I was curious about that the other day. I mean, it's an SS symbol and really it was a pagan symbol before that, but I have a hard time believing that any group of modern americans knows what either looked like.
But they've got officers, and those officers have their own officers. It had to pass under a whole lot of should-be-knowledgeable noses for quite a while.
Given the state of education in this country, I find it feasible that they didn't know the significance -- especially given that KISS's logo uses letters in that same style.
I've seen a very similar double-lightning-flash 'SS' on a car sold in Australia, can't remember the brand :-(
And a couple of weeks back I had to explain to four workmates why their "One X, One Y" slogan had uncomfortable associations (http://www.youtube.com/verify_controversy?next_url=/watch%3Fv%3DBH7Pb1mhw-A). Most of them were older than me.
Those who forget the lessons of the past, etc etc...
FWIW, location doesn't excuse it; my understanding is that Melbourne (where I live) has the highest concentration of holocaust survivors per capita outside Israel.
You may not have seen the Holden badge I'm talking about. I Googled the 1961 Impala and the badge is a fairly ordinary 'SS' (http://www.superchevy.com/features/impala/sucp_1004_1961_chevy_impala_ss/photo_11.html) with normal curvy 'S's. I would not describe that as a "double lightning flash", and it's not being used in a military context, so I have no problem with that. There are only 676 two-letter acronyms and sometimes they need to be recycled.
But the Holden SS badge looks like this (http://www.cartype.com/pics/1620/full/holden_thunderii_ute_ss_emblem_06.jpg). Note the non-standard S shape, very similar to the Waffen-SS insignia.
2) You've never seen any movie involving World War 2, ever? Those bad guys in the black uniforms have them on their collars, visible in most face shots.
Because of the AFI Top 100 Movies of All Time list that came out in the early 2000's, I have seen far more WWII movies than I ever wanted to see. My brain must have ignored the detail!
I agree that people shouldn't make up crap of any kind. However. He wasn't making up stuff, so don't try and pull the "If you don't agree with me you support lying bastards" trick.
That's a racially charged flag, with white-supremacist associations, and an all-white group of people standing in front of it.
They mostly have brown hair, but being blond is hardly a requirement to be a white-supremacist, nor is brown hair particularly unusual in white Americans (or white Englishmen, or white Germans, or white people from any other background except "bleached blond California beach bunnies"). White people tan (see also the beach bunnies), and faces darkened by shadows from hats might be throwing you off.
I'm just saying, whiteness-in-a-picture is not always apparent, granted, totally.
And in this case, a bunch of guys *look* white, and there's evidence in the picture that, at best, they can all pass for white.... and they're all posing in front of a Nazi flag.
Which means I feel totally confident in describing them as "all-white".
I see 10 lily-white dudes with tans and sunburns. There's only one guy who makes me double-take - that's the farthest-right guy - and that's not his hand, that's a glove, like most of the rest are wearing on their gun hand. The sun on his face? Makes him look white.
Oh, and they're all posing proudly in front of a Nazi flag.
Don't forget grime. Hard to come by a good shower in the desert, and even if they had them, a common affliction of snipers/recon is chronic soap allergies.
I could easily believe marines not knowing the significance of that flag - I didn't know it on sight either. The part that blows a hole in their story is that one of those guys actually OWNED the flag. People generally don't buy flags they don't know the meaning of.
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(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-16 08:44 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-18 01:18 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-16 08:48 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-16 09:08 pm (UTC)And a couple of weeks back I had to explain to four workmates why their "One X, One Y" slogan had uncomfortable associations (http://www.youtube.com/verify_controversy?next_url=/watch%3Fv%3DBH7Pb1mhw-A). Most of them were older than me.
Those who forget the lessons of the past, etc etc...
(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-16 10:20 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-20 08:47 am (UTC)FWIW, location doesn't excuse it; my understanding is that Melbourne (where I live) has the highest concentration of holocaust survivors per capita outside Israel.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-20 01:34 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-20 08:44 pm (UTC)But the Holden SS badge looks like this (http://www.cartype.com/pics/1620/full/holden_thunderii_ute_ss_emblem_06.jpg). Note the non-standard S shape, very similar to the Waffen-SS insignia.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-20 09:14 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-16 09:39 pm (UTC)2) I am fairly certain I've never seen an SS insignia, but I STILL immediately recognized that as Nazi and gasped. I do not know why.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-16 11:04 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-16 11:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-18 01:19 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-18 06:48 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-16 10:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-16 11:02 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-16 11:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-16 11:17 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-16 11:24 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-17 03:41 pm (UTC)That's a racially charged flag, with white-supremacist associations, and an all-white group of people standing in front of it.
They mostly have brown hair, but being blond is hardly a requirement to be a white-supremacist, nor is brown hair particularly unusual in white Americans (or white Englishmen, or white Germans, or white people from any other background except "bleached blond California beach bunnies"). White people tan (see also the beach bunnies), and faces darkened by shadows from hats might be throwing you off.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-17 03:46 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-18 01:56 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-18 02:02 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-18 02:03 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-18 05:25 am (UTC)And in this case, a bunch of guys *look* white, and there's evidence in the picture that, at best, they can all pass for white.... and they're all posing in front of a Nazi flag.
Which means I feel totally confident in describing them as "all-white".
(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-16 11:43 pm (UTC)Oh, and they're all posing proudly in front of a Nazi flag.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-18 01:23 am (UTC)Don't forget grime. Hard to come by a good shower in the desert, and even if they had them, a common affliction of snipers/recon is chronic soap allergies.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-17 04:26 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-16 11:23 pm (UTC)http://freethoughtblogs.com/rodda/2012/02/15/yes-there-is-a-base-in-afghanistan-named-aryan-and-it-is-spelled-aryan/
(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-17 02:19 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-17 03:29 am (UTC)