My brother from another mother currently serving in the Sandbox sends us this little gem.
I am going to assume that it refers to the upcoming Olympiad to be held in China. The picture was probably taken during some kind of Get The Hell Out Of Tibet rally.
One can further assume that the person who made the sign not only has no clue about history, but said person also can’t be bothered to fact-check his/her assertion using Google — or a sodding library.
Allow me to gift you with a hint, you complete and total tit: when your sign is either a) monumentally incorrect; or b) a complete lie — and those people who actually know better are going to disregard anything you have to say from that point on. If you can’t get your basic facts straight, your conclusions are going to be equally sloppy.
Yes, the Games of the XI Olympiad were held in Berlin in the summer of 1936. Adolf Hitler officially opened the Games, and Joseph Goebbels actively used them to promote and further National Socialism.
And what — I feel — is worse, is that by actively turning a blind eye to history, you not only come across as a ignoramus, but you are robbing yourself of the rich experience of History itself.
By remaining ignorant of History, the person who made that sign has no clue about the triumphs of Jesse Owens and Cornelius Johnson — both Africa-American athletes who defeated Hitler’s “superior Aryan athletes” fairly and squarely in front of witnesses for gold medals.
The person who made that sign has chosen to remain blind to the courage and sportsmanship of Lutz Long — the German star athlete who not only gave Jesse Owens the advice which allowed Owens to beat Lutz in the long-jump, but was the first to congratulate the African-American athlete after his win and walked arm-in-arm with him back to the locker room.
I feel pity for you, Mr. Sign Maker, in your self-imposed, child-like ignorance.
*sigh*
However, like any other child, I also feel that you should be gently scooted over to the kiddie table and ignored until such time as you can educate yourself enough to prove that you can be taken seriously in the company of adults.
You twit.
LawDog
I wonder if he knows about the connection between Hitler and his little Volkswagen, and what that would do to him to find out?
No wonder they think Bush is just like Hitler, they have no idea who Hitler was, other then just some evil guy, so they can draw in any picture over the name that they want. Idiots.
Mr Dog, if you ever spend time in a college classroom, you will weep for the sheer ignorance you will encounter.
Cranky will agree with me since she sees it too.
Ky Person
I don’t suppose he was aware that the torch run was added to the Olympics by the Nazis?
Leni Riefenstahl was probably the one who suggested it.
What’s scary is that for a split second I agreed with the sign and then the brain kicked in.
And I’m a historian!
*slaps forehead*
This comment has been removed by the author.
Thanks for helping me compose a test, ‘Dog! 🙂
Time to test me some student cluefulness.
Hey, I’m a sub, I have to get my amusement somehow.
Apparently his Bubba 9000 was off line.
“Ah say there kiddo. you will be showing your ass if you take that sign out into the real world.”
One can hope that s/he knows better, and was mocking the demonstrators…
In which case, why becomes the question.
What grace. I swear, it seems quite nearly a pleasure to be insulted by Mr. Dog. Like the Merovingian said in The Matrix: Reloaded, “…it’s like wiping your ass with silk.”
😉
So, I guess to answer the signholder/maker’s question, yes.
tweaker
This guy approves.
http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/images/blpic-morans.htm
Hmmm… The first thing I thought when I saw that sign was “Somebody is an idjut.” I was pretty darn sure the Olympics had been hosted in Nazi Germany just a little while before I was born.
The person that made the sign must be a Liberal Lefty. They don’t care about facts or calm, academic debate thereof. They just want to shout and get all red in the face and get the slobber flying. Who needs the truth?
They are all about who can scream the loudest. They lie so much they start believing their own lies after awhile. Then it becomes the truth right?
🙂
Joe
Take out “tit” and “twit” and you have a masterpiece.
Take out “tit” and “twit” and you have a masterpiece.
“However, like any other child, I also feel that you should be gently scooted over to the kiddie table and ignored until such time as you can educate yourself enough to prove that you can be taken seriously in the company of adults.”
Ha. Never gonna happen, I’m thinking.
Brilliant post, but the title implies that the person’s bulb was dimmed by public education.
In my classroom, 99% of those present do not give a flying fart about their education, and neither do their illiterate breeding parents. Nothing I can do will ever change that. I’m a great educator, but I cannot beat the shit out of someone until they confess a love of learning.
