Re: The new US Air Force motto: Those who forget history...

[elfs]

I see the Air Force has annouced their new logo and motto.



Enjoy the schadenfreude.

(via Boing Boing)

Comments

[elfs.livejournal.com]

There's a lot of chatter going about that the phrase "Uber Alles" predated the Nationalist Socialist party and wasn't intended to imply that Germany was "above all other nations." I don't buy it. That's a bit like claiming the swastika is just a Hindu good luck charm. The Nazis have ruined "Uber Alles" (in any language) for everyone, just as they've ruined spiffy black-and-silver for military uniforms, lightning bolt insignias, and a lot of other things they were unfortunately very good at. The design aesthetic of Nazi Germany was so strong that it's put a lot of strong visual impact off limits for several generations-- including mine. Heck, smart designers don't even go near red, black, white and quadrilateral symmetry mixes anymore.

I do not, however, count sh*tty little mustaches as part of that strong design aesthetic.

This is just a bad move on the Air Force's part. The connotations are just too strong; ask the Dead Kennedys. Hopefully, the backlash will be effective.

[omahas.livejournal.com]

That's a bit like claiming the swastika is just a Hindu good luck charm.

The swastika is more than just a "Hindu good-luck charm". In fact, it has been found in so many different cultures and religions (from Buddhism and Hinduism, ancient Germanic and Celtic, to Native American), that the fact that it was appropriated by the Nazi's to the detriment of any other culture being able to use it for many generations without being assumed to be Nazi is a huge cultural and historical crime.

But I digress.

[caprinus.livejournal.com]

to the detriment of any other culture being able to use it for many generations without being assumed to be Nazi

I have multiple stores and temples adorned with swastikas within a 10 minute walk of my house. Maybe Toronto's more tolerant of other cultures, but I haven't seen any problems.

[omahas.livejournal.com]

That's terrific. I would guess that yes, Toronto is probably more tolerant. I can't imagine being in Florida, for example, and getting away with that.

[caprinus.livejournal.com]

To be fair, my deck's stacked a little since I live near Toronto's main South Indian Hindu/Moslem neighbourhood, with some other South-East Asian and Tibetan people mixed in -- the swastika sporting temples look to be Vietnamese and Sri Lankan. There's two small mosques a street over from my house, a street so "white" they also used it as a stand-in for depression-era New Jersey in Cinderella Man. I love my neighbourhood. If y'all ever come up to Toronto, I'll give you a tour! ;)

[sirfox.livejournal.com]

it was really interesting looking at Tokyo tourist maps, and seeing all the little swastikas marking out where temples were.

there was a moment of: *blink* "What the f... OH! right."

[caprinus.livejournal.com]

Well, they were past of the Axis of Evil! It's proof they're backsliding!

[gromm.livejournal.com]

The best one I've seen to date however, is a shop called "Aryan Market".

No swastika though.

[mundens.livejournal.com]

"Uber Alles" comes from the chorus of the German national anthem at the time, the words being (translated ), "Germany, Germany over all, over all in the world". It is quite correct that this anthem pre-dated National Socialism, and it is reasonable to argue, as is done on the relevant wikipaedia page, that when it was written it was not intended quite how it was later used. Also, many countries have national anthems that put the home country ahead of other countries, so it's not unusual or unexpected.

As to the swasitka, it was used by the Nazi's because of their early association with Thule-Gesellschaft whose philosophical forebears had been using it for centuries. <ob-illuminati style="fnord">It is unsurprising that Hitler was told to utilize this symbol by his Masters in the Ordo Novo Templis.</ob-illuminati>

Anyone accusing someone of being a Nazi just because they use a swastika is at best being culturally insensitive, if not downright racist, especially if the person being accused is obviously of non-European descent. As a for instance, when in the northern provinces of India I saw the symbol quite regularly amongst the wards and charms that adorn the ubiquitous TaTa trucks, daubed in yellow or red/brown paint by the drivers to help ward off accidents.

Of course if the person being so accused has "a saltire fylfot sable, on a roundel argent, a field gules"*, wears a uniform with black leather boots, and invades Poland... well, then the accuser might have a case.

*try getting that past the SCA College of Arms!

[caprinus.livejournal.com]

+3 Internet points for saltire fylfot sable, wikipædia and fnords! Well played!