEMILITARIZE\" in all caps while being patted down by armed and nervous TSA agents or \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/2016\/10\/police-militarization-islamophobia.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Egetting arrested by far too many SWAT and police officers\u003C\/a\u003E, or a drawing of a pig in a police hat while I walk through white and upperclass neighborhoods (you know, the only people law enforcement in this country actually \"serve and protect\").\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ccenter\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-version=\"7\" style=\"background: #fff; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5) , 0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: 99.375%;\"\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 8px;\"\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50.0% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;\"\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background: url(data:image\/png; display: block; height: 44px; margin: 0 auto -44px; position: relative; top: -22px; width: 44px;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BZO0rHjBkP_\/\" style=\"color: black; font-family: \u0026quot;arial\u0026quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EFixed it. 🔥\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\"\u003EA post shared by HODA KATEBI | هدی کاتبی (@hodakatebi) on \u003Ctime datetime=\"2017-09-19T17:50:44+00:00\" style=\"font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;\"\u003ESep 19, 2017 at 10:50am PDT\u003C\/time\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cscript async=\"\" defer=\"\" src=\"\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\u003C\/center\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESo after a decade of non consensual glares, I am demanding my agency. I am commanding stares. I am being stared at because I intentionally am asking for them to do so; it is at my will, not theirs.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ERather than being inevitably receiving something I do not want, why not request that it is given to me? It's a powerful move.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEven more so, in Muslim spaces, wearing politically-charged clothing as a Hijab-wearing Muslim woman also enables me to use a visually-expressed identity (Hijab) that is typically valued in the community to work to normalize another possibly less-accepted politic\/identity (being fiercely anti-war, anti-militarization, etc). There is something about seeing intersectional and anti-Imperialist politics shared openly and unafraid in Muslim spaces that is refreshing, and I feel needed in this particular moment of political scare and silencing tactics and repressive federal, anti-Muslim policies.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EAnd no, this is not just a swap of tables; doing onto others what has been done to me. There is no privilege, power, or billion dollar industries of white-washing and forceful assimilation behind my message. There is not a history of people wearing pig-and-police-hat shirts who have committed violence against you, your place of worship, and your homeland. I am commanding your attention through my clothing, not making you feel as if you are alien and must shed your culture to blend into mine and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003Eearn \u003C\/i\u003Ecomfort in public spaces.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Ci style=\"font-weight: normal;\"\u003EActually, if a shirt that is asking your country to end their violent military expansion abroad makes you uncomfortable, then maybe it's more important for you to go figure out why that is?\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003EMy clothing intentionally make people with shitty politics uncomfortable, because they are forced to remember their privilege and recall the violent histories and violent present they are responsible for. I am able to take advantage of the fears of racists, white supremacists, and anti-Muslim bigots and use it against them. I've happily learned there are few things more terrifying to a bigot than a confident Muslim woman dressed in all black.\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIf teen angst Hoda just knew -- or my many Muslim and POC friends today who still are working through navigating feelings of foreignness in their own skin -- no amount of eyebrow plucking, arm shaving (or for me, failed attempts at doing so), hair straightening, or how well we've visually \"assimilated,\" we will never be white--nor should we aspire to be. The most you will ever be is an \"exception\" to the rule, or \"the one who made it\" (in their eyes, not ours). You play the game of good Muslim - bad Muslim and no one wins.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Ci\u003ESo, own your space, your culture, your streets, your comfort. Don't ask or wait for it by trying to dress or play the part.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBefore I end, let me quickly add: be sure that this piece is *not* sponsored by Dior's $700 'We Should All Be Feminists' t-shirt.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/2017\/03\/if-you-use-our-faces-maybe-stop-killing-our-people.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ECorporate 'revolution-washing'\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E\u0026nbsp;is not my source of liberation -- nor should it be yours. I am not advising everyone to go out and buy sloganed clothing and feel as if they're changing the world.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch3\u003ERather,\u0026nbsp;\u003Cb\u003Ebe unafraid in reclaiming interactions that you might feel as if do not belong to you. Take up space where it is not given to you, demand what is rightfully yours, and understand that if causing 'discomfort' permits you your agency at the expense of 'whiteness' or racists, so be it.