Drug dealing gang-banging illegal alien felons refuse to learn, and it’s all my fault. Nah, I’m not bitter.
dr mac-
I said the same thing, but the Dog insists that’s short for titmouse. Yeah, right. We just caught him out.
LawMom
Man thats an awfully high horse your riding there LawDog.
Yes of course its abysmal knowledge of history but frankly I kinda give people who want to thumb their nose at the chinese a pass most times. There are too many who would simply ignore the trangessions of the Chinese government because its inconvenient or stands in the way of a decent profit that a few poorly though out signs are not the worst thing in the world.
Ya know, when I first saw this picture a few days ago, I thought `How clever’.
But ya never know.
Yesterday I was on a message board where people were lamenting the miles of closure on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore for a few dozen possible pairs of nesting birds. A guy posted `Write your congressman now, breading time is almost here’.
Now if these acts were deliberate there might be hope for us all.
What else do we have left if not hope?
Anon- It might be a high horse, but it’s been earned. Taking pride in education and the merits of reasoned argument is not something I think anyone should be ashamed of.
As for the China thing, I vastly prefer someone who holds opinions about a subject based upon actual fact. Better the guy who objects strenuously to my position based on solid evidence or logic than the guy who shares my opinion based off of laziness and wishful thinking.
No, I would hold that signs of that nature do a great deal of damage, because if they’d make such a glaring error obviously anything else they have to say is obviously suspect, therefore, there is no need to bother listening further.
My first thought was, “Allow? They sure hosted them, but it wasn’t up to the USA to allow or deny it.”
That’s still true. We can go or not go, as a nation. Individual athletes can also choose to not participate. All of us can choose to not watch the television coverage, or not attend the games.
Personally, I think we need to tell Al Qauda that the government in China is made up of godless communists. Then we can tell China that the governments in the Iran, Syria, Yemen, etc. are religious theocracies. that should keep them all busy for years to come.
Lawdog, I hate to point this out… but we did in fact not choose Nazi Germany to host the olympics.
Berlin was chosen in 1931, before the Nazi party came to power. The racist changes to law and policy didn’t take effect until 1935, a year before the olympics were held. By 1936, the international community was mostly unaware of the sheer evil of the Nazi regime – so there was not as great of an outcry against it as there should have been.
The sign actually makes sense – had we known in 1931 what we now know about China, we would never have allowed Nazi Germany to host the olympics.
I hate to throw in before this blog’s host has a chance to, but I feel compelled.
Mr. Anonymous (the 7:49 a.m. post):
Sorry to throw water on your fire there, but we don’t decide who gets to host the Olympics. That is decided by the Olympic Committee. We are merely participants in the games. It is not, nor has it ever been, up to “us” whether or not to allow a host country to host the Olympics.
All a nation can do on its own is protest by not participating.
Furthermore, the international community was quite aware who Hitler was and what he was up to by the time the ’36 Olympics rolled around. Avery Brundage, president of the American Olympic Committee (AOC), stated: “The very foundation of the modern Olympic revival will be undermined if individual countries are allowed to restrict participation by reason of class, creed, or race.” And yet, America still sent its athletes to Berlin, where we took the second highest number of medals (Germany was first).
tweaker
Anon 7:41:
T’aint your fault.
Putting the State in charge of anything other than emergency services and the military is a recipe for disaster.
If the schools were all private, you would only have kids in class who’s parents ( or a charitable organization ) were willing to pay to have them attend … and special private schools would exist for the disruptive … reform schools and military academies.
Government schools have been an unmitigated disaster … and I count the educators as part of the victims.
What was it that George Santayana said? Oh, yes: “People that can’t remember stuff tend to do stuff again” or something like that. He said it more better than me, I think.
Seriously, though, America has no shortage of well-meaning nitwits, but an utter dearth of real knowledge. Hopefully, his “self-esteem” is OK, though. Sign Guy is probably a public school teacher.
What was it that George Santayana said? Oh, yes: “People that can’t remember stuff tend to do stuff again” or something like that. He said it more better than me, I think.
