A hate symbol.
Frankly - I'd LOVE a T-Shirt with this emblazoned upon it.
Posted on 03/13/2005 5:21:42 AM PST by NZerFromHK
LONDON
The other night, as I left the theater, I saw a woman wearing a fur hat. Some people, of course, don't like the sight of fur; I'm not one of them. But I noticed the badge on the front of her hat: a red and gold hammer and sickle. No doubt about it, she looked striking: the glittering, graphically coherent symbol set off by the soft shine of the fur. Yet it made me wonder what she had been thinking when she acquired her post-Communist trophy.
Why, I wondered, is Communist chic acceptable, when -- as Prince Harry's swastika-wearing debacle reminds us -- "Nazi chic" simply doesn't exist? It is, in fact, so taboo that there has recently been serious debate in Europe as to whether to ban the swastika throughout the European Union, a debate that risked making the symbol suddenly subversively chic.
Symbols are forms of expression but -- even more than words -- they can mean many different things. What was the meaning of that hat? Perhaps: "I am well traveled; I have been to faraway lands and returned with souvenirs." Perhaps: "I have a sense of irony. I am aware that this hammer and sickle was once a symbol of oppression; now the people behind the Iron Curtain are free and Communist finery is being bought and sold by capitalist opportunists."
But if you had been a victim of Soviet oppression, of a regime that murdered 20 million people and more, you might not view the appearance of that hat with such equanimity. It might not be merely a silent symbol; it might split your inner ear like a shriek, or strike you like a blow.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
For discussion.
The MSM always wants to point out how evil Hitler was, and he was, but never wants to mention the millions that Stalin killed while he was in power.
A hate symbol.
Frankly - I'd LOVE a T-Shirt with this emblazoned upon it.
Our Harry doesn't understand either. (Dirty Harry)
I could never get one of these guys to give up any articles. The USSR Army belt buckle was very ornate and striking with the red star and sickle/hammer inlay on brass.
OH, sorry, wrong cymbol......(tsk tsk tsk)
It's obvious that Twain used the word for two reasons. One, because he was a careful writer and took pains to reproduce the actual language of a place and time. It is obvious that the word carried no connotation, it was the only word used in common speech to refer to Blacks in that time and place. Two, he used the term with deep and subtle irony. The Black characters in Tom Sawyer are portrayed more sympathetically than those who feel they are their natural betters.
My Father-in-law, who served in World War 2, as a Col. with the third Army, bequeated to my daughter a Nazi Banner, that was given to him, by his men as they took a particular Nazi Village. The Nazi Banner remains in a box in the back of a closet and never sees the light of day. I don't think we could show that Nazi banner to anyone without raising an eyebrow and a full explanation of why we have it.
I really do think Harry was over persecuted over his lack of taste, at a tasteless Costume Party, but that is just me.
Watched Randall Kennedy on C Span talk about his book, it was very interesting. Suppose there should now be one on the use of the word "nazi" , because it has also being used inappropriately and has lost it's original meaning to the younger generation.
Stalin caused the death of 150 million Ukrainians.
It wasn't only Stalin; Lenin had his millions too. They made the Nazis look like Boy Scouts.
A few years ago, I got a glossy catalog in the mail from one of those companies selling PBS/BBC program tapes and gifts. They were also selling surplus Soviet Army uniforms.
The affluent woman wearing the hammer-and-sickle symbol isn't much different than the current crop of fashion victims wearing mass-market Che Guevara T-shirts.
A contrast from the era would be 'darky' or 'colored folk' denoting someone considered more reliable and trustworthy. "Negro and Negress" were almost taxonomic terms, but could define anyone of the race up to octaroon (1/8th Negro).
Twain brought out subtle prejudices in Puddinhead Wilson, and had a go at 'nature vs. nurture' at the same time. You probably will not find that book in any High School library, but I reccommend reading it just the same.
They never really mention Tse-Tung Mao either...
Ya know... my father used to say the same thing, and I almost put that down as well.
Exactly right!
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