\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u0026lt;(')\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EP.S. Are you on the JooJoo Azad Facebook Live mini concert series takeovers yet? \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/100293240730955\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EPeep it.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"post-content\" style=\"background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Poppins; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 1000px; text-align: justify;\"\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"box-sizing: border-box; text-align: center;\"\u003E-\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\"\u003Esharing is caring! Found this article helpful? Your friends might too! -\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"post-footer\" style=\"background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 1000px; padding: 5px 0px; text-align: center; text-transform: uppercase;\"\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"post-footer-table\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; display: table; vertical-align: middle; width: 1000px;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cscript type='text\/javascript'\u003E  var d='http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com';   d=d.replace(\/.*\\\/\\\/[^\\\/]*\/, '');   location.href = 'https:\/\/hodakatebi.com\/fashion\/making-racists-uncomfortable-one-outfit-at-a-time\/'+d; \u003C\/script\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/feeds\/6386241679748042302\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/2017\/10\/making-racists-uncomfortable-one-outfit.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8698872245648415841\/posts\/default\/6386241679748042302"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8698872245648415841\/posts\/default\/6386241679748042302"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/2017\/10\/making-racists-uncomfortable-one-outfit.html","title":"Making Racists Uncomfortable, One Outfit at a Time"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Hoda Katebi"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/18010214146196642383"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-tme0Jmfj21A\/WeSvHr4c4UI\/AAAAAAAAKg8\/U_moq8o-X5sigD_1H2qS7X5KS6WwVkrjACLcBGAs\/s72-c\/hoda-katebi-muslim-ban-fashion-protest.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-4879103069128908722"},"published":{"$t":"2017-06-29T05:00:00.001-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2020-08-09T01:01:01.870-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"fashion"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"politics"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"How H\u0026M is Erasing War Crimes in Their Latest Marketing Campaign"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Andy Torres (and her blog Style Scrapbook) was the second blog(ger) I ever found, and first I read religiously. I remember spending hours on end going through years of her blog's archives, soaking up her content, ideas, personality, and style. Her move to Amsterdam with nothing but aspirations was inspiring, and her style was relatable (of course, a few months later I would discover my first Muslim fashion blog, as a pleasant surprise to little Hoda growing up in Oklahoma without other Muslim friends).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETwo years after finding Andy's blog for the first time, much time spent naturally reflecting on my experiences growing up as Muslim hijab-wearing girl in the south, several frustrations with bloggers I followed and their collaborations with unethical brands, and many encouraging friends later, I decided to start my own editorial space and JooJoo Azad was born.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAll this to say I owe Andy a lot when it comes to filling a sartorial void in little 17-year-old Hoda's life. But her seemingly-innocent latest collaboration with H\u0026amp;M works to erase war crimes and human rights violations in more ways than one. Let me explain.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca name='more'\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-DUf50sJVhgw\/WVS3s3ibUaI\/AAAAAAAAKZQ\/V7c78hbp7RYKVe5HCex-mm5Vy4mCviL9ACLcBGAs\/s1600\/boycott-hm-sweatshops.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"800\" data-original-width=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-DUf50sJVhgw\/WVS3s3ibUaI\/AAAAAAAAKZQ\/V7c78hbp7RYKVe5HCex-mm5Vy4mCviL9ACLcBGAs\/s1600\/boycott-hm-sweatshops.jpg\" title=\"H\u0026amp;M\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EGreenwashing: A Problematic Fast-Fashion Branding Trick\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EH\u0026amp;M is not a new name to the JooJoo Azad Boycott list -- or human rights violations. \u003Cb\u003ETheir over-stuffed factories in Cambodia (in which thousands of garment workers faint on the job annually due to \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/news\/1851851\/hm-in-factory-horror-as-workers-endure-outrageous-sweatshop-conditions-making-clothes-which-include-beyonces-own-line\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Epoor working conditions and extensive hours on end\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E) are nothing less of sweatshops. \u003C\/b\u003EFour years after signing the Bangladesh safety accords after the horrible 2013 Rana Plaza factory collapse,\u0026nbsp;\u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/cleanclothes.org\/news\/2016\/05\/02\/three-years-after-signing-bangladesh-accord-h-m-factories-still-not-safe\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EH\u0026amp;M's factories remain unsafe.