scratcha - What does your avatar mean?

[dawnrazor]

I'm a little confused by your avatar image ...
Are you some kind of neo-NAZI?

Ya think it might be a visual metaphor for the state of American politics under Herr Bush Jnr?

After all facism and capitalism are seperated by the finest of lines, and the US government has been guilty of blurring them somewhat in the recent past.

Na wait a minute that can't be right - your NEO-NAZI accusation must be it!

[LilSel]

"you a fucking american man?" and when I said I was a Kiwi they were much friendlier

Happened when in Korea too

If only everyone could huh...

[McJim]

Huh, I hadn't realised that racism was so common in Indonesia.

Racism is rife the world over - only white people are allowed to be accused of it though.

Everyone else gets to call it "positive discrimination" hah!

[Steam]

Huh, I hadn't realised that racism was so common in Indonesia.

Dude, it's everywhere. I wasn't allowed into the main city mosque but I guess I was just a nosy backpacker. I washed and everything, but then some guy with a gun came and said No.

Treating other races as your own is a western idea. When I was in China (the democratic Taiwan, not dictatorship mainland China) they openly said in discussions about race; "Well of course we are superior, we are Chinese, but we don't tell the waigoren (foreigners) we think that".
Massively arrogant. If a caucasian behaved in the same way as the people I saw there, they'd be instantly be branded as some sort of white supremacist.

[duncan_bayne]

Ya think it might be a visual metaphor for the state of American politics under Herr Bush Jnr?

After all facism and capitalism are seperated by the finest of lines, and the US government has been guilty of blurring them somewhat in the recent past.

Na wait a minute that can't be right - your NEO-NAZI thing must be right!

In fact, laissez-faire capitalism and fascism are poles apart. For a detailed treatment of the subject, check out The Economics of Fascism.

Basically it boils down to this: under laissez-faire capitalism, the Government has no control over the lives of individuals or the actions of companies, except to the extent of enforcing laws that prevent harm to others (say, fraudulent advertising, harmful pollution, etc.)

Under a fascist Government, individuals and businesses are regulated by the Government for the benefit of the Government (usually described as "for the common good"); e.g. in Hitler's Germany, truck manufacturers were financially disadvantaged by being forced to make tanks instead of trucks.

If you were to accurately characterise the Bush administration, it would best be described as socialist & corporatist, perhaps with fascist leanings. (Of course, fascism is a subset of socialism, but that's another discussion entirely.)

[Steam]

We are going to get told off for taking the discussion off topic soon. It's all very interesting though!

[duncan_bayne]

If a caucasian behaved in the same way as the people I saw there, they'd be instantly be branded as some sort of white supremacist.

Hmmm ... the trick is not to conflate race and culture.

Race is a biological thing, something over which you have no choice, therefore it is outside the scope of morality. One is born a member of one or more races, & that's that.

Philosophy, like religion, is a matter of choice. So it's perfectly valid to judge & compare the morality of different philosophies. People don't choose the colour of their skin, but people do choose whether to walk around bearing the likeness of Osama Bin Laden or Che Guevara.

[Steam]

Hmm... good distinctions. Welcome to the site Duncan, you sound like an interesting fellow.

[dawnrazor]

In fact, laissez-faire capitalism and fascism are poles apart. For a detailed treatment of the subject, check out The Economics of Fascism.

Basically it boils down to this: under laissez-faire capitalism, the Government has no control over the lives of individuals or the actions of companies, except to the extent of enforcing laws that prevent harm to others (say, fraudulent advertising, harmful pollution, etc.)

Under a fascist Government, individuals and businesses are regulated by the Government for the benefit of the Government (usually described as "for the common good"); e.g. in Hitler's Germany, truck manufacturers were financially disadvantaged by being forced to make tanks instead of trucks.

If you were to accurately characterise the Bush administration, it would best be described as socialist & corporatist, perhaps with fascist leanings. (Of course, fascism is a subset of socialism, but that's another discussion entirely.)

So by poles apart, do you mean diametrically upposed 'cus I'm sorry if we are only talking about the american version of capitalism then that is not the case, all they are doing is giving the impression of free choice, the end results are all to often the same.

But hey thanks for the lecture.

[Swoop]

I was always of the belief that the swastika that the nazis uesd was of Norwegian origin, but reversed by hitler to their own "trademark" design.

[duncan_bayne]

So by poles apart, do you mean diametrically upposed 'cus I'm sorry if we are only talking about the american version of capitalism then that is not the case, all they are doing is giving the impression of free choice, the end results are all to often the same.

Yes, diametrically. However what is practiced in America today (& likewise the rest of the world) is not laissez-faire capitalism.

Hence my term 'fascist leanings' - weasel words perhaps, but one has to remember that there is a distinction between an avowedly fascist Government (say, Mussolini's Italy or Roosevelt's USA) and one that merely has some of the hallmarks (say, Bush's USA).

America today is still, to most extents, the freest country in the world. It is gradually becoming less so, but it still has a long way to slide before one is murdered for speaking out against the President (Mussolini's Italy), and before one is prohibited from economic competition (Roosevelt's USA).

But hey thanks for the lecture.

Hehe, there I go again assuming that everyone has the same interests as me ... I guess not everyone listens to hour-long economics lectures out of interest ... although I'd be willing to bet they're popular with insomniacs.

[dawnrazor]

Hehe, there I go again assuming that everyone has the same interests as me ... I guess not everyone listens to hour-long economics lectures out of interest ... although I'd be willing to bet they're popular with insomniacs.

Ah humour is the bane of our existance

[McJim]

Soooooo...Getting this thing back on topic. What is Scracha trying to say with his avatar?

Scracha, have you switched yer pc on yet?

Could be the chemicals from the refinery farked with his brain - I've seen the place where he grew up....

Duncan - you might want to PM him after all - this thread may fall asleep before Scracha gets here.

[Skyryder]

It dates back a lot longer than that matey. Used to be a religious symbol until Hitler altered it into the one we know today

The swastika has been in use for about three thousand years. There are two types. One that represents evil and the opposing swastika that represents good. When together they are in balance. It is interesting that the National Socialists (Nazi) picked the swastika that represented evil. (But since the Nazis use of the swastika, some people are trying to differentiate the two meanings of the swastika by varying its direction - trying to make the clockwise, Nazi version of the swastika mean hate and death while the counter-clockwise version would hold the ancient meaning of the symbol, life and good-luck.)

The word "swastika" comes from the Sanskrit svastika - "su" meaning "good," "asti" meaning "to be," and "ka" as a suffix.

In English it is called a fylefot

If memory serves me correctly I think if was Joseph Goebbals who first thought of using the swastika emblam. Just not sure on that.

Skyryder

[scracha]

Soooooo...Getting this thing back on topic. What is Scracha trying to say with his avatar?

Scracha, have you switched yer pc on yet?

Could be the chemicals from the refinery farked with his brain - I've seen the place where he grew up....

Duncan - you might want to PM him after all - this thread may fall asleep before Scracha gets here.

Sorry chaps...been STUPIDLY busy....even had a bloody muckintosh laptop to fix. I wondered how long it'd take before someone spotted my new avator.

So how do you keep an idiot in suspense anyway?