The Hypocrisy of America.
This is in response to another blog entry, which you can find here. The short version of the story is that a US soldier recovering from wounds sustained in the conflict in Iraq recieved a Christmas card that read :
I wrote this in response on the LAPCO forums, but felt it was blogworthy, because it'll torque someone off sufficiently.
The hypocrisy of America.
Over on Spec Ops, a thread was formed asking if it's "ok" and "acceptable" to wear Nazi symbols. Most of them felt that, yes indeed, you could wear and say anything you wanted to say, as this is a free country and nobody can stop you from doing this. In fact, most of them celebrated the idea by saying they would go out of their way to get "Nazi" logos and wear them on their clothing, JUST to make people mad and laugh at them. "Oh, why are you all pissed off? It's just a symbol!" or "It's only a joke! Get over it! It's not like it means anything anymore. And I can wear it if I want to! I can scream SEIG HEIL if I want to! I can do anything I want!" It didn't matter if it offended other people, it didn't matter if it rubbed other people's beliefs raw, and it didn't matter if it offended other people's sense of right and wrong. It's funny to them, so it's totally permissable behavior. Freedom is freedom, so they say.
I know that if I reported this card over there, the SAME PEOPLE would say "WTF?!?!? THIS KID SHOULD BE KILLED AND HIS BODY MUTILATED!!!111oneoneone HOW DARE HE send a letter like that to a soldier who wanted to die for him?!?" Even though it was "just a letter" and "just one kids opinion of the war." I mean, he had the right to speak his beliefs, use symbols that had no meaning to him. Perhaps it was just a joke? And everyone should laugh at the funny and ironic card. Even if it is offensive to you, or what you believe in, or what your family has raised you to know is right and wrong.
Thus, the hypocrisy. You have the freedom to say anything you want, as long as it's what we want to hear. You have the rights to insult someone, as long as it's not me or my family. You have the right to wish someone to die, unless I glorify them and think they're a hero.
Personally, I don't care about this only because it's a 4th grader, right? Odds are that it's a kid who was put up to sending a letter to a soldier by a teacher. One of those "we're going on vacation, so here's some busy-work for you to do" The kid didn't want to do the assignment, so blew it off by writing that in a "card" format. The teacher didn't read the card, and bulk-mailed them to a VA hospital. If they find the kid, I'll bet he's a middle income child, normal parents, he just didn't want to do what the teacher made him do.
Before everyone goes off the handle with this, think about it a moment. There were people who opposed EVERY war. EVERY war. You read nostalgia now about WW2 and how the nation stood behind it, but nostalgia is tainted history, how we would have preferred things were and not always how they actually were. We keep expecting this latest conflict to be like WW2, with the nation behind every move. The facts are we, as a nation, aren't behind the war 100%. And we can't be shocked and appalled when we see someone who doesn't like the war.
After all, they have the freedom to not like government policy. Right?
Dear Soldier, have a great time in the war.
And have a great time dying.
From, Miguel Gallier
P.S. DIE
I wrote this in response on the LAPCO forums, but felt it was blogworthy, because it'll torque someone off sufficiently.
The hypocrisy of America.
Over on Spec Ops, a thread was formed asking if it's "ok" and "acceptable" to wear Nazi symbols. Most of them felt that, yes indeed, you could wear and say anything you wanted to say, as this is a free country and nobody can stop you from doing this. In fact, most of them celebrated the idea by saying they would go out of their way to get "Nazi" logos and wear them on their clothing, JUST to make people mad and laugh at them. "Oh, why are you all pissed off? It's just a symbol!" or "It's only a joke! Get over it! It's not like it means anything anymore. And I can wear it if I want to! I can scream SEIG HEIL if I want to! I can do anything I want!" It didn't matter if it offended other people, it didn't matter if it rubbed other people's beliefs raw, and it didn't matter if it offended other people's sense of right and wrong. It's funny to them, so it's totally permissable behavior. Freedom is freedom, so they say.
I know that if I reported this card over there, the SAME PEOPLE would say "WTF?!?!? THIS KID SHOULD BE KILLED AND HIS BODY MUTILATED!!!111oneoneone HOW DARE HE send a letter like that to a soldier who wanted to die for him?!?" Even though it was "just a letter" and "just one kids opinion of the war." I mean, he had the right to speak his beliefs, use symbols that had no meaning to him. Perhaps it was just a joke? And everyone should laugh at the funny and ironic card. Even if it is offensive to you, or what you believe in, or what your family has raised you to know is right and wrong.
Thus, the hypocrisy. You have the freedom to say anything you want, as long as it's what we want to hear. You have the rights to insult someone, as long as it's not me or my family. You have the right to wish someone to die, unless I glorify them and think they're a hero.