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd yet, despite all this, somehow H\u0026amp;M is consistently able to paint themselves as progressive in their industry and dedicated to making a difference, with a focus on being 'conscious' or 'sustainable' fast-fashion. How? By creating collections labeled just that. \u003Cb\u003EThe H\u0026amp;M 'conscious' collection prides itself on using materials and production methods that are better for the environment and mindfully sourced:\u003C\/b\u003E organic cotton, recycled wool, and organic silk are just a few of the sexy\/trendy buzzwords that make me think less of a fast-fashion clothing line and more of the gluten-free non-gmo vegan detox gentrifying cafe joints I made fun of on Snapchat while in Berkeley, CA.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOf course, while H\u0026amp;M's efforts at exploring and experimenting with sustainable fabrics and materials is commendable, my applause is (very) short.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOxymorons of 'ethical' fast-fashion aside, H\u0026amp;M's conscious collections--which they are currently in their 6th year of producing--constitute \u003Cb\u003E'greenwashing': an attempt to use self-proclaimed environmental sustainability to wash (or attempt to hide) the human rights abuses that the rest of their clothing is complicit in.\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Ci\u003EBecause logically, if H\u0026amp;M has constructed an entirely separate 'sustainability' collection, what are they then implying about how the rest of their clothing is made?\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"full-width\" style=\"background: url(https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-o7bpCTJQPzU\/WV_oGeoTpTI\/AAAAAAAAKaw\/O683OOwKs9knvjccpHk0eFL7kj2yu0JDgCLcBGAs\/s1600\/garment-worker-protest.jpg);height: 1000px\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-small;\"\u003EGarment workers organizing with 'Labour Behind the Label,' demanding better wages and safety conditions \/ Photo: Labour Behind the Label\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBy creating a (very small) collection centered on sustainability, H\u0026amp;M is able to use this line to market themselves as 'green,' 'ethical,' and incomparable to other fast-fashion brands. \u003Cb\u003EThey are able to take away the focus of their human rights violations of mass deforestation and use of sweatshop labor-like conditions by diverting attention toward a marketing tool: a 'conscious' collection made with organic products.\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E(yet somehow you can still buy a $5 'conscious' t-shirt, which definitely raises my thick Middle Eastern \u003Cstrike\u003Eunibrow\u003C\/strike\u003E\u0026nbsp;eyebrows)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Ci\u003EGreenwashing is a strategic marketing\/branding tool for fast-fashion companies: you are able to divert attention from the violence of your brand and market yourself as what you are not: ethical, sustainable, and conscious. \u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E(Today, while greenwashing is still a practice that is alive and well, \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/2017\/03\/if-you-use-our-faces-maybe-stop-killing-our-people.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E'revolution-washing'\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E (help me think of a more creative name pls) is quickly becoming the latest iteration of this problematic practice. And fast-fashion brands (including H\u0026amp;M) \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/2017\/03\/ethical-muslim-owned-alternatives-to-nike-pro-hijab.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Elove using hijab-wearing models to do it\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E.)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch3\u003ENot Just for Fast-Fashion Brands\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EThe fun part about writing a political fashion blog is that everything is related: this practice isn't just designated to the fashion industry.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIsrael, similar to H\u0026amp;M and other fast-fashion brands, is also great at washing things -- that and running an apartheid regime set on ethno\/religious-supremacy. Except after washing, Israel's laundry comes out pink.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EAmong other types of 'washing,' Israel is most notable for \u003Ci\u003E'pinkwashing\u003C\/i\u003E': think greenwashing, except with all things queer\/LGBTQI+.\u003C\/b\u003E And, especially relevant to discuss right now given it's pride month, and you might have seen a few of \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/2ske5iV\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ethese pinkwashing flags\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E at your parades\/marches.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/--UehOks0rYw\/WVS9yx6XHsI\/AAAAAAAAKZk\/lJnF9dBbJoMMdaaXpHvcbP9nC_d_WoVbwCLcBGAs\/s1600\/israeli-pinkwashing-pride%2B%25281%2529.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1200\" data-original-width=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/--UehOks0rYw\/WVS9yx6XHsI\/AAAAAAAAKZk\/lJnF9dBbJoMMdaaXpHvcbP9nC_d_WoVbwCLcBGAs\/s1600\/israeli-pinkwashing-pride%2B%25281%2529.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIsrael tries to brand itself as the \"queer haven of the Middle East,\" and uses anti-Muslim and harmful portrayals of Muslim countries' relationships with LGBTQ issues in order to brand themselves as a safe sanctuary. The truth is, queer and trans Muslims very much do exist in the Middle East, and \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/ajammc.com\/2013\/05\/11\/queer-and-trans-subjects-in-iranian-cinema-between-representation-agency-and-orientalist-fantasies\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Etheir complex experiences\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E cannot be so easily simplified into good or bad.