04.17.08

Ooh, A Tough One

Posted in Left-Libertarian, Lapsus Linguae at 4:21 pm by Administrator

Would we have allowed Nazi Germany to host the Olympics?

(Conical hat tip to Reed Richter.)

Permalink

87 Comments »

Lawrence Krubner said,

April 17, 2008 at 6:13 pm

Where is this image from?
Dain said,

April 17, 2008 at 6:31 pm

I saw this on Distributed Republic blog. I believe it’s from the pro-tibet, anti-chinese government demonstrations in San Francisco.

Putting aside the lack of historical literacy from this particular protester, I actually think the history of the 1936 games is a good reason to allow China to hold the Olympics. In fact, maybe a Tibetan athlete can do for Tibetans what Jesse Owens did for American blacks (and TO the doctrine of Nazism, showing it to be the load of shite that it is). In any case, putting pressure on Western governments to deprive China of the games will do more harm for international good will than the opposite.
Niccolo Adami said,

April 17, 2008 at 8:47 pm

Lol
Rorshak said,

April 17, 2008 at 10:10 pm

We would never have allowed that!

…

Oh wait…
Dusty said,

April 18, 2008 at 9:12 am

Beautiful.
Eddie said,

April 18, 2008 at 9:23 am

Ironically, Jesse Owens was cheered lustily by the German audience and said later that he was treated better in Berlin than he was in Washington. He, along with all the other athletes, was invited to visit Hitler at the Reichstag at the conclusion of the games. FDR didn’t acknowledge his feats or ever invite him to the White House!
Rich Hill said,

April 18, 2008 at 9:56 am

Forget Tibet.
FREE AMERICA!!!
jt said,

April 18, 2008 at 10:00 am

lmao…let me guess…the people’s republic of california? or maybe someone with a masters degree in pull-the-heart-strings-do-gooder-101?

Oh well, we can always send the US war machine to “save darfur” and “the children” instead.
(8?» said,

April 18, 2008 at 10:29 am

Why is everybody falling for the oldest trick in the book? What is more likely, this being real, or this being yet another “false flag attack?”

Before I’d jump on any bandwagon, I’d make an effort to determine if this is just an operative undermining an opponent by becoming one of them, and then presenting themselves in an incoherent/ignorant fashion.

I would also assume that if that was a valid do-gooder sign, then the other do-gooders would’ve instantly corrected the sign-bearer, and the sign would’ve never been held aloft to begin with. At least not for more than a few seconds. Which of course, is enough time to snap the picture, making it possible that it is valid.

Which is more likely though, idiocy, or an agent provocateur? (Did I mention that this is a highly charged political protest?)

To me it all depends on how long the sign was held aloft. Does anyone know the answer to that?
chvnx said,

April 18, 2008 at 10:44 am

Yes, you would have allowed Nazi Germany host the Olympics. In fact, Nazi Germany DID host the olympics in 1936.

* The first-ever relay of the Olympic torch was in Nazi Germany.

* The Berlin Games were the first to be televised in history, being shown on large screens around Berlin.

* Basketball was admitted as an Olympic sport for the first time. In the final—played on a dirt court in the rain, making dribbling impossible—the United States team beat Canada 19–8.

* Denmark’s 12-year-old Inge Sorensen wons a bronze medal in the 200-meter breaststroke, making her the youngest medalist ever in an individual event.

How’s that for a history lesson?
Obbop said,

April 18, 2008 at 10:58 am

A BIG thanks to all the oppressed and semi-oppressed American minorities and sub-cultures of the general larger American culture who donned military uniforms and assisted in the fight against what had to be fought.

Despite your lesser status at home you perofrmed a good deed and deserve a HUGE “Well Done” along with all the other vets from that global conflict.

And, my own little special “Thanks Bro” for my comrades from the ‘Nam and that era.

Carry on
David K. Meller said,

April 18, 2008 at 11:10 am

Another tribute to public “education”, I suppose. At least somebody knew that there WAS a Nazi Germany, knows that there was an Olympics during the time when said Nazi Germany existed, and knows that there exists boycotts as an expression of political protest.

They did forget the fact that Germany did indeed host Olympic Games (in 1936), but then you can’t have everything. The sign at least spelled the name right.

The blessing of “publik skoolz”!

