Too bad Buzz didn’t have brass knuckles.
I can honestly say, I’d be tempted to get a shot in on that guy too.
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Never was Betteridge more apposite than here.
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In America, moon lands on you.
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I can’t stand to look either, so is there actually a connection between Brady and/or Belichick and Nazi McPunchFace, or is it just because the Nazi says there is?
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Brady is a Trump supporter, as is Belichick. The latter has known Trump for years and counts himself as a friend. Quite frankly, there’s so few prominent people who’re willing to openly state their support of Trump these days that I think that’s all it takes for an actual Nazi to say “one of us!”. They’re a little desperate.
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I dunno… were both my grandfathers nazis for shooting nazis?
And FWIW, I do think it’s deeply problematic how our pop culture often treats nazis (as mindless, evil monsters, instead of human beings doing evil things - which I think is a distinction worth noting). It flattens them and ignores the complexities of the actual events. Films like The Grey Zone, Black Book, and Der Untergang do a much better job at getting at how moral and ethics were just utterly compromised under the nazis and how people worked within that compromised moral framework.
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As @nungesser said.
What I found interesting is that a very large percentage of the pro-Trump people in my social media feed were also pro-Patriots.
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The mod was very tongue in cheek:
•Has violent resistance ever solved anything?
•Is it okay to deny fascists a platform?
•Doesn’t this make you the real Nazi?
And of course:
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I saw! It’s awesome!
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Since I haven’t seen one of the films you mentioned, I cannot say if I would feel that way. But I can tell you that especially Der Untergang (mostly because of the allegedly strong focus on the person Adolf Hitler, also emotionally) received some staunch criticism in Germany.
Nazis are, somehow, pop culture. Boing Boing BBS discussions these days rarely come to a close without Nazi comparisons, Nazi tropes or just Nazi namedropping.
I played Wolfenstein, when I was younger. I saw Indy giving out punches. I watched Schindler’s List. It might have influenced my view of Nazis.
But I think I only really understood this part history when I failed to question my 92-year old grandfather about his political beliefs and his role before and during the Nazi period as well as afterwards.
If your granddads would have had the opportunity during the war, they very poor probably would have shot him. And I couldn’t even ask him about that time, properly.
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I can understand the criticism of Der Untergang in Germany and how it would be considered controversial. It does sort of humanize Hitler and his inner circle. But they were humans, no way around that. [quote=“LutherBlisset, post:31, topic:89968”]
Nazis are, somehow, pop culture.
[/quote]
Agreed. They are a shorthand for pure evil, I think. [quote=“LutherBlisset, post:31, topic:89968”]
It might have influenced my view of Nazis.
[/quote]
Agreed. They have for all of us. I also think that can be distorting the historical view of nazis. I don’t think the “Hitler channel” helped in that regard either. [quote=“LutherBlisset, post:31, topic:89968”]
If your granddads would have had the opportunity during the war
[/quote]
They were both in the military during the war. My paternal grandfather likely shot quite a few nazis and in at least one case might have had close quarter fighting with them (he was in the Battle of the Bulge). I also think he might have helped liberate a concentration camp, but I’d have to dig up the unit history I have from him.
My maternal grandfather was actually in the pacific for the war (and was too young and got sent home) and was in Europe during the postwar occupation. So probably less opportunities for nazi shooting/punching.
I’d highly recommend the films I noted - The Grey Zone is actually set in a concentration camp and is based on the work of Primo Levi (everyone should read The Drowned and the Save alongside Night). Black Book is about the resistance in the Netherlands. Like Untergang, neither are morally straightforward stories like Schindler’s List or the Indian Jones films. I think movies that make nazis monsters (Iron Sky or Ded Snow) can be fun to watch. But films that address the moral ambiguity of war and the people who wage it are worth viewing as well. OH! Also, Die Wiess Band is another great film (though it’s about the interwar period, but about the generation that was of age during the second world war).
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Spencer is an entrenched racist dancing on the line of popularity. He tries to attract people to his views whilst supporting them in the face of candid and valid dispute.
What a tosser.
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Read Il Sistema Periodico.
It made me cry. I cannot praise this book appropriately: just read it, if you haven’t, everyone.
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I get that Brady and Belichick have offered some measured support for Trump, and a team called “The Patriots” would appeal to extreme nationalists, but it’s still weird that the team from one of the most liberal states, that I guarantee you has a fan base that is mostly liberal, is being cited as a mascot for alt-right dirt bags. I don’t think anyone on the Patriots roster would want anything to do with Spencer, considering the team is more than 50% African-American.
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It was also noticable when watching the game that the Pats look like basically an all-white team with a few black running backs and linemen, while the Falcons are comparatively an all-black team apart from Matt Ryan. White suburban/rural America vs an impoverished Black city.
The symbolism is obvious, even without the Brady/Belichek/Trump link.
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Brady/Belichick/Kraft/Trump link, please.
Thank you for watching it so I don’t have to. I just can’t bring myself to watch people trying to rationalize hate.
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Richard Spencer also pointed out on twitter with evident glee that there are more white guys in the Pats lineup than the Falcons have. Which is true, given that there’s a much larger Black population in Atlanta than in New England. If folks want to read racism into that, it’s their choice to do so.
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