Ghost of a flea

Flea, just when I think "well, here's somebody who's different but headed the same direction," you go all European on me.

Sweeping Nazis under the rug is not making a resurgence of sentiment in that direction less likely. It's making it more likely. Whole generations of people in the world know nothing about Nazis except that their parents said they were bad, which naturally makes them more enticing.

Dammit, the '36 Olympics happened, and there were Nazis there, complete with swasticas and atleen on gonfalons. When people from that era die and the media shows pictures from their youth, either the hackenkreutzen are going to show, the pictures can't run at all, or somebody's going to have to PhotoShop the nasty stuff out; that is, the choices are face it and learn, ignore it and wait for it to come back, or lie. Europeans, especially the Germans, have chosen no. 2 with no. 3 coming up fast, and I don't get any comfort from that. Nor should you.

Regards,
Ric Locke

Thanks for your comment, Ric. I do not suggest Photoshopping the image to remove the swastika... in fact, I include an enhanced detail of the image in question to make it absolutely clear that is a swastika. My point is not that the '36 Olympics should be swept under the rug. Rather, my point is that Nazi Olympians should not be celebrated. It is the AFP which sweeps the issue under the carpet or, worse yet, subtly endorses Nazi propaganda by running this picture and commemorating this event with no mention of its context.

Which, I should emphasize, is exactly what I said. So I will thank you for not accusing me of going European.