Outrage in Taiwan over students' Nazi display at cosplay event - Polidicks

[QUOTE=BF;51584554]They are wearing Nazi swastikas and that kid is doing the damn Hitler salute. There's nothing 'bad ass' about that. The kind of display that the kids are doing is the exact kind of desensitisation to Nazi Germany that the world [i]does not[/i] need. Hitler and Nazi Germany should stay where they belong - in history books (taught to all students) and museums.[/QUOTE] Ah, no. There is nothing wrong with the holocaust, just like every other atrocity becoming a less sensitive subject as time goes on. Normalizing this kind of thing removes it's power, and opens up parody ability. Removing sensitivity removes the power of the images. This is a good thing, whether you admit it or not. Imagine if people like Genghis Khan held the same amount of power over people now.

[QUOTE=Bertie;51584883]True, but they still used the very specific aesthetic of Nazi Germany. They could've dressed up as any army they wanted but they decided to imitate the one faction whose actions are still felt bitterly across the globe.[/QUOTE] Yeah because they look the most badass. There is nothing political about it, it's simply "Which military forces looked the coolest? The Nazis"

[QUOTE=Annoyed Grunt;51584890]Yeah because they look the most badass. There is nothing political about it, it's simply "Which military forces looked the coolest? The Nazis"[/QUOTE] It's idolization. You think as they were standing there they were thinking "haha this is pretty cool and all but the Nazis were totally in the wrong and I'd never want to be a Nazi"?

[QUOTE=krail9;51584846]leave it to fp of all places to see no issue with this :v:[/QUOTE] There is no issue with it though. They aren't Nazis, they are people dressed up as Nazis. I don't see why I should have any respect for the views of people that willfully ignore this distinction.

[QUOTE=Bertie;51584897]It's idolization. You think as they were standing there they were thinking "haha this is pretty cool and all but the Nazis were totally in the wrong and I'd never want to be a Nazi"?[/QUOTE] i don't think they were standing there thinking "man i love the nazis, their ideas on global conquest, aryan racial supremacy, and extermination of untermensh are all pretty great" either. I'm guessing they idolize nazis the same way people might idolize pirates, in a very romanticized, surface level way, with the reality of both the ideals and actual actions they performed not entering the picture.

[QUOTE=Ninja Gnome;51584917]i don't think they were standing there thinking "man i love the nazis, their ideas on global conquest, aryan racial supremacy, and extermination of untermensh are all pretty great" either. I'm guessing they idolize nazis the same way people might idolize pirates, in a very romanticized, surface level way, with the reality of both the ideals and actual actions they performed not entering the picture.[/QUOTE] That sounds true. I'm probably overestimating their love for Nazi ideology, but I'm still uncomfortable with people parading around in Nazi uniforms, especially high school kids who probably don't know much about Nazism in the first place other than that it's the cartoon villain of the first half of the 20th century.

Ah yes, I know where we'll be getting new moderators from in the future. [QUOTE=Bertie;51584934]That sounds true. I'm probably overestimating their love for Nazi ideology, but I'm still uncomfortable with people parading around in Nazi uniforms, especially high school kids who probably don't know much about Nazism in the first place other than that it's the cartoon villain of the first half of the 20th century.[/QUOTE]Yeah, I doubt the students put very much thought onto it beyond "this'll be cool". According to the article, the teacher was aware of the potential problems this would cause, but for some reason didn't veto the students' decition.

[QUOTE=BF;51584554]They are wearing Nazi swastikas and that kid is doing the damn Hitler salute. There's nothing 'bad ass' about that. The kind of display that the kids are doing is the exact kind of desensitisation to Nazi Germany that the world [I]does not[/I] need. Hitler and Nazi Germany should stay where they belong - in history books (taught to all students) and museums.[/QUOTE] Grow up, this is just harmless dressup just like people dress up like villain's. They are not reenacting the butchering of the jews or anything.they are simply ridiculing a moment in history by dressing up, like so many do. [editline]26th December 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=Bertie;51584897]. You think as they were standing there they were thinking "haha this is pretty cool and all but the Nazis were totally in the wrong and I'd never want to be a Nazi"?[/QUOTE] Yes, exactly this... Someone cue that lazytown episode about pirates, you should absorb the lesson.