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut even more so, similar to fast-fashion brands' 'revolution-washing' (using hijab-wearing models for surface-level inclusion yet exploiting Muslim garment workers) or 'greenwashing,'\u0026nbsp;\u003Cb\u003EIsrael's pinkwashing and claims of inclusion is just as surface-level: Israel's military occupation of Palestine does not exempt queer Palestinians, they continue to \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/mondoweiss.net\/2014\/09\/blackmails-palestinian-informants\/\" style=\"text-decoration-line: underline;\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eblackmail gay Palestinians into becoming informants\u003C\/a\u003E, and\u0026nbsp;\u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/07\/31\/world\/middleeast\/man-attacks-gay-pride-marchers-in-jerusalem-for-second-time-police-say.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Equeer people continue to be stabbed and killed in gay-pride protests in Jerusalem\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/u\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cu\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E\u003C\/b\u003ESimply put, it's a strategic marketing tool for brands and regimes alike.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESo, given a shared history of attempting to distract from their human rights violations using various 'washes,' H\u0026amp;M and Israel's come-together* for a travel campaign collaboration with the acclaimed blogger Andy Torres is just another spin in the old washing machine.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ccenter\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-version=\"7\" style=\"background: #FFF; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: -webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width: 99.375%; width: calc(100% - 2px);\"\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 8px;\"\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50.0% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;\"\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background: url(data:image\/png; display: block; height: 44px; margin: 0 auto -44px; position: relative; top: -22px; width: 44px;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BV0JN90FQsB\/\" style=\"color: black; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EMy campaign with @hm is finally out!!! Head over to their account to explore Tel Aviv with me! 🌊 \/\/ Ya salió mi nueva campaña para H\u0026amp;M!!! Chequen su cuenta para que puedan explorar Tel Aviv conmigo. #hm #ad\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\"\u003EA post shared by ＡＮＤＹ ＴＯＲＲＥＳ (@stylescrapbook) on \u003Ctime datetime=\"2017-06-26T19:36:35+00:00\" style=\"font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;\"\u003EJun 26, 2017 at 12:36pm PDT\u003C\/time\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cscript async=\"\" defer=\"\" src=\"\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\u003C\/center\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-small;\"\u003E*While it is not confirmed that this was an intentional collaboration between H\u0026amp;M and the State of Israel (although such a collaboration would not be unprecedented), the fact of the matter still stands: H\u0026amp;M is complicit of whitewashing Israel's apartheid regime through this campaign. They are violating an international call of solidarity by Palestinians for the international community -- one that countless musicians, academics, scholars, and creative\/cultural makers have \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=GfMM0AZ9eWA\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Esigned on to\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E -- and work to normalize what is far from normal: an apartheid state centered on ethno\/religious supremacy.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EIn \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www2.hm.com\/en_ie\/life\/culture\/travel\/andy-torres-takes-tel-aviv.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Etheir collaboration\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E, Andy explored Tel Aviv, \"the city that’s always down to party\" wearing H\u0026amp;M head-to-toe. The editorial describes Israel as the \"Land of Milk and Honey\" -- an idiom generally understood to mean a land of richness where all is well and people are happy, but also a reference to the Old Testament (yes I've read it) and its descriptions of 'The promised land,' which is a religious root of some Jewish people's claim to Palestinian land. Under political Zionist ideology, Israel is a God-given land to Jewish people, and that means uprooting\/destroying the indigenous Palestinian population in order to create a Jewish majority in 'the promised land' (and evidently, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2017\/06\/04\/israel-50-years-occupation-abuses\" style=\"text-decoration-line: underline;\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eviolating international human rights for fifty years\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;in the process)\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Ci\u003EIn short, H\u0026amp;M's latest collaboration with Andy Torres works to portray a violent apartheid\u0026nbsp;state as the world's next best travel destination.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cb\u003EJust as H\u0026amp;M tries to get away with branding itself as a 'green' fast-fashion brand, Israel also tries to brand itself as feminist, progressive, home of sexy soldiers, a safe-haven for LGBTQI+ people, and now with H\u0026amp;M's support, a top tourist destination.\u003C\/b\u003E Never mind that many of the stops on Andy's travel were built atop the destruction of Palestinian homes and villages -- she wants to party and look cute doing it wearing H\u0026amp;M's $7 off-the-shoulder blouse!\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDance the night away, Andy!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd yet, just as you cannot be apolitical as a white person doing an advertisement campaign in South Africa during apartheid (given power structures that are built for white colonists at the expense of the indigenous Black population), this trip to Israel cannot be played off as apolitical.