Seriously, though, America has no shortage of well-meaning nitwits, but an utter dearth of real knowledge. Hopefully, his “self-esteem” is OK, though. Sign Guy is probably a public school teacher.
I can’t weep for the future. The present is giving me more than enough to cry about.
I have sent the pic, with the question: “What is wrong with this picture?” to my daughter. She was an undergrad European History major; and I can only hope and pray that she knows the answer.
This is anonymous from 7:49 (I teach engineering at a university).
Just for reference, I am aware that an international committee selects the location of the olympic games, not the United States. By “we” I meant the international community, which I thought would be understood by my comments about the international community.
However, my point remains – when the city was selected in 1931, the Nazi party had not risen to power. I’m sure the committee would reluctant to change the location after several years of preparation had been made. If the international committee had known in 1931 what they knew in 1936, they probably not have chosen Berlin.
The difference is that the international community DOES know what China is up to, and they selected Beijing anyway.
Although I doubt that whoever wrote the sign was aware of any of these details.
Don’t forget that Herr Schickelgruber was Time Magazine’s Man of the Year for 1938.
And yes, Schickelgruber is correct. Adolf’s family name was changed to Hitler after he was born.
If you want something newsy that will cheer you up, check out this college student with his head on straight. Not only is he a good student, but when he earns money from a papal commission, he spends it on a new gun!
http://likeshooting.wordpress.com/2008/04/23/onservingpapalvespers/
“Sign Guy is probably a public school teacher.”
Blow me. I’m tired of being blamed for society’s ills. Until the breeders take responsibility for their little lovelies, nothing will improve. Until that happens, kindly STFU.
Anonymous said…
“Yes of course its abysmal knowledge of history but frankly I kinda give people who want to thumb their nose at the chinese a pass most times. There are too many who would simply ignore the trangessions of the Chinese government because its inconvenient or stands in the way of a decent profit that a few poorly though out signs are not the worst thing in the world.”
Screw Tibet, Free the South!!
I refuse to give these hypocritical Americans a “pass”. They have very conveniently ignored their own sorry history and STILL refuse to free the Southern states which are STILL being held as brutally conquered and occupied territory!
Anonymous (the one who want oral sex), maybe when y’all stop actively working against anyone trying to teach their kids any kind of decency and accepting the rest of the bull that the NEA comes up with, I’ll absolve y’all of blame for the effects of it.
Back to the original post, it would be funny if there weren’t so many people who don’t get why it’s funny.
“Anonymous (the one who want oral sex), maybe when y’all stop actively working against anyone trying to teach their kids any kind of decency and accepting the rest of the bull that the NEA comes up with, I’ll absolve y’all of blame for the effects of it.”
The NEA has a socialist agenda. I do not.
I really appreciate being blamed for the downfall of our country.
Prick.
Speaking of conquered and occupied, that presumes that there was a people who owned this land, and who had that and their freedom taken away. Therefore, of course, you’re speaking of the dispossessed American Indians.
That is a blot and a scandal on the United States that is on-going. However, with all the outcry about ‘rights’ and ‘fairness’ for people of color in the United States-and that’s brown, black, yellow-who is crying out for the American Indian?
Very few. They truly ARE a brutally conquered territory, and it’s on-going. They don’t look like ‘we’ do , they don’t think like ‘we’ do, they don’t worship like ‘we’, they don’t even want to live like we do, therefore, they must be obliterated.
That’s the credo of conquerers. ‘WE’ are prepared to accept the demands of what ‘we’ consider the imports into this country, but not of the beaten original peoples. Go up to Pine Ridge or out on the Checkerboard and see just how our original Americans fare-and it’s deliberate on our part, never doubt it.
We have done as well as we could with the conquered Japanese and German peoples, BUT, they do not occupy what we consider our soil. We cannot stand the guilt of what we have taken away from the American Indians, and therefore, must attempt, however surreptitiously, to destroy the source.
I don’t accept ancestral guilt. I didn’t do it, and I absolutely refuse to take the blame or apologize for something my ancestors may have done. That was in a different time, and whether we are prepared to accept it or not, people thought in a different way back then.
If those of you who are howling about the Hitler thing had ever, ever seen a German concentration camp, and heard in your heart the million-million silent voices crying out, you would come away a changed person, assuming you had any sensitivity at all.