PEACE AND FREEDOM!!
David K. Meller
Publius said,

April 18, 2008 at 11:23 am

These people are freaking idiots!
Heretical Ideas » Please Tell Me This Was a Counterprotester… said,

April 18, 2008 at 11:26 am

[…] Roderick Long, via Reason Hit & Run. Tags: Humor! I love it!, Foreign Politics | Link| […]
Reckoner said,

April 18, 2008 at 12:25 pm

This is photoshopped! The original page was posted on a window… not on a sign during a protest.
Wonder why they did that?
Las penas del Agente Smith » No, jamás lo hubiésemos permitido said,

April 18, 2008 at 12:45 pm

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edward said,

April 18, 2008 at 1:00 pm

Reckoner,

I examined the image up close. As a digital imaging professional, I can say with almost certainty that this has not been “photoshopped.” There are no signs of image manipulation, smudged pixels or fractals, etc. It is quite possible that a similar page was posted on a window. However, it appears that this was an actual sign at the protest. Perhaps the sign was removed from the window and made into a sign. I don’t know.
Sam said,

April 18, 2008 at 1:01 pm

To be fair, the 1936 Olympics weren’t awarded to Nazi Germany, they were awarded to pre-Nazi Germany.
Jamie said,

April 18, 2008 at 1:09 pm

I’m no expert, but that looks photo-shopped to me. The letters on the sign are much clearer than the rest of the image. The shadows of the papers attached to the top of the sign fall in a different direction than the shadows on the guy wearing the A’s baseball cap at the bottom on the right side. Still, the contrast between the 1936 situation and today’s is a good point.
Scooby said,

April 18, 2008 at 1:14 pm

Sam - 1936 Olympics were not pre-Nazi, they were pre-WW2
Scooby said,

April 18, 2008 at 1:40 pm

OOPS..the Olympic City-picking may well have chosen Berlin during the Wiemar Republic days..if so, 10^3 pardons.
chreekat said,

April 18, 2008 at 1:41 pm

If that really is from San Francisco, take heart that someone else here had a sign that read: “Germany 1936: Bad idea. China 2008: Bad idea.” So at least one person, politics aside, had a grip on modern history.
Alan Cabal said,

April 18, 2008 at 1:42 pm

The Chinese occupation of Tibet is awful, certainly, but it pales beside the open genocide that has been going on for 60 years in occupied Palestine. Further, Americans are not funding the Chinese occupation, whereas we are funding the genocidal Zionist entity to the tune of $7,000,000 dollars a day.
Scooby said,

April 18, 2008 at 1:43 pm

yep - April of 1931 was the awarding.
dave m said,

April 18, 2008 at 1:50 pm

NOT ONLY DID NAZI GERMANY HOST THE OLYMPICS, BUT THEY ALSO STARTED THE TORCH RUN!!
READ A LITTLE — DUMB ASS.
Ignorant of History « The Political Inquirer said,

April 18, 2008 at 1:53 pm

[…] (Thanks to Praexology.net) […]
Frank said,

April 18, 2008 at 2:03 pm

Olllllllllllld meme…

The guy is actually probably waiting for someone to come along and cite Godwin and shut the whole thing down
Chillstar said,

April 18, 2008 at 2:05 pm

Great that sarcasm has made it to America.

Shame that most folks don’t get it.
wil said,

April 18, 2008 at 3:02 pm

That most definitely is San Francisco, it is on the embarcadero and those are the piers in the background.
JGxHitzert said,

April 18, 2008 at 3:07 pm

Did we quit when the German’s Bombed Pearl Harbor?
Logi said,

April 18, 2008 at 3:09 pm

@Chillstar

Absolutely. I’m appalled that people don’t recognize fine sarcasm when it’s shoved in their faces.
g-loc said,

April 18, 2008 at 3:10 pm

atually, I agree with 8?’s post, it’s hard to imaging that this is real, considering the person holding the sign would have been immediately informed of their mistake.
Niles Lesh said,

April 18, 2008 at 3:19 pm

Historically, the National Socialist party was received warmly by the US media in 1936. Most US business men if not outright supporting the Nazi’s financially like Prescott Bush, were at lease keen on the idea of “corporatism” as an emerging political movement.

It was the 1936 Olympics and Jessie Owens who brought light to the
blatant racial elitism of Hitler’s administration. The US used Jessie Owens victories to spin acceptable corporate sponsored elitism (like China 2008) into unacceptable human rights infringements(like China 2008)

It took 5 more years and Pearl Harbor to final turn the tide
Dobosh said,

April 18, 2008 at 3:57 pm

These comments are funny. I just figured the person was being ironic. And who cares if it’s real or not.
Lonnon Foster said,

April 18, 2008 at 4:20 pm

Those who do not learn from history are doomed to look like complete morons.
dodsworth said,

April 18, 2008 at 4:24 pm

Does anyone have a source for the claim that Owens said he was treated better in Germany?
Ed,NY said,

