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| Europe |
| Poland Outlaws Communist Symbols |
| 2010-01-24 |
| Evocative symbols of Europe's troubled past, such as the swastika, have long been illegal in countries across the continent. But now Poland has gone one step further, revising its criminal code to include a ban on symbols of communism. Poles can now be fined or even put in prison if they are caught with a red star, a hammer and sickle, or even a Ché Guevara T-shirt. To some, it may seem like a natural reaction for a country that suffered so much under the Soviet Union. There are exemptions for artists, educators, and collectors. But the ban doesn't sit well with the younger generation of Poles, many of whom see communism not as a threat but as a source of satirical fun and creativity. “In high schools it's cool to wear Ché Guevara or the hammer and sickle. Some fashion brands even promote these symbols as part of their clothes,' says Justyna Kopczynska, a sociologist from Warsaw University. “Right-wing politicians are so radically against [these symbols] that they don't see the difference between being ideologically conscious of being a communist, and just being young.' A number of trendy communist-themed bars have appeared around Poland, poking fun at life under the old regime. One restaurant in Warsaw fills its menu with dishes such as “trout from the fish shop with the three-hour queue' and “Bulgarian peach pie: bartered for irons and Soviet cameras during the ‘International Tourist Exchange.' ' You can even order communist-era “coffee' made of corn and chicory. “It's interesting because it's gone; it belongs to the past,' says Grazyna Saniuk, an artist who creates T-shirts using designs from communist-era matchboxes. “Certain images of that epoch look funny and exotic to 20- or 30-year-olds, but they are no longer meaningful. They cannot reappear as serious symbols, or as a threat.' |
| Posted by: Anonymoose |
| #12 I can understand and appreciate the sentiment, but mockery and beatings are more appropriate than banning, IMHO. Still, the Poles lived thru Communism and know it all too well. I'm not going to tell them what to do. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2010-01-24 23:23 |
| #11 Poland just banned photos of Obama? |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2010-01-24 19:37 |
| #10 Perhaps your game should convert to something more appropriate? |
| Posted by: ed 2010-01-24 12:34 |
| #9 I changed the unit counter for the Wehrmacht to this, the flag of the Reichswehr just before they started to use the swastika, to accommodate the censors in the EU. Now I still have to change this and this and probably this and this? I got a better idea: stop being fascist bastards who ban everything in sight. |
| Posted by: badanov 2010-01-24 10:57 |
| #8 "In high schools it's cool to wear Ché Guevara or the hammer and sickle. Some fashion brands even promote these symbols as part of their clothes" And there's the problem right there, idiot. Try living under communism for a few years (if you can call it living) and see how you like it then. Fool. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2010-01-24 10:28 |
| #7 Go Poles! |
| Posted by: lotp 2010-01-24 07:12 |
| #6 This is grand, first of all because it properly equates communism with Nazism. Second of all, because when the EU tries to coerce Poland to rescind this law, the Germans will have to side with Poland, as it would force them to rescind their anti-Nazi laws. Third, there is the EU-wide criminal extradition for national laws. Germany has already used to to arrest Holocaust deniers in other countries to face trial in Germany. Poland can now do so for communists that are offensive to Poland. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-01-24 07:07 |
| #5 No thanks. I'd perfer that he be outlawed right away. |
| Posted by: AzCat 2010-01-24 02:48 |
| #4 give him time... he might decide to take a trip to bolivia |
| Posted by: abu do you love 2010-01-24 02:39 |
| #3 I'm disappointed that Ché made the list while Obama did not. :( |
| Posted by: AzCat 2010-01-24 02:34 |
| #2 the Poles might be onto something there... |
| Posted by: abu do you love 2010-01-24 00:33 |
| #1 SS lightning bolts: get you attacked in the street. Hammer and sickle: you get complimented in the street. Someone want to explain that to me? |
| Posted by: gromky 2010-01-24 00:25 |