And of course, one must remember that a Prince of a nation that suffered grievously at the hands of Hitler during World War II, chose to wear a swastika in public. Lest we forget.
We MUST remember history, else we will makes the same mistakes-but it’s very hard to see a concentration camp and still look at the German people without thinking of it.
No, anonymous, it’s not funny.
LawMom
“Blow me. I’m tired of being blamed for society’s ills. Until the breeders take responsibility for their little lovelies, nothing will improve. Until that happens, kindly STFU.”
To preface my remarks, I’m afraid I’m going to have to deny your request for oral sex. Primarily because it’s immoral, but also because I don’t know you and I have some rigorous quality standards in that regard. You should have better taste than that, anyway.
In response to the “substance” of your quote, many public school teachers in the USA are ignorant of basic facts in virtually every area of the curriculum. That’s part of why we are falling behind to other nations.
Another factor is that the NEA and other Gestapo-like controllers of “correct information” do not allow basic facts to be taught if they are deemed incompatible with the organization’s agenda. This does not seem to be Sign Guy’s problem, however.
Next, the comment about Sign Guy being a public school teacher was a JOKE. The fact that you took offense so quickly and rudely indicates you may have a guilty conscience regarding your lack of knowledge in history (I assume you’re a public school teacher, otherwise you’re just a nitwit) and, more curiously, regarding your participation in active and ongoing brainwashing of America’s youth. If you can’t take the heat, stay out of the kitchen, my friend.
I’m not sure what is meant by the “breeders” comment, but I can only assume you mean the parents of the “lovelies” you are supposed to be teaching something. Otherwise, you may also have alien invasion paranoias, which would be a bad thing if true.
Finally, I’m inspired by the courage of posting your vitriolic rant under your real name, “Anonymous”. I hope you find happiness somewhere and a real profession where you don’t feel you’re being made the scapegoat for society. God bless.
PS – “STFU” is neither a university in South Texas nor good grammar, given that the “F” word is really just an acronym.
Actually, the “acronyms” that people have come up with to “explain” the F-word are really “backronyms” (coming up with a neat string of words that would form an acronym out of a perfectly good solo word.)
“For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge” (and other constructions) sounds neat, but has zero basis in fact.
The F-word comes to English from the old Germanic languages via Frisian Dutch. Where it is DEFINITIVELY not an acronym. And (in most languages) is spelled with an “o” and no “c”.
Like teh Hitler gun control comment, the acronymic origin of that word is an urban myth.
“Actually, the ‘acronyms’ that people have come up with to ‘explain’ the F-word are really ‘backronyms'”
I think we’re talking about different F-words. I thought Anonymous was saying STFU = “Shut The FOC Up”. FOC is a military acronym for “Full Operational Capability”.
Yours was definitely better and more educational, though. Thanks, Rick!
I live in south Florida. In my job as a manufacturing plant manager, I hire many people. The majority of applicants both domestically bred and self imported are functionally illiterate. They are unable to fill out an employment application. they are easily spotted when they take the application home and then return it done in neat feminine handwriting. Some of these illiterates have shown me their high school diplomas. They’re not stupid however, miss a penny or two on their paycheck and I hear about it loud & clear.
Sad state of affairs and the liberals throwing money at the failed school system have aided in it’s failure. No standards, no requirements nor responsibililtys.
Roger
You’ve imported 12 million illiterate peasants, elected hard-core socialists, and allowed the ACLU to undermine my rigorous curriculum. What did you think was going to happen?
By the way, don’t respond by saying you didn’t do those things. If you can lump me in with bad teachers and communist union hacks, then I can lump you in with the ACLU. Fuck you if you don’t like it, because I didn’t appreciate it, either.
“They’re not stupid however, miss a penny or two on their paycheck and I hear about it loud & clear.”
RUN-ON SENTENCE
“Sad state of affairs and the liberals throwing money at the failed school system have aided in it’s failure.”
RUN-ON SENTENCE
THE WORD IS ITS, NOT IT’S
“No standards, no requirements nor responsibililtys.”
SENTENCE FRAGMENT
SPELLING: RESPONSIBILITIES
CHANGE THE Y TO I AND ADD ES
If you were educated in a public school, no wonder you’re so upset. You can’t spell, and don’t even have passing familiarity with English grammar.