April 18, 2008 at 4:42 pm

Folks,That picture is an obvious fake.If you look at it from any photographer’s point of view:That skinny little stick thats holding up that poster would have to be at least 8′ long for it to be so prominently featured in the photo. The stream of pedestrian traffic is so far below the sign,well,It’s obvious.
Sulliman said,

April 18, 2008 at 5:28 pm

Ed:
Or… maybe… it’s only 4.5′ long and the protester is holding it above his head? I mean, I’ve never been to a protest before, but I understand that it’s not uncommon for them to do that.
Ed,NY said,

April 18, 2008 at 7:15 pm

Sulliman,From my perspective,it looks to me like even if the person was extending fully, well, maybe a ten foot stick would do the trick.
Robert said,

April 18, 2008 at 7:22 pm

per Dain “Putting aside the lack of historical literacy from this particular protester, I actually think the history of the 1936 games is a good reason to allow China to hold the Olympics. In fact, maybe a Tibetan athlete can do for Tibetans what Jesse Owens did for American blacks (and TO the doctrine of Nazism, showing it to be the load of shite that it is). In any case, putting pressure on Western governments to deprive China of the games will do more harm for international good will than the opposite.” hmm, let’s see 1936 and it was not till the late 1960’s that african americans were getting treated better. as for what the 36 olympics did to undermine Nazi germany, not a damn thing, care to remember a little thing called World War 2, Auschwitz, Ethnic Cleansings? I think boycotting the olympics and China losing a lot of tourism and trade from the boycott’s will be a good thing, teach them that oppressive regimes always end badly.
weird biz said,

April 18, 2008 at 7:22 pm

I do love my cat. Anyway… Yeah kind of cute, although… OK, sure I’ll agree, if you’re going to make such a sign - you should probably figure out if it makes any sense or not first.
adrook said,

April 18, 2008 at 8:06 pm

what the fuck have you all been smoking, that is the worst attempt at sarcasm I’ve seen, this person just discredits everyone.
Ed,NY said,

April 18, 2008 at 9:35 pm

Ramma Lamma Ding Dong,don’t cha think theres’somethin’wrong?
What the hell is wrong with you people?
Mostly Passion, No History | SKIRMISHER said,

April 18, 2008 at 9:44 pm

[…] via […]
ancapaaron said,

April 18, 2008 at 9:48 pm

If I was a betting man, I would put money on the idea that people are just plain historically ignorant, over the idea that someone wasted time faking an image of historically ignorant people holding an ironic sign in order to discredit a mob of people all holding historically accurate signs.

I’m not a fan of what the Chinese are doing to Tibet, but I don’t think striping China of the Olympics will make a dimes worth of difference, other than to further empower the one worlders and their agenda.
Ed,NY said,

April 18, 2008 at 10:00 pm

ancapaaron,It’s a good thing to not lose sight of the truth.I agree with you 100%
Administrator said,

April 18, 2008 at 10:02 pm

How on earth did this become far and away the most-commented-on of my recent posts? I figured it was just good for a quick chuckle.
A. said,

April 18, 2008 at 10:22 pm

So if we collectively assume this is real and that the protester was indeed being completely sincere in not realizing Germany hosted the Olympics in ‘36, perhaps the problem we should be thinking about is not idiocy. Maybe it’s ignorance to the past–but not the ignorance of one person. Why do we, as a collective body of people, keep repeating our actions? Why can’t we just learn from history? If we decide that Communist China hosting the Olympics is comparable to Nazi Germany doing the same (and that the latter was a poor decision which fueled their war and genocide efforts), maybe we should all be boycotting the Olympics in China. I just hope that some kind of acknowledgment of real history can lead to better decisions and stronger realization for the rest of the world. Thanks for reading.
Ed,NY said,

April 18, 2008 at 10:27 pm

Administrator:You are a genius. The way that you presented this photo,with the accompaniyng disclaimer was a great catalyst for opinionated individuals to air their opinions, myself included.I think that its’ a great thing for us to still have the freedom to express our opinions without repercussions so far.How long this freedom will last is a matter of sheer speculation.Prayer seems to be in order.
The Malcontent » Blog Archive » Santayana Wept said,

April 18, 2008 at 11:16 pm

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MCarter said,

April 19, 2008 at 12:43 am

The shameful myth that Hitler snubbed Jesse Owens has prevailed, except for an occasional filter of light revealing a glimmer of the true story. Most of the media deliberately twisted, if not outright lied about, the ‘36 Olympics, and they still do. Owens rejected the media propaganda that Hitler had snubbed him, and the black athlete contradicted how many writers described the events. Years later, Owens often remarked that it was FDR, not Hitler, who actually snubbed him.
J said,

April 19, 2008 at 12:48 am

I think you’re all being a little too quick to jump all over the sign maker. Granted, the Nazis did host. But in 1936, no one knew the Holocaust was coming. 1936 was two years before Kristallnacht, for instance. What the world knew of Germany in 1936 isn’t what the world has known since 1938, 1945, and later.

