Meanwhile, in Thailand

[JaiDee]

http://imgur.com/a/SiZSH

[TEXASMAC]

  sad

[wangsuda]

That's happened at least twice in the last five years and at two different schools.

 

This was an advertisement for a wax museum display in Thailand. Translated, it means "Hitler didn't die."

 

[Yuzirneym]

And during WW2 Thailand was under Japanese invasion, which was Germany's ally. 

[wangsuda]

^"Occupation" would be a better description.

[Yuzirneym]

Yes, that's right. My first language is not English, and in my language the two words are the same, so I sometimes mix them up.

[wangsuda]

My apologies. I didn't know that.

[Yuzirneym]

No need....you wouldn't know. Besides, I thank you for the correction 

[Hefe]

I suspect the Thais have a similar cultural dislocation, especially the young ones. They have no idea of the holocaust. They just see some hyper-stylized historical figure & think it's unique, like mid-century modern furniture.

The fault is laid to the teachers & administration for not teaching history & the Thais are not alone in this disregard for the lessons of history I'm afraid.

[TEXASMAC]

 Sad to say you could probably find the same shit somewhere here in the U.S.

[Tomas]

I wonder would anyone get there knickers in twist if the Thai girl was dressed up as Mao, Mussolini, or Alexandrina Victoria.

 

The Nazi uniform is pretty snappy though. You'd swear it was designed by Hugo Boss himself. Its much better than Mussolini's boys in black.

[Tomcat]

 in Greece the neos have members in Parliment right now. The Golden Dawn , a Neo Nazi movement as stated by the press but probably Neo fascist is more like it as you dont see many Nordic types over there. Maybe they never read Mein Kampf

 

Also In Eastern Europe the Far Right is growing pretty quickly and expect more strange flags in the future

[ArchieBunker]

I wonder would anyone get there knickers in twist if the Thai girl was dressed up as Mao, Mussolini, or Alexandrina Victoria.

 

The Nazi uniform is pretty snappy though. You'd swear it was designed by Hugo Boss himself. Its much better than Mussolini's boys in black.

 

That answer is a resounding NO!!!

 

I had a conversation with a girl at work whose parents grew up in Southern China.  She came here when she was 13.  We talked about Mao and her opinion was that he wasnt such a bad guy and did a lot of good things for China.  He was just misguided by those around him.  Imagine if you would say those things about Hitler?  It just goes to show you that WINNERS end up writing history......

[JaiDee]

I was on a layover once in Charlotte {?} and ended up befriending 2 Chinese people who had trouble understanding what the gate people were telling them about the delays.  Young couple, boy and girl around 23 or so, heading to my city for college.....their english was average at best so I helped them out.

 

    Anyway,  being a history buff, I wanted to ask them some questions about their country, and I brought up Mao as I was right in the middle of reading the fantastic bio of him by June Chang. The young lady was all excited and happy to talk about him; the young man thought he was an asshole at best, and a mass murderer at worst - which is, of course, true.  Well, it turns out the boy was from Formosa and the girl was from the mainland!

 

   Indoctrinated from birth to believe that Mao was a great man, she bought it. The boy, brought up in a free Taiwan, knew the truth and after telling me what they both thought about him they began to have an argument in Chinese with one another! Didn't mean to start an international incident or a fight between a young couple,  but it did show me how the people on the mainland still view that lunatic and his little red book, and it was pretty eye-opening.

[Tomas]

That answer is a resounding NO!!!

 

I had a conversation with a girl at work whose parents grew up in Southern China.  She came here when she was 13.  We talked about Mao and her opinion was that he wasnt such a bad guy and did a lot of good things for China.  He was just misguided by those around him.  Imagine if you would say those things about Hitler?  It just goes to show you that WINNERS end up writing history......

 

Its no surprise that it is a resounding no. It would be for most. Those I mentioned bar Mussolini killed more people than Hitler. But Mussolini's Italy had concentration camps, just like Nazi Germany, but it was brushed under the carpet by the British and Americans aslong as they rejected communism at the start of the cold war.

[xyzzy]

Defending Mussolini might cause a bit of a stir if you were a political figure in Italy.

 

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/29/16697505-italys-comeback-kid-berlusconi-defends-wartime-fascist-mussolini?lite

 

One of my personal dislikes is the glorification of Che Guevera as some kind of freedom fighter. He really was a ruthless bastard in Cuba.

[Tomas]

Its funny you should mention Che Guevera. Galway City in the west of Ireland erected a statue for Che last year, and there was a small minority objecting about it because he was a ruthless bastard. Me personally I wouldn't know enough about him to say I was either for or against the statue. Might have a wee read up on Che and Cuba soon.

