Nazi Culture

[Irish]

Call me an old fogey but does anyone notice this whole Nazi Swastika culture (if you can call it that) in Thailand?

I walk through Robinson's or the market and they have the SS helmets for your motorbike or T-shirts or whatever.

I know a girl that is not a typical skin head white supremacist (as she is Thai.) I asked her did she know what it meant and she laughed, "Yes."

Are they naive, do not care or just plain stupid as to what this symbolises.

[nullx8]

Are they naive, do not care or just plain stupid as to what this symbolises.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

lots of subcultures exist on this planet for this topic ...

in vietnam the have a "adolf Hitler Bar"

all the staff walk arround in SS Uniforms ...

and vietnam is one of the countrys got REALY Hurt in the 2nd world war ...

some parts of the world have diffrent minds about this ....

i know lots or "bikers" using "Wehrmachtsstahlhelme"

instead of real Helmet ...

and they not at all nazis, have some "power mind" ....

whatever ..

i think its not at all "naive" but the wrong thread in the wrong board ;-)

remeber "Internet, computers, communication, technology in Thailand" ;-)

nobody eat that hot as it been cooked

Edited October 9, 2005 by altf4

[Oleg_Rus]

Yes, they fancy anything - I've seen guys with "Che lives", Marxists slogans, Nazi gear... History doesn't exist here, even few decades ago riots are forgotten.

Sweet and naive comics generation, so to speak...

[cdnvic]

The "swastitka" was part of buddhist culture a millenia or more before the nazis came along. It's usually backward facing to the original, but the whole symbol means nothing about what it did to the nazis.

It's said to represent the heart of the Buddha to some, his footprints to others, and I've even heard it represents the "wheel of becoming". Hindus and Janists also use it as a symbol, and as Buddhism decended from Hindu roots it's natural that some of the symbolism would follow.

cv

[Heng]

Would it bother you if someone wanted to name their bar the Genghis Khan Bar? No? Same same.

[The_Other_Mac]

The "swastitka" was part of buddhist culture[...]

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

"S'wasdikap" to you, too. Sanskrit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika

[The_Other_Mac]

Would it bother you if someone wanted to name their bar the Genghis Khan Bar?  No?  Same same.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Note to self: use snide Mongolian references on Heng

Hey, why go that far back? We could mention Nanjing.

[lovejoy]

The "swastitka" was part of buddhist culture[...]

"S'wasdikap" to you, too. Sanskrit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika

very interesting

[raggedjagged]

I can safely say Thai people don't really care about the Nazi culture, at all.

[SiamOne]

I can safely say Thai people don't really care about the Nazi culture, at all.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

hey, you understand we know so little of our own history, why should we be educated in yours??

[ZZZ]

Could you imagine a biker in one of the silly looking tin caps the britts were using as helmets during the war ?

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Could you imagine a biker in one of the silly looking tin caps the britts were using as helmets during the war ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

They'd be neat wouldn't they ?

[Jai Dee]

I can safely say Thai people don't really care about the Nazi culture, at all.

And why should they?

Those items for sale outside Robinsons are there because falungs buy them... there is a market to exploit, and if the pseudo-Nazi memorabilia sells, then there a baht or two to be made.

I don't think it goes any deeper then that...

[Tyree D.]

I can safely say Thai people don't really care about the Nazi culture, at all.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

They believe in the white power of Nivea.

[x-pat]

Irish: Are they naive, do not care or just plain stupid as to what this symbolises.

Good question. It's probably a combination of these three. Or perhaps they think it's "en vogue" since Prince Harry introduced it as a partly gaga party gag.

Cheers, X-Pat

[BambinA]

Are they naive, do not care or just plain stupid as to what this symbolises.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

it depends on who you ask about "swastitka" and nazi stuff... education person must know (fine or course)

some people just dont care about the history and just think "swastitka" or nazi stuff is cool... sort of fashion .. no more nor less

bambi

[Kan Win]

History of The Swastika

Now you all know.

Yours truly,

Kan Win

[wolf5370]

Come on guys, we've had this all before on various threads in the past. The symbols used in Nazi Germany (Swastica) - with the reverse direction, balanced on one corner in a white circle enclosed in red - is unmistakeable.

It is not being sold as an earlier Hindu/Greek/Roman/yada-yada symbol, its a copy of the Nazi symbol, pure and simple. It's worn by Thais out of ignorance not for offense (generally). If you take out the history, and just see a man dressed in black with the Nazi armband, it does look cool. Matrix like possibly. They simply do not know our history, nor do they understand the culture enough to see the offense it would bring us a few generations later (German, Isreali, French, British, American - whatever). Like all fads, it will pass.

[Edited cos I can't seem to type for toffee!]