Today, however, we do know what the Chinese are doing.

I’m not saying the sign maker knew what he/she was talking about, but had we known in 1936 what was coming, there’s no way the Olympics would’ve been given to Germany.

Yet we’ve given them to China.
J said,

April 19, 2008 at 12:55 am

Errr.. ” … had we known in 1931 what was coming …”
Jane said,

April 19, 2008 at 2:53 am

How ironic.
D.I.A Free News Online 2008 » Reddit: Historically Ignorant Protestor said,

April 19, 2008 at 3:08 am

[…] [link] [comments] […]
P said,

April 19, 2008 at 5:54 am

It’s Photoshopped. Compare the shadow of the bit which sticks out from the top of the sign (down and right) with the shadow of the baseball cap the man on the bottom right is wearing (down and left).
Xslf said,

April 19, 2008 at 8:12 am

Looks like the original was here (uploaded by the photographer):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dead-ro/2403957312/in/photostream/
Berger Lynch said,

April 19, 2008 at 11:07 am

Jesse Owens was not snubbed by Adolph Hitler and was lustily cheered by the overwhelming German spectators at the 1936 games in Berlin. Owens was never invited to the White House after his victorious performance.

Read history instead of spouting mindless slogans.
Chris Acheson said,

April 19, 2008 at 5:54 pm

Roderick:

Someone submitted this post to reddit, hence the popularity:

http://reddit.com/info/6g9hj/comments/
Carpenter said,

April 19, 2008 at 7:31 pm

The myth about the 1936 Olympics goes: Hitler refused to shake hands with Jesse Owens. In fact, he was forbidden to shake hands with medalists by the Olympic Committee the day before Owens ran. He had invited German medalists to his parlor at the games to shake hands with them, and they said he couldn’t do that. When Jesse Owens won, however, Hitler stood up and waved to him, and Jesse Owens waved back. Owens said that Hitler treated him well and that Hitler was “the man of the hour.”

Another myth: that Germans were soundly defeated in the games. In fact, the German team won more medals than any other team, which is why only the Jesse Owens victory is mentioned.

Just two of the hundreds of myths that make up re-written history.

As for Tibet, it has always been one of the most warloving countries in China, despite present-day portrayals of the Tibetans as tree huggers. The Tibetans even took the Chinese capital at one point and challenged the Chinese for control of East Asia. Tibet invaded countries south of them, such as Bangladesh. Dissenters were tortured by methods like eye-gouging and the slicing off of skin by the Lamas’ government. Then the Tibetans were finally defeated by the Chinese and became part of the Chinese empire for centuries.

Later, Tibet was invaded by the British, in 1904. Just like China, it was dominated by the Powers, even while nominally independent. That is why Red China invaded - also, because it had been a part of China before the British came along.

Just a little perspective. Personally, I think the one thing that matters is that the Han are industrious and make things work, while Lama-country had always been medieval and still would be without the Han Chinese. Mankind’s mission is not just to exist from one day to the other, like animals, but to move forward. We need science for that, and the industries to support scientific progress. Thanks to the Han, Tibet can now contribute to that progress, whereas before it could not.
Herbert said,

April 19, 2008 at 7:51 pm

Perfect. Brought by the Queen City of the Land of the Fruits and Nuts.
ancapaaron said,

April 19, 2008 at 10:36 pm

@ A

I’m Jewish and I’m dying to know how the Olympics “fueled” the holocaust? If sporting events help “fuel” genocide maybe we should all just stop playing sports.
What does this say? | BLOGDIAL said,

April 20, 2008 at 3:42 am

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Malnurtured Snay said,

April 20, 2008 at 7:57 pm

Maybe the sign maker is being ironic?
Administrator said,

April 20, 2008 at 9:15 pm

Still, in Leni Riefenstahl’s Olympia, when Jesse Owens wins, Hitler looks annoyed (at least as I recall — it’s been a while).
Re:Generator Magazine » Blog Archive » Good question, dumb hippie… said,

April 20, 2008 at 10:27 pm

[…] I have a question of my own: Ever hear of Jesse Owens? These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. […]
Whammmmm said,

April 20, 2008 at 11:47 pm

“Personally, I think the one thing that matters is that the Han are industrious and make things work, while Lama-country had always been medieval and still would be without the Han Chinese.”