Personally, I don't care about this only because it's a 4th grader, right? Odds are that it's a kid who was put up to sending a letter to a soldier by a teacher. One of those "we're going on vacation, so here's some busy-work for you to do" The kid didn't want to do the assignment, so blew it off by writing that in a "card" format. The teacher didn't read the card, and bulk-mailed them to a VA hospital. If they find the kid, I'll bet he's a middle income child, normal parents, he just didn't want to do what the teacher made him do.
Before everyone goes off the handle with this, think about it a moment. There were people who opposed EVERY war. EVERY war. You read nostalgia now about WW2 and how the nation stood behind it, but nostalgia is tainted history, how we would have preferred things were and not always how they actually were. We keep expecting this latest conflict to be like WW2, with the nation behind every move. The facts are we, as a nation, aren't behind the war 100%. And we can't be shocked and appalled when we see someone who doesn't like the war.
After all, they have the freedom to not like government policy. Right?
posted by Rob "Tyger" Rubin at
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
3 Comments:
Okay, sad as I am to agree with loud-mouth yay-hoos, I must agree that if we're going to be doing recreation-esque scenario games featuring WW2, than we should allow German players to wear Nazi symbols. Why? Partially it's the freedom of speech thing, but mostly the idea of "if we're really trying to encourage a WW2 air about the game, we should allow it". Yes, I understand the Nazi's included some really bad people who did some really effed up things. However, the players in scenario games are not trying to represent those aspects of the Nazi party, merely the German Wehrmacht (a tough, smart army who did some amazing things) who happened to be underneath the Nazi party.
Otherwise, if we're going to be so politically correct to disallow any Nazi emblems or symbols, than we shouldn't even let the Germans win. Why? If they're so bad we can't bear to wear or see their insignias, then obviously they are bad enough people that it is our moral obligation to write the rules in such a way that they cannot win. Kind of makes the whole game pointless, now doesn't it? And the same goes for any other historically based scenario games: those who lost historically must lose in the game. It's the politically correct thing to do.
Seriously folks, it's a game. It's meant to be played with an air of competition and camaraderie, not hatred and oppression. When someone gets "shot" in paintball, they don't die (as long as all the safety precautions are religiously followed), they receive a welt and a trip to the dead box/resurrection area. Which is why the letter from the kid torques my nipples. I can understand the bored 4th grader part, I was one myself, but my parents, my friends, and my own experiences eventually taught me that such a sentiment was not cool nor funny. In war, people die. Not pretend die, not get marked out and say "darn it, I shouldn't have tried that move", and walk to the dead box. No, in real war, people die for good. A quote from The Crow is apt right about now, "this is the really real world, there ain't no coming back!"
Now, I'm not saying we should string this kid up, but I am disappointed that his upbringing hasn't taught him how appalling such a sentiment really is. However, it is his right to Freedom of Speech to say it. Would I like to beat him? The violent part of me votes yes, but in reality, I think a tour thru the CASH (combat Army support hospital) here at my Iraq posting would do him a world of good.
By
Anonymous, at Thursday, December 15, 2005 5:01:00 AM
Usagi Tetsu, the human mind responds to stimuli and associates symbols no matter what action you portray. Take for example Mark Rothko's art, it's a simple design (really really simple) that envokes feeling/mood from color. Now applying that same psychological aspect to symbolism, you'll still think of the atrocities commited behind that symbol even if there's a nazi ice cream vendor or children's book. Even if players don't mean to carry out the same meaning behind nazism, you're still being associated because of the symbol's long standing history in the human psyche.
I don't want to take up Tyger's blog much longer, but you can PM on specialops (or lapco) forums under the same name if you want. But I'm on college vacation so it'll be awhile for a reply.
Sorry for trying to get up on a soapbox Tyger. I agree with you on the hypocrisy of america, it was even a nice debate topic I had in college.An interesting one too since I'm a bio major while my opponent went into law.
By
Anonymous, at Sunday, December 18, 2005 4:43:00 PM
There is a happy medium to this arguement. Don't use swastikas. It's commomn knowledge (atleast to a Candaian and former soldier) that german soldiers from WWII are allowed to wear their uniforms and meddals in our legions BUT are NOT allowed to have ANY swastikas. If they have lost their medals (or their emidiate families request replacements from the german government) the are given replacements that are exactly the same EXCEPT for the swastikas. So to me the simple solution here is to allow german "recreationists" to wear cira WWII uniforms and insigna but make sure there are no swastikas on any of it. (German uniforms and insigna are available online without swastikas).
By
Anonymous, at Monday, December 19, 2005 7:05:00 PM
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