[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;51584678]There's no such thing as a "nazi swastika". There are swastikas and that's it. The meaning behind them is completely within the context it's presented, not by the design of the swastika itself.[/QUOTE] Can you elaborate on this? I thought each swastika has a pretty distinct meaning based on design. I've never seen a 45 degree tilted clockwise swastika surrounded by a red circle mean anything other than "Nazi party".

[QUOTE=Blizzerd;51584942] Yes, exactly this... Someone cue that lazytown episode about pirates, you should absorb the lesson.[/QUOTE] Yeah, I don't think pirates are comparable to Nazi Germany.

It's not surprising that in east asia Nazi Germany isn't a sensitive subject because back then they fought a different war against a different enemy. Yes, they should know better but I doubt their intent was anything malicious. I would be more concerned if they dressed up in IJA uniforms.

[QUOTE=Bertie;51584960]Yeah, I don't think pirates are comparable to Nazi Germany.[/QUOTE] They're both groups of humans who did horrible things. The Nazis were just better organized. I don't see a point in being fearful of their appearance in WW2 - I don't think this is a celebration of nazism.

[QUOTE=Bertie;51584960]Yeah, I don't think pirates are comparable to Nazi Germany.[/QUOTE] Individual pirates were just as bad as individual SS soldiers, perhaps worse.

[QUOTE=paul simon;51585003]They're both groups of humans who did horrible things. The Nazis were just better organized. I don't see a point in being fearful of their appearance in WW2 - I don't think this is a celebration of nazism.[/QUOTE] It's the intent that bothers me, not their actual appearance. But as I said in one of my previous comments, I probably over-estimate both their intentions and their understandings of Nazi Germany when they dress like them. It's teens being edgy to be edgy, like they are all over the world. [QUOTE=Radical_ed;51585036]Individual pirates were just as bad as individual SS soldiers, perhaps worse.[/QUOTE] We don't really know how every single pirate behaved (though the same can be said for the SS) but pirates never took part in organized genocide and never had delusions of grandeur about themselves to justify their actions.

Holy shit that tank

[QUOTE=Matrix374;51584710]Is there really a reason to be even a little bit shocked over someone dressing up as a nazi? Their uniforms are stylish as hell and the cult of personality behind it makes an interesting historical piece to be dressed up in. [editline]26th December 2016[/editline] As someone has said, most of East Asia only suffered from Imperial Japan but it never got villified to the point where we have this taboo over their imagery like the Nazis. Nowadays(in South East Asia at least), you can see cars with the Imperial Japanese flag regularly and tons of Imperial Japan soldier and officer cosplay in conventions.[/QUOTE] Considering someone thought it was cool enough to dress up like a damn nazi at an anime convention and parade around like they were hot shit, yeah, it was a little jarring.

Nowadays, it's important to consider how your school project looks on social media as soon as someone has literally just grabbed a picture of it. No amount of context will overcome the immediately drawn conclusion. Not that that justifies whatever they were doing, but my point is, people's "oh damn" sensor is immediately going to trigger, regardless of any good intention, however innocent, when they see huge swastkas. Please bear this in mind when planning a class project... people will never draw an innocent conclusion from that, whatever you intended - it doesn't look great.

[QUOTE=krail9;51584846]leave it to fp of all places to see no issue with this :v:[/QUOTE] There's something definitely wrong in your views if you think simply dressing up as Nazi is something to be concerned of. Hell, how about we start slamming reconstructors who pose as Nazis for their nazist-like behaviour? Fucking really? Whats next, condemning individuals for having pictures of their grandparents in Nazi uniforms?

