Anti-Islam Bus Ads Defaced with Images of Ms. Marvel

[CBR News]

San Francisco fans of Marvel's Kamala Khan have used the hero's image to deface anti-Islamic ads throughout the city's bus system.


Full article here.

[just another user]

I love this.

[cyberhubbs]

I outscooped you, CBR!

[MCBT]

It's brilliant. Kamala has certainly made an impact just as much as the A-List Marvel heroes and this will certainly get more people to read her book.

[AcesX1X]

good job for kamala. dust should be included in this graffiti?

[macattack]

One of the commenters in the post itself raises an interesting point, though:

“…an image of Adolf Hitler and Palestinian Muslim leader Haj Amin al-Husseini, who opposed Zionism.”

It was a bit more than that. Al-Husseini was the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and a staunch Nazi ally, recruiting Muslms for the Waffen-SS and spending quite a bit of time in Germany, meeting repeatedly with Hitler. In 1943, he issued a proclamation:

“It is the duty of Muhammadans in general and Arabs in particular to … drive all Jews from Arab and Muhammadan countries….Germany is also struggling against the common foe who oppressed Arabs and Muhammadans in their different countries. It has very clearly recognized the Jews for what they are and resolved to find a definitive solution [endgültige Lösung] for the Jewish danger that will eliminate the scourge that Jews represent in the world…”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haj_Ami...g_World_War_II

So to say that he was “anti-Zionist” is to considerably understate the facts of the matter.

So the billboard isn't entirely without merit. You can say that the message goes way over-the-top because it suggests stopping aid to Islamic countries because of the anti-Semitism prevalent in those countries (which in large part was due to al-Husseini), however. I am not sure whether using Ms. Marvel in place of Al-Husseini is really going to help the general discourse that much or improve Ms. Marvel's image.

[Mark]

Dangerous though. I remember when Batman was for the Marshall plan in the radio show. When Ms. Magazine put Wonder Woman on the cover. Co-opting a comic book character for a pet cause can hurt the character. Comic books can be polarizing in the comic book community, but in the wider world politics in modern America is more about anger and hate than anything else right now and anything that is perceived as a symbol in politics is subject to the kind of attacks that can scare publishers into backing off very quickly. If she's perceived as being more of a message then a character a lot of people won't pick up the title no matter what anyone else says. Gail Simone had a good set of characters and a good storyline in the Movement, but from the start it was characterized by many as pro-occupy Wall Street and that hurt it a lot. I don't read Ms. Marvel but I don't want any title to fail for this sort of reason.

[Reviresco]

One of the commenters in the post itself raises an interesting point, though:



So the billboard isn't entirely without merit. You can say that the message goes way over-the-top because it suggests stopping aid to Islamic countries because of the anti-Semitism prevalent in those countries (which in large part was due to al-Husseini), however. I am not sure whether using Ms. Marvel in place of Al-Husseini is really going to help the general discourse that much or improve Ms. Marvel's image.

I think you're missing the point. However they try to dress it up, it's promoting hate of a group of people because of their religion.

[Kirby Krackle]

Love everything about this.

[macattack]

I think you're missing the point. However they try to dress it up, it's promoting hate of a group of people because of their religion.

I know nothing about the organization that purchased those ads and what their ultimate goal is. All I'm saying is that at face value the billboards are advocating stopping aid to Islamic countries because of the anti-Semitism in those countries. That could be meeting hate with more hate but I'd need to research the organization who purchased those billboards to know what their agenda is.

[MCBT]

I've seen the original ads, they seem to say, "Hitler was friends with Muslims. You support Hitler if you like Muslims." Which is completely wrong and using Kamala Khan as a symbol to deface the Islamphobic ads just seems fitting.

[Myetche]

I'll bet the anti-Islam groups are now going to counter with ads that attack Ms. Marvel directly, calling Marvel "traitors to freedom" for promoting her and all that garbage.

In the end, you just can't win against fanatics.

[Kirby Krackle]

I'll bet the anti-Islam groups are now going to counter with ads that attack Ms. Marvel directly, calling Marvel "traitors to freedom" for promoting her and all that garbage.

In the end, you just can't win against fanatics.

That's a bit defeatist. Fanatics can be beat and usually all it takes is public embarrassment or ridicule. When the public views the fanatics as a joke, you've won.

[CJStriker]

Honest I am Suprised that Adds like these where even allowed to be even posted in the 1st place, the Hate Adds I mean, especially on San Francisco buses?!

Anyways, this is maybe one of the Rare Examples when Defacing Something Works out so well with Grand Class with a Good Icon to represent it against the hate speech.

[MCBT]

Right you are. Mel Brooks said something to do that effect and he's not wrong. Remember, he made Springtime for Hitler.