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| Europe |
| German Politicos call for Europe-wide swastika ban |
| 2005-01-16 |
| From the Department of If Only We Could Wish It All Away... German politicians have called for Nazi symbols to be banned throughout Europe after Prince Harry was pictured wearing a swastika to a fancy dress party. The Liberal group in the European Parliament says all of Europe suffered because of the crimes of the Nazis, so there should be a continent-wide ban. Yaay! No need to be reminded about all that, um, unpleasantness EVER AGAIN! Nobody remember! NOBODY! A senior Christian Democrat said the proposal may be discussed at the next meeting of European justice ministers. The symbols are already banned under German law. The photograph of Harry in a costume with a Nazi swastika armband was taken at a friend's birthday party in Wiltshire last weekend. Vice-president of the Christian Democratic parliamentary group Wolfgang Bosback said the outfit "really lacked taste". Tastelessness isn't grounds for banning things, last time I checked. If it was, Germany's Christmas Number One would never have found its way onto the shelves... Besides, Harry was dressed as a Nazi, in jest (tasteless or not), not claiming to be one. He said it was possible European justice ministers would discuss bringing in a European prohibition on displaying the swastika and other Nazi signs. Liberal group vice-president Silvana Koch-Merin said: "All of Europe has suffered in the past because of the crimes of the Nazis, therefore it would be logical for Nazi symbols to be banned all over Europe." Let's ban the Hammer and Sickle, images of Che and Red Flags in general then. Perhaps crescent moons electron micrographs of flu viruses should be considered next. She also called for the question to be placed on the agenda at the next meeting of justice ministers. The vice-president of the parliamentary Social Democratic group, Michael Mueller, said a study was needed to find out how a German-style anti-Nazi law could be applied to the rest of Europe. Lock-step. That's the answer. |
| Posted by:Bulldog |
| #15 "The Liberal group in the European Parliament says all of Europe suffered because of the crimes of the Nazis, so there should be a continent-wide ban." Once upon a time, one would have found the word "liberal" in that sentence a tad *ironic*. No more, alas.... |
| Posted by: Wuzzalib 2005-01-16 9:16:35 PM |
| #14 But, of course, if he had dressed up like Che Guevera or Josef Stalin, everything would have been OK. |
| Posted by: jackal 2005-01-16 9:15:33 PM |
| #13 Ars ignored. |
| Posted by: Tom 2005-01-16 8:34:31 PM |
| #12 heh heh - He Who Cannot Stand Being Ignored™ bleats... [ignore] |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-01-16 5:36:52 PM |
| #11 Someone wondered about the reason why Germans are more touchy about Neonazism than about the devil. I told you it. If you can't accept it, tough. |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2005-01-16 5:29:14 PM |
| #10 Ignore who? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-01-16 4:47:26 PM |
| #9 ignore the Aris attempt to shift the topic to religion, please |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-01-16 4:40:29 PM |
| #8 Tasteless yes, but if he had gone dressed as the Devil -- more evil than your average neo-Nazi -- it is likely that nobody would have heard about it. That's probably because devils are fictional and as such have never killed anyone. |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2005-01-16 4:33:01 PM |
| #7 Alternative costume photoshop: http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=1304176 |
| Posted by: Tom 2005-01-16 4:19:16 PM |
| #6 Actually, an Italian soccer player is undergoing the third degree for the stiff arm salute. These symbols are banned in Germany and the logic was not bad at the time as part of reconstruction or what ever we called that one. But now that they've been re-united, they should give free speech a try. If they can't handle it, perhaps they just aren't ready for democracy. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2005-01-16 3:56:03 PM |
| #5 how about the stiff armed Nazi salute? Gonna ban that? Start in hezbollah, hamas, Iran.... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-01-16 3:50:28 PM |
| #4 Tasteless yes, but if he had gone dressed as the Devil -- more evil than your average neo-Nazi -- it is likely that nobody would have heard about it. But if they had, Prince Charles would not have ordered him to visit Hell. |
| Posted by: Tom 2005-01-16 3:38:25 PM |
| #3 The theme of the party Harry went to was 'dress as tastelessly as possible.' I'd say he won the prize. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-01-16 3:28:12 PM |
| #2 Neo-Nazis are a perfect example of why it is so important to protect free speech. That said, I still have great difficulty in understanding exactly why Nazi supporters are allowed to mouth off about reviving the Holocaust. It's not a matter of hate speech but one of supporting mass murder. Much like violent jihad ... Banning symbols is like trying to cure cancer by forbidding any discussion of it. The real malignancy just isn't going to go away. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2005-01-16 2:38:16 PM |
| #1 Oh excellent, let's debate the dead past while real live (Islamo) fascists multiply in our midst. |
| Posted by: HV 2005-01-16 1:34:10 PM |