-snip-

As far as I'm concerned, this falls under the same principle as people dressing up as pirates, vikings, knights, gasmasked nuclear winter survivors, ninjas or cowboy-style bandits. I can understand it when some people feel uncomfortable about Nazi uniforms because it's "too soon" (especially when Nazi ideologies are still somewhat alive in their area), but personally I don't have a problem with this. If there's more than cosplaying going on there, such as people taking refuge in audacity to idealize actual nazi ideology that goes beyond aesthetics, then it's a different story of course, but as long as it's just a bunch of people coming together because they love the uniform designs and color scheme, then be my guest.

[QUOTE=BF;51584554]They are wearing Nazi swastikas and that kid is doing the damn Hitler salute. There's nothing 'bad ass' about that. The kind of display that the kids are doing is the exact kind of desensitisation to Nazi Germany that the world [i]does not[/i] need. Hitler and Nazi Germany should stay where they belong - in history books (taught to all students) and museums.[/QUOTE] I can understand where you're coming from and I respect your position, however I'd go to argue that desensitizing Nazis can be a good endeavor. I believe that creating a joke out of something terrifying or potentially scary removes the power of that item. With respect to those lost, it can be used in a way to prevent things like it from happening again. We should still teach the damage and horror of the Nazi regime in school, yes, but I don't believe that we should avoid creating light of it as well. Take the events of the assassination that occurred just last week for example. He became a meme almost instantly. Granted, that may have come with the overall morbidity of the humor of the internet, but it still creates an interesting point. Something very serious, something very terrifying, and something that shows this man clearly believes in the cause he's fighting for, and it became a joke. It removed the power from his statement. I believe it gives a statement of "Fuck you, your actions were ridiculous and very few will follow you." I haven't read the entire thread and I'm going to continue to do so now, but I just thought I'd give my thoughts.

tbh theres plenty more people acting like nazis than there are kids dressing like them.

Holy shit why are people so upset about this? We idolize villains, both real and fictional, all the time. This does not make them literally Hitler. It's just harmless fun and no one gets hurt until people get pissed off about this for silly reasons.

I know it doesn't mean anything and their just wearing a getup, but I always found the East Asia's infatuation with the Third Reich kinda off putting and mildly disturbing.

[QUOTE=Mabus;51585363]I know it doesn't mean anything and their just wearing a getup, but I always found the East Asia's infatuation with the Third Reich kinda off putting and mildly disturbing.[/QUOTE] That's probably because over there it isn't such a taboo like in the west.

I once stumbled into some type of anime convention in Nanjing China, and saw at least 10 people wearing literal Hitler masks. It seems strange and crude to anyone in the west, however it's not that different to how we often consider people like King Jong Un and Chairman Mao to be kinda funny and absurd memes. It's just all about desensitization due to distance and historical context. Not saying it's right or tasteful, especially considering Nazi ideologies are still active to some degree, although I bet a lot of people here laugh and joke about North Korea without giving much thought to the fact that people there are literally fed alive to starving dogs if they dare oppose that ideology.

uh, no relation i do have cousins in taipei though and they're pretty crazy so i believe it

[QUOTE=Monkah;51584864]historical reenactments[/QUOTE] WWII reenactments have been happening for a while man.

[QUOTE=ElectricSquid;51585116]Considering someone thought it was cool enough to dress up like a damn nazi at an anime convention and parade around like they were hot shit, yeah, it was a little jarring.[/QUOTE] Lots of anime have Nazis in full uniform.

Eh. I can't get too outraged, Asia didn't feel national socialism like we have so obviously they won't have as strong a reaction to it. I also think we'll be like that given time, willing to dress up as nazis and shit for fun. After a long period of time, they'll be so far in the past that we'll be divorced enough from their effects that we're willing to dress as them, kind of like how we'll dress as pirates 'n shit. It won't be in our lifetimes but I think in a few hundred years it might happen.