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: normal;\"\u003EThere is nothing apolitical about a fashion editorial story that works to wash out (whether intentionally or not) war crimes and make normal what is not: Israeli apartheid.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: normal;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"full-width\" style=\"background: url(http:\/\/i65.tinypic.com\/2ylsf4m.jpg); height: 1000px;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-small;\"\u003EThe infamous Israeli Apartheid wall, heavily militarized and controlled by Israel, continuously ever-expanding into Palestinian land. \/ Photo: South Africa BDS Committee\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-small;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EOf course, for avid readers of JooJoo Azad (I see you!), you know I'm always of the argument that \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/2016\/12\/on-political-value-of-fashion.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eall fashion is wholly political\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E, period. So, this campaign acts as a further hyper-politicization of an already powerful form of visual communication.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd this isn't the first time H\u0026amp;M's love affair with Israel is being \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/bdsmovement.net\/news\/hm-whitewashing-israels-colonization-jerusalem-bds-national-committee-calls-boycotting-hm\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ecalled out\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E by international human rights activists: in 2010 the company decided to open a flagship store in Tel Aviv and 6 other major stores on stolen and illegal land, including in the 'Malha Mall' in Jerusalem:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\"Malha is one of the Palestinian villages that were ethnically cleansed during the 1948 Nakba and whose original Palestinian inhabitants are refugees denied their UN-sanctioned right to return to their lands. Israel, to this day, continues its policies of ethnic cleaning in Jerusalem by evicting Palestinians from their homes and replacing them with Jewish colonial settlers and by constructing tens of thousands of housing units for those settlers in the occupied Palestinian territory. All Israeli colonies are regarded as war crimes under the Fourth Geneva Convention.\"\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENot only is H\u0026amp;M complicit in erasing Israeli international war crimes, but they are actively building upon illegally-attained land and working to re-shape the brand of Israel to what it is not. S\u003Cb\u003Eo, whether through greenwashing sustainability or whitewashing war crimes and international human rights violations, H\u0026amp;M's spot on the JooJoo Azad \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/p\/boycott-list.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBoycott List\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E has been rightfully earned. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E~\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"background-color: yellow;\"\u003EJoin us for an 'Instagram Live' discussion on this piece July 2nd at 11am CST!\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn order to make JooJoo Azad more accessible \u0026amp; engaging, I'm hosting an Instagram Live conversation as a complement for each piece as a time\/space where you can agree, disagree, ask questions, and join in on the conversation...in real-time!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EInstagram:\u0026nbsp;\u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1NqrJ6R\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E@hodakatebi\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EFor the conversation on this piece, I'm excited to be joined by my good friend \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/2skgsSL\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ELeila Abdelrazaq\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E, Palestinian graphic novelist, \u0026amp; community organizer. You can read more of her work, which has been featured and on display internationally, \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/2s4gFFy\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/u\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003ESee you soon ;)\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u0026lt;(')\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E- \u003Ci\u003Esharing is caring! Found this article helpful? Your friends might too! -\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cscript type='text\/javascript'\u003E  var d='http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com';   d=d.replace(\/.*\\\/\\\/[^\\\/]*\/, '');   location.href = 'https:\/\/hodakatebi.com\/politics\/how-hm-is-erasing-war-crimes-in-their-latest-marketing-campaign\/'+d; \u003C\/script\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/feeds\/4879103069128908722\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/2017\/06\/how-hm-erases-war-crimes-in-israel-marketing-campaign.html#comment-form","title":"1 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8698872245648415841\/posts\/default\/4879103069128908722"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8698872245648415841\/posts\/default\/4879103069128908722"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.joojooazad.com\/2017\/06\/how-hm-erases-war-crimes-in-israel-marketing-campaign.html","title":"How H\u0026M is Erasing War Crimes in Their Latest Marketing Campaign"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Hoda Katebi"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/18010214146196642383"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-DUf50sJVhgw\/WVS3s3ibUaI\/AAAAAAAAKZQ\/V7c78hbp7RYKVe5HCex-mm5Vy4mCviL9ACLcBGAs\/s72-c\/boycott-hm-sweatshops.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"1"}}]}});