Hoods Off To The Victors?

The most striking symbolic and not-symbolic question following the Hamas victory in Palestine is what will become of those masks?  To see how the associations resonate back and forth, consider this web citation to a story announcing this morning’s victory:

Hamas Without Veils

CBS News – 1 hour, 46 minutes ago

Hamas? Victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections has forced the terrorist group into a tough spot, writes The National Review Online. The win means they have to govern, which means they must now show their true face.

I can’t speculate as to the future.  However, when I look through the newswires today, I see new visual permutations.  I see crowds of Hamas youth with headbands; I see clusters (and in some instances, oceans) of those green baseball-style caps; and I see plenty of unadorned faces.

And, in spite of the scary new cover of The Economist, which (perhaps unfortunately) went to press almost simultaneously with the election results, what is most noticeable is the absence of the hood.

(image: Khalil Hamra/A.P. January 26, 2006.  Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip.  Via YahooNews)