So, for those late to the show, let me say it loud and clear: FUCK YOU for insinuating that I’m part of the problem. I teach mathematics, English, physical and biological sciences, and geography. I do NOT, nor have I ever, nor will I ever, “brainwash” anyone. How dare you suggest it anyway, you little cunt? You don’t know me.
Is that clear enough for you, asshole?
I teach a rock-solid basic curriculum, and do not dabble in self-esteem, sex education, homosexual ‘rights’, or any other bullshit that YOUR elected representatives and YOUR lawsuits have foisted on those of us who only want to teach a rigorous curriculum. I opt out of union dues, and I consistently vote for gun rights, against illegal immigration, and against people with big fucking mouths who think they know best for everyone else.
The NEA has an agenda. I do not. If you’re too Goddamn dense to see that there are good people fighting from within to do the right thing despite getting spit on by thankless shits like you, then that’s just too bad.
[spit]
BTW, I didn’t go anonymous in my first posts because I’m a coward. I just didn’t think it made a difference. So, here I am. I signed in, for whatever that’s worth.
You teach kids with a mouth like that? Makes me even more thankful that mine are out of the public school system.
John Martin
Brian,
Thanks for your polite, well-tempered and considerate reply. BTW, to whom are you responding? Me or someone else or both? The quotes you have so graciously corrected did not come from my posts, so I was wondering.
Nevertheless, I shall respond to your points: politically, I think we are in complete agreement. However, I merely fired a random bullet into the fray and you jumped in front of it. I didn’t say “Hey, Brian! That guy was probably you!”, I said he was “probably a public school teacher”. Do you believe all public school teachers are good instructors?
Also remember, I said the comment was a JOKE. Having a sense of humor is important, you know. Without it, you’re liable to post angry words that will hurt other people’s feelings 😉
There is a pandemic of ignorance out there and public schools are the major source of it. If you’re an exception to the rule (and there are many, but not a majority), then bully for you. Keep up the fight for whatever it’s worth.
Also, as a courtesy, you should get over your inordinate fascination with body parts and copulation. It’s not befitting for a teacher of any subject in any school–public or private. Just a helpful tip from someone who cares.
Have a great one!
I think we are losing the thread here, but a couple points stick in my craw.
First, the hostile reference to “breeders” by one who aspires to teach the fruit of the loins of same would seem a bit questionable, to put it mildly. If one has disdain for the fact that people are procreating, then why would they aspire to teach children? Do they disdain thier own parents for “breeding” and foisting their smug ass on the world? I’m genuinely curious. The fact is there are some great parents out there who have crappy kids, and there are some kids out there who turn out great despite the indifference of their crappy parents.
Likewise, taking into account the squeaky wheel maxim, the inept “educators” are the examples who most readily spring to mind in discussions such as this one. I agree there must be a great many noble, right-minded teachers out there rolling the stone uphill on a daily basis and slogging with dozens of apathetic students for every one genuinely engaged student who comes along, but the fact is that the teachers our media cram down our gullets are the same ones who are working overtime removing all doubt. You may not be a member of the union, but as goes the union, so go the teachers. Perception is reality. Why don’t you convince us otherwise, rather than resorting to name-calling? We the concerned public WANT reasons to like you. Seriously.
I hate to see a discussion between folk who are ultimately like-minded devolve into a hostile, vulgar screed. We should reach for solutions and common ground rather than resorting to name calling. I’d expect to see such filth on my blog– for I am a vulgar woman. However, Mr. LawDog is one of the most refined gentlemen I’ve had the privilege of meeting, and I hate to see such vulgarity bandied about here.
I’ve read what Lawmom said several times, by the way, and I am in accord. I think more people should read and ponder her message.
Lawdog – I don’t always agree with everything you have to say, and I’m 100% sure you wouldn’t want that.
However, I always respect your opinon; and in this case wholeheartedly agree.
If and when you start your “Lawdog Lectures” I’ll happily sign up.
I’m planning a trip to the states anyway…
I had hoped we were through with the boycotting of the Olympics after the 1976, 1980, and 1984 childishness.
1936 had a much better outcome without a bunch of politicians trying to control everything.