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| Southeast Asia | |
| Thai schoolgirls in Nazi uniforms cause uproar | |
| 2011-10-27 | |
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| Posted by:ryuge |
| #16 So we are arrogant (the Obama we). So we are ignorant. So we are harsh. Had they been dressed up as some other group we could see similar criticism. This is a war of ideas and some ideas just get a pass. "All the outraged Westerners" I guess that just about covers everyone in the West. The Thais can't really be expected to view the Holocaust in the same light as the typical farang. Asians have their own Holocausts - events that we've probably never heard of. The arrogance is in assuming that foreigners in their own land should (1) be aware of our history and (2) genuflect before us. Obviously, as the superpower, we can force their collective heads down and make them lick our boots, but is that really the kind of behavior that endears us to anyone? I think it's unseemly for us to pull a Chinese-style hysterical fit while whining about how they've hurt the farang people's feelings. Now, if German school children pulled something like this, that would be a whole 'nother story. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2011-10-27 22:17 |
| #15 So we are arrogant (the Obama we). So we are ignorant. So we are harsh. Had they been dressed up as some other group we could see similar criticism. This is a war of ideas and some ideas just get a pass. "All the outraged Westerners" I guess that just about covers everyone in the West. |
| Posted by: Dale 2011-10-27 19:15 |
| #14 The following comments aptly point out the tempest in a teapot nature of the outrage: How arrogant we are. We just assume that because an event, WW2 was and is a big deal to us, then children on the other side of the world should be taught it in detail nearly 70 years later. I am guessing they have a whole history of their own to teach at school without doing recent history of countries they are probably aware of but little else. Try asking British kids about how Siam became Thailand, the Vietnam war, Pol Pot etc what would you get? In fact ask them about Hitler and they probably know very little. Get real people and start to realise the world does not revolve around us - Pete, Nottingham uK, 27/9/2011 7:20 Are we going to teach the Chinese invasion of Tibet, Pol Pot's reign of terror, the opium wars etc etc in British schools along with other terrible such happenings in Asian history? All the outraged Westerners should think how aware they are of the true nature of many Historical taboos on the otherside of the world before they judge some young school girls so harhly. If Price Harry makes the same mistake and he should know better, how can anyone be so harsh on a group of young misguided girls in S.E.Asia!?!? - Miles Gilbert, London-Bangkok, 27/9/2011 7:12 |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2011-10-27 15:48 |
| #13 I'd personally pick Aneurin Bevan creator of the NHS, no-one else has killed 100,000 for 50 years. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2011-10-27 15:40 |
| #12 The communists had better propoganda and shabbier uniforms. That's the major difference as far as I can tell. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2011-10-27 15:31 |
| #11 Procopius, both Stalin and Mao benefitted from much more time and far larger pools for killing. Even if you are far worse than Hitler, Mao and Stalin combined you will have a hard time matching tehir head count if you are the ruler of San Marino (population: 31,887). If we account for time and population then the worst is not Hitler, Stalin or Mao but Pol Pot. |
| Posted by: JFM 2011-10-27 10:58 |
| #10 The pictures don't help my friend's assertion that Thai women are the most beautiful in the world. |
| Posted by: bman 2011-10-27 10:29 |
| #9 Yep, and Che and Mao [he of the biggest kill credits for the 20th Century] shirts, accessories, and styles currently on display among the occupiers hardly gets a mention by the LSM. The National Socialists come in third in headcounts compared to the International Socialists variety like Mao and Stalin. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2011-10-27 09:59 |
| #8 Not entirely surprising. I imagine that from the Thai perspective, the war in Europe involved farangs fighting farangs for the privilege of ruling the world. And the idea that they should sit up and pay attention because one group of farangs massacred another would probably seem odd. These kids are obviously students, but their rendition of Nazi uniforms is not so much a pale shadow as a bizarro version of the real thing. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2011-10-27 09:33 |
| #7 Cute, real cute. |
| Posted by: gr(o)mgoru 2011-10-27 08:16 |
| #6 Since the Japanese were not interested in Thailand and already had they share of trouble with the Allies they evacuated Thailnd with very little combat and Thailand was able to pass as being on the Allies (aka victors) side. |
| Posted by: JFM 2011-10-27 06:31 |
| #5 Actually Thailand tried to take advantage from France's defeat in 1940 and from the destruction or internment by the British of most of France's fleet so it made war on Vichy France's Indochina but its Navy got a licking from the outnumbered and outgunned French Navy units present. Since Thailand had planned to supply its Army by sea it had to cancel the invasion. Now from distant memories. A year later it made a mock resistance of a few hours against Japan. By the end of the war when the Japanese Army in the zone was crumbling Thailand switched sides and declared war on Japan. Since the Japanese were not interested in Thailand and already had they share of trouble with the Allies they evacuated Thailnd with very little combat. |
| Posted by: JFM 2011-10-27 05:57 |
| #4 I wonder what would happen if they dressed up in Japanese uniforms?. The part that draws people to this is the cult like effect. Racial purity, Darwin with superiority by evolution. The many symbols carefully chosen to summon unseen powers to their cause. The date Hitler died is very significant in the occult I understand. That his movement would be reborn. |
| Posted by: Dale 2011-10-27 05:21 |
| #3 “Perhaps someone made them read the uncorrected history books because technically, and this is a fact, we were on the Fuhrer’s side when WWII started - the Allies bombed us, remember?” Mr. Kong said. The reason Thailand wasn't punished after WWII for siding with the Axis was the USA wanted to stop the Europeans recolonizing SE Asia. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2011-10-27 03:55 |
| #2 Nobody in Asia understands what the big deal is about the Nazis. To them, Hitler was just another second-rate failure as a dictator, somewhere between Khadaffy and Khrushchev. It's only Westerners who see him as the Devil, because he was "one of us" and did evil. The rest of the world has those sorts of dictators all the time. |
| Posted by: gromky 2011-10-27 02:46 |
| #1 Say what you will about the tenets of National Socialism, but they *were* snappy dressers. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2011-10-27 00:29 |