A catalog for the testosterone crowd
Nov. 9th, 2008 06:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elfsI was at a friend's house yesterday, and on her roommate's bookshelf I spotted a catalog from Bud K, the catalog for every fifteen-year-old boy of any age. It's basically a fantasy weapons shop, selling all manner of knives, "wolverine" claws, stun guns, batons, sword canes, "ninjawear" of every sharpness and stupidity. Alongside all this Darwinian self-de-selection gear there was Harley Davidson clothing, "America: Love it or Leave" lines of apparel, and "fantasy" figurines of improbably proportioned women bending, arcing, and otherwise showing off their virtual wares.
I am, sadly, long past the age when that kind of stuff stiffens more than my resolve. As I flipped through it, though, I got an unpleasant vibe. Along with all this pseudoAmericana was a disturbing amonut of pseudoNaziana, including "Authentic 1942 German Helmet," complete with your choices of German Army, Luftwaffe, SS, or Nazi Party insignia, replica broomhandle Mausers, and "German Army Eagle Daggers," which you could optionally choose to have engraved with the motto of the SS, "Meine Ehre heißt Treue," (My Honor is Truth). Oh, and while we're at it, there's a ton of Confederate States of America insignia throughout the catalog.
And there, in the middle of all of this paraphenalia celebrating testosterone, death, maiming, and pain, one item jumped to my attention. Completely innocuous and out of place: A "genuine Italian™ Stone Leather™" Bible Cover.
Why isn't cognitive dissonance more painful?
I am, sadly, long past the age when that kind of stuff stiffens more than my resolve. As I flipped through it, though, I got an unpleasant vibe. Along with all this pseudoAmericana was a disturbing amonut of pseudoNaziana, including "Authentic 1942 German Helmet," complete with your choices of German Army, Luftwaffe, SS, or Nazi Party insignia, replica broomhandle Mausers, and "German Army Eagle Daggers," which you could optionally choose to have engraved with the motto of the SS, "Meine Ehre heißt Treue," (My Honor is Truth). Oh, and while we're at it, there's a ton of Confederate States of America insignia throughout the catalog.
And there, in the middle of all of this paraphenalia celebrating testosterone, death, maiming, and pain, one item jumped to my attention. Completely innocuous and out of place: A "genuine Italian™ Stone Leather™" Bible Cover.
Why isn't cognitive dissonance more painful?