Edited October 10, 2005 by wolf5370

[cdnvic]

Yes you old fogey. It is unbelievable how naive, careless and just plain stupid you are that you don't know what this symbol really means. I suggest taking a history course would be helpfull.

No need to flame. This was a good place to ask a question and get educated about it. For all we know, you didn't know the facts either as you've contributed nothing to the conversation but venom.

cv

[Girlfrombar]

because its culture still exists in **edit - lets keep the Israel/Palestine politics out of here, it's totally off topic**

Edited October 10, 2005 by cdnvic

[thaibebop]

Well, in America everyone is getting Chinese and Japanese art and writing (which they can't read) tattoos. One artist told me a girl who thought she got Strengh inked on her arm in Chinese until a old Chinese lady asked her why she had dogsh1t or maybe it was just sh1t, written on her arm. Let me let you these rap guys with Chinese written on their arms just look stupid! So, Asians aren't the only ones.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Flame from Irish trashed

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Flame from Khun Jean trashed

[solo siam]

Dont see why its any different from a wetserner wearing a Chairman Mao T-Shirt, or wearing the stars and stripes on a trip to Vietnam, Cambodia or Laos.

They like the symbol, the look of it - not what it stands for, I wouldn't call that ignorance. Germany is a long way from Asia and I don't think Thais should feel any guilt for something that they weren't part of.

Its not like they are wearing swastika's and going on white power rallies.

[Richard Hall]

Well, it is obviously that people are just not aware of the meaning of certain things and that they may be understood offensive by other people.

It is custom that in Thai language one refers to black people as "negr..s" which is a very offensive word in English but in Thai it is very common.

As far as the "Hakenkreuz" is concerned my Thai wife recently displayed a pink colored one on the left buttock of a newly acquired jeans. To put the cherry on the cake that thing even bore the sript "nazi party". We were just about to head for the German embassy when I sighted it.

Explained the meaning of the sign in respect of German history and that displaying it might result into denial of entering the German embassy and that it was even against German law. Also that a quite close friend of ours from Israel may take a lot of offence when seeing it particularly if he had family loses during World War II.

Anyway, that darn sign has been covered up with two golden flowers and a butterfly in the meantime and surely compliment the backside much much better now.

It appears that nowadays, 60 years after the madness more and more people are not aware of what those times back then were about and quite often have no clue about the true meaning of expressions such as nazi, SS, Hakenkreuz or even the Charlie Chaplin look alike madman. Usually, if someone starts tossing the words around it usually takes only a smile and a few explaining words referring to history to turn things around. "Well, do you know that this is linked to the death of millions of innocent people such as men, women, children, infants?" do the job and that fancy piece of fashion all of a sudden loses quite a lot of its attraction.

Never mind the people not being aware of the meaning but well, the others knowing about the history but either don't care or even worse idolizing the happenings just

"f... them". Nope, it is not about taking a p.... on the Germans it is by far worse it is slapping the face of the victims and spitting on them and their descendants.

Cheers,

Richard

[solo siam]

I just dont see why the whole world should have collective guilt for what the controlling germans (at that time) where responsible for - There is nothing wrong with remembering and feeling sad about what happened.

Surely the fact that these symbols are around today and that we can use them as an aid to describe what it stood for etc... is a help in that, rather than a hindrance. Much worse for the symbol to vanish off the face off the earth and appear in 100 years as the symbol of a right-wing political party or something with nobody realising what it meant.

[Sir Burr]

I just dont see why the whole world should have collective guilt for what the controlling germans (at that time) where responsible for - There is nothing wrong with remembering and feeling sad about what happened. 

The true horror of the Holocaust was the scale of mans inhumanity to man.

If the Germans were capable of it, then we are ALL capable of it in the right circumstances. Or, do you think that only the Germans are inherently evil?

So, yes, I feel ashamed and guilty of what the human race is capable of.

Edited October 11, 2005 by Sir Burr

[Neeranam]

I can safely say Thai people don't really care about the Nazi culture, at all.

I would safely say they don't care as well, neither do I.

[solo siam]

Im not evil, my family isnt evil - I live a good life and am not cruel, and do not hurt people - I know there are evil people in the world but that doesn't mean I should feel responsible for their actions.

I should not feel guilty, I lost members of my family fighting that evil in WW2 - should their wives have felt guilty and ashamed?

I dont want to upset anyone but I think its ridiculous that people believe I should feel guilt over what happened and no I dont believe we are ALL capable of doing those evil things, Obvious from the amount of people that DID do the right and good thing, regardless of the consequences.

[Sir Burr]

I can safely say Thai people don't really care about the Nazi culture, at all.

I would safely say they don't care as well, neither do I.

As a Westerner it doesn't offend you?