Minor Thoughts from me to you

Middle Eastern Consumer Culture

Consumer culture seems to be an international phenomenon.

"I just bought it because I like the way it looks, but I'll burn it now as soon as I go home," says Ibrahim Abu Zarif, 20, when told during a pro-Hamas rally that the patch on his left breast pocket says US Army.

These days it seems that everyone in Gaza is wearing knock-off copies of U.S. military uniforms. Of course, as the above quote demonstrates, some people are unaware of exactly what they're wearing. I had to laugh, when I read that quote. Like many 20 year olds, Ibrahim seems more concerned with what's cool than he is with anything else. America is, like, totally uncool so he'll have to burn his uniform now that he knows what it actually stands for. Like a socially-inept teenager caught wearing a t-shirt for a band popular last decade, Ibrahim now has to demonstrate that he really is cool after all.

If the Middle East weren't so deadly serious, it would be truly hilarious.

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