This one?
Posted on 10/07/2005 10:19:49 PM PDT by ruthles
Tonight, my son had a 9 year old birthday party. He is showing a lot of interest in skateboarding. One of his guests brought him a skateboarding hat and a sticker of an iron cross to put on his skateboard. My husband is a high school teacher and has been warned of the symbolism of the iron cross, that it relates to Nazism. So discreetly after my son put the sticker on without permission, my husband removed it and threw it in the trash. The boy saw it happen, and his mom called very angy that we had destroyed his present. Were we over the top?
Breaking News?
I believe the Germanic cross is the logo of a top skateboard parts company, called "Independent Trucking."
Trucks are the parts the wheels are mounted on.
No overt Nazi, white power or other symbolism is meant, that I know of.
It's just a popular logo for clothes and stickers, like Hurley, and some others.
When I was growing up, we wore them around our necks. They were called "surfer" crosses. Like hitting the surf on a board.
Nip in the bud! and explain to your child that NAZI's were socialists and that they were very bad people.
Breaking News? Get real.
Back in the '70's I got an iron cross necklace, because it was in style. What did I know? My father, a WWII combat vet, became extremely upset and explained about the Nazis. I never wore it again. I don't think either you or my Dad were over the top. Some things must be taught to the new generations.
I thinkvwhat you did was right. Why didn't the boys parents choose something else as a symbol?
BTW, here is some info on the Iron Cross: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Cross
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Cross
"The Iron Cross (German: Eisernes Kreuz) is a military decoration of the Kingdom of Prussia, and later of Germany, which was established by King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia and first awarded on 10 March 1813. The Iron Cross is only awarded in wartime. In addition to the Napoleonic Wars, the Iron Cross was awarded during the Franco-Prussian War, and the First (WWI) and Second World Wars. It has not been awarded, nor any other form of a military decoration to honor or bravery, since May 1945 in the german Bundeswehr.
...
Although the Iron Cross is often associated with Nazi Germany, it is an old German symbol and the cross design (but not the specific decoration) is still used by Germany's armed forces (the Bundeswehr)."
If it didn't have a swastika on it, then yes, it was an overreaction, and an apology is due.
The Nazis were notorious for repressing ideas of which they disapproved. Do you think you showed your son that that is a wrong thing?
The kids feel rebellious with this kind of stuff. If he starts shaving his head, you got a problem
First, what a rude thing to do. Second, what an ignorant thing to do.
The Iron Cross (German: Eisernes Kreuz) is a military decoration of the Kingdom of Prussia, and later of Germany, which was established by King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia and first awarded on 10 March 1813. The Iron Cross is only awarded in wartime. In addition to the Napoleonic Wars, the Iron Cross was awarded during the Franco-Prussian War, and the First (WWI) and Second World Wars. It has not been awarded, nor any other form of a military decoration to honor or bravery, since May 1945 in the german Bundeswehr.
Post WWII Iron Cross-Replica
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Post WWII Iron Cross-Replica
Following the end of the Second World War, the government of West Germany, following German law (Ordensgesetz from the 26. Juli 1957), prohibits the wearing of an Iron Cross with a swastika (=de:Hakenkreuz). Alternatively it is allowed for World War II veterans to wear a replica, although as a miniature, of the Iron Cross with the swastika of the nazi dictatorship. Altered, it has to display an Oak Leaf Cluster, as the former version of WWI did, in place of a swastika.
Although the Iron Cross is often associated with Nazi Germany, it is an old German symbol and the cross design (but not the specific decoration) is still used by Germany's armed forces (the Bundeswehr).
This one?
You're going to get slammed for the "Breaking News" choice. I don't think your thread will last very long on the sidebar (for obvious reasons). The breaking news sidebar is exactly for that - breaking NEWS.
Did you ask the boy's parents?
It was first issued as a decoration by the king of Prussia during the Napoleonic War, and was probably patterned upon the Black Cross adopted by German Crusaders in the 11th-13th centuries.
It was awarded during the Franco/Prussian War, WW I, WW II and was revived as a decoration in the late 1950s.
Doesn't a popular motorcycle company use this symbol?
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