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Old March 1, 2013, 09:57 PM   #27
Winchester_73
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Join Date: December 20, 2008
Location: Pittsburgh PA
Posts: 2,863
Quote:
The phrase you quote has no prior origin to being uttered by Adolf Hitler as a campaign slogan and then being adopted by the Waffen SS.
But see that's just it, its just a phrase. In effect, you're saying its offensive to quote Hitler, or Nazi's in general. I find that to be a little petty. Many people don't know its association with the SS, esp if said in English, which is approximately: "My honor is my loyalty".

Quote:
Instead of jumping all over me and getting nasty, how about you think about the impact the use of a phrase that originated with Nazi Germany might have on people living today? Symbolism is strong and your opinion does not diminish the potential impact your utterances have on others.
Well I have a problem with people who look for reasons to be offended. No one was offended by what I said, and you saying "what if..." is a stretch. How inappropriate is what I said when you think about it? The phrase was about my dedication to my collection, as I was not referring to the Nazi's in anyway. Keep in mind, when you originally posted, you had no idea what I meant, and now you're attempting to claim you were being good natured instead of petty.

Quote:
It appears you have a bit of a temper and like to be controversial
Controversial? How about trying to say a simple phrase is only exclusive to the SS, and that its evil and should never be spoken? It was 70 years ago, and so people need to heal, but they can't when people keep saying "eww, that bothers me". This concept of "such and such motto, symbol, etc is offensive" is more detrimental than any such symbol alone could ever be. I didn't make a mean joke, I didn't discount the suffering and crimes, I don't support Nazi's and in exchange, I expect people to be fair about the subject. You were not. Unless you were there, you saying that it could bother someone is a major assumption, and its also inappropriate. You can't talk for someone that witnessed such atrocities. It doesn't matter that you talked to people who were there, you're not that person. The people who were there do not need you to talk for them.

Quote:
Incidentally, my knowledge of Nazi Germany stems from taking many history classes in Germany during high-school (Gymnasium in German), which dealt with that era of Germany in depth. I find it hard to believe that you have a better understanding of what this phrase evokes in others than those whose relatives were directly affected by that dark period in Germany's history.
Did you ever think how slanted your high school history class is? Well of course not, thats common sense! Who needs that. I learned about Nazi Germany AFTER high school. I've watched countless documentaries, I've read books, and I own many of the artifacts, such as guns, that you've read about. How can you think you should speak for those people? Are you crazy?

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This great country of which I am now a citizen unequivocally protects the right to free speech. It is a powerful right and before using it, I personally think we should think of what our utterances may evoke in others.
And this is exactly what makes this country great, and why its superior in philosophy to the European "let me enforce on what you what is best" BS. You misunderstood what I meant, and my context, and stated that maybe it should not have been said. Instead I've destroyed your argument of what if someone is bothered by this phrase, and so I should be allowed to say it, ESP because what you said is mostly hogwash. I believe you on one thing, there are a few people out there I'm sure that could be offended, and lets be real here, it is that person or group of persons who have the problem. Complaining about a 70 year old plus phrase, that has no direct correlation (it does not mention Nazi-ism, or any facet unique to it) and saying "hey, that's distasteful" is a very short sighted, ill-conceived idea esp when you can't even say that it bothers you, because you weren't even there yourself. And you of all people, German, you should be promoting the concept of moving away from the all of this absurd searching for reasons to be offended.
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