[Jimslim]

One of my personal dislikes is the glorification of Che Guevera as some kind of freedom fighter. 

 

One man's terrorist is another man's revolutionary .

 

Viva Che ! 

[Yuzirneym]

Well, the Taiwanese guy was also indoctrinated by his own state too. Chiang Kai-shek and Mao were two sides of a civil war, and on that side of the strait, it's natural to condemn the other's leader...and then some. Speaking of, Taiwan was not much of a free country for a long time either. It was a one-party dictatorship too. A similar situation can be observed for Korea also. The North had its communist dictator where the South had its string of military dictators as well. Democracy is a relatively new thing for both countries. And about Cuba....it was not so free under Batista regime either, don't you think? Being pro-US, does not make a dictator less of a dictator...but the meaning of the word "dictator" almost means "a country leader opposing US", especially nowadays. One example. Both Iran and Saudi Arabia are theocratic states without much of a freedom. The toughest religious laws apply in both. In Saudi Arabia, women are not even allowed to drive. There's a wide censorship on information and media...yet Iran is the "evil country" and Saudi Arabia is not. First is the most anti-US state in whole Middle East and the latter is the most pro-US Arab State....see?

[Kahuna]

Swastikas In Buddhist Art

 

        By The Buddha Garden on March 24, 2011

 

 

 

We got an e-mail from Carl, living in Singapore, asking us about the meaning of the Swastika he saw on a Buddhist Statue;

 

“Please help me to understand what the swastika on Lord Buddha’s chest represents.”

 

Thanks for your inquiry about the “Buddhist Swastika.” This is a question that many people have asked us.

 

You may not know this, but the Swastika is a symbol that is AT LEAST 2,000 years old, and in both Buddhism and Hinduism, it means “may you prosper and have good fortune.”

 

In fact, in my home country of Thailand (which was heavily influenced by Buddhist and Hindu culture and borrows much formal language from Sanskrit and Pali), when we greet someone, we say “Sawasdee Kha.” In essence, we say “Swastika” to you when we want to say “Good Morning” or “Good Afternoon.”

 

I know that must sound strange to you, because the Swastika is so commonly associated with evil in the West. But for centuries it has been used as a “good luck symbol” throughout the world, and not just in Buddhist and Hindu countries; Many of the ancient civilizations in South America and Native American tribes used some form of the swastika, and strangely enough, they almost all used it as a benevolent symbol.

 

It is truly unfortunate that in the Twentieth Century it was corrupted by the Nazi party in Germany. However, you should think of it as the same way the Christian crucifix (or cross) was corrupted by hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. And just as Christian churches should not be prevented from displaying the cross with pride due to the actions of certain hate groups, Buddhists and Hindus should be allowed to display the Swastika with pride as well. That is why you will find the Buddhist Swastika on statues and painted along the walls of Buddhist and Hindu temples.

 

Thanks again and I hope this helps. And, of course, “Sawasdee Kha!”

 

 

[xyzzy]

Che lead one of Castro's armys when he took Cuba. Reportedly if he has a problem with one of his soilders they went out in the woods to have a chat and only one of them came back. After the victory he was in charge of the prison where Castro's enemies were held. But Che reduced their numbers greatly by firing squad. He later got disenchanted with the whole Cuba government thing and went off to try a liberate a few countries in Africa and South America where I guess he got his later reputation. Oh well, enough Che.

[Jimslim]

Nothing new in the Imperialists demonizing people in history .

 

It suits their ideals to portray the likes of Che , Lenin , Trotsky as bloodthirsty nutters and fanatics .

 

The real warmongers like George Bush and Tony Blair are portrayed as great statesmen by the ruling classes .

 

Che Guevara was a middle class doctor from Argentina who gave up a fairly comfortable lifestyle to fight side by side with the oppressed of Latin America .

 

A man who got involved in struggle out of compassion and love for his fellow man .

 

He dedicated his life selflessly to spreading the revolution internationally and paid the ultimate price when he was murdered by CIA  backed government forces in Bolivia .

 

He was a thorn in the side of US Imperialism in life as well as in death and he continues to be an inspiration to future generations who fight inequality .

 

He was a soldier in a revolutionary army of course he killed people including those who collaborated with the Batista regime in an attempt to defeat the revolution .

[ciobha]

On the plus side he had a mighty fine mop of hair.

[xyzzy]

He was a soldier in a revolutionary army of course he killed people including those who collaborated with the Batista regime in an attempt to defeat the revolution .

 

Yes often his own people.

[deepthroat]

Just goes to show that history is made by those that write it.