Yeah, Its not like the Tibetians are Slaves, right?

Besides, PRC military is right there and ready to wake a fellow up, get him to work on time and tuck him in at bed at night.

Is China a great country or what? I’m sure the PRC has plans to make sure the rest of the world is just as industrious and productive.
Too Perfect • Griffin & Hoxie said,

April 21, 2008 at 1:01 am

[…] Looks to be from a rally in San Francisco. Pretty much sums up the Professional Protester. I’m one of them sympathizers that sits on the curb making fun of these folks, which makes me no better than the idiot with the sign. Maybe worse. Hard to say who’s doing more harm. (via) var currLayerId = “show”; function togLayer(id) { if(currLayerId) setDisplay(currLayerId, “none”); if(id)setDisplay(id, “block”); currLayerId = id; } function setDisplay(id,value) { var elm = document.getElementById(id); elm.style.display = value; } Show the comments (0) and/or leave a comment Hide comments […]
John M said,

April 21, 2008 at 6:22 am

[Fake Steve reader writes…]

Pre-Nazi: Clearly, the protester (or the Photoshop artiste, whatever) means ‘Nazi’ as in the architects and engineers of the Holocaust, which is presumably not what ‘Nazi’ meant, not obviously at least, 1936. The point is good, even if they are not on top of their history.

‘We’: The most constructive emphasis-reading here, which the champagne radicals reading this clearly don’t see in their urge to sound radical while not getting heated up by bothering to bother China (very much the trend these days - power is such an annoying thing to deal with), is the following: Would WE give the Olympics to Nazi Germany? Rather than Would we give the Olympics to NAZI G? Ask THAT question, and not only does the historical point become moot, but it turns the question from a rhetorical peacock feather into a pointed question about you and me and our governments (including the ‘governance’ of that cesspit of patronage the IOC). Well, come on, would you? And in considering that, we are invited to consider the circumstances of China’s Olympics.

Carpenter 1: You cover a riot of ignorance with a veneer and sneer of über-intelligence. But no books support your blend of fact and assertion. One phrase for you: pre-sovereign states. In quasi-tribal, pre-formal-nation-state, histories, nation state concepts are not appropriate. And your ‘facts’ about eye-gouging: are you sure you can find a single source for that other than Patrick French? Do you actually know what you are talking about?

Carpenter 2: On the main point, you argue China is all about progress. Okay, so now you ice the cake of your ignorance with moist crassitude. Progress - did no-one tell you? We’ve, um, progressed beyond the idea that progress is, you know, just more industry, propped up by mass labour. But let’s focus on Tibet. Let’s imagine Tibet is a messy home, dust and even a few dishes laying about, heating a bit broken, but the family is okay-happy, spending a bit too much time in front of the spritual TV (meditating, spacing out), rather than cleaning or earning. But they’s cool widdit. If the home - preposterous, but hang with me - was yours, would you welcome some guy (even the landlord, which is your argument about what China is vis-à-vis Tibet) smashing the door in, permanently kneecapping you with a wrench, raping your wife, kicking your kid in the head…and then fixing the boiler? Fuck that. Progress, even if we believed in your absurd version of it, sovereignty, even if it made any remote sense in relation to China’s domination of Tibet, does not justify genocide. Or maybe it does: but then when I ask you for a bill for fixing your plumbing, after destroying your family, stop frickin’ whining? K?
Ashley clark said,

April 21, 2008 at 6:32 am

It seems to me that the sign (real or not) serves better as a statement on America’s policies and beliefs than China’s.

Would we have let Berlin host the games? We did. Would we do it again knowing what we know now? Probably. Is China 2008 the same as Germany 1936? Maybe, outlook unclear, ask again later.
Dick W said,

April 21, 2008 at 7:07 am

Ummmm…. How was Jesse Owens treated when he got home? It’s easy to poke fun at some history-challenged protester with a placard. Not so easy to acknowledge the systemic racism of the time and its echoes today.
jon said,

April 21, 2008 at 7:35 am

has anyone ever heard of sarcasm? am I the only one who thinks that the sign holder was well-aware that the nazis held the olympics, and is trying to make a point that we shouldn’t stay silent again…..
Robert Marshall said,

April 21, 2008 at 10:15 am

If it is a counter-protestor’s sign then it is quite clever.
If is a protestor’s sign, well, then not so clever.

We cannot really tell from the picture where the sign is in relation to the main body of protestors.
Don said,

April 21, 2008 at 10:24 am

Goddamn. Take it for what it is. A statement you can respond to. Don’t get mad just because you aren’t used to sarcasm.
MNPundit said,

April 21, 2008 at 10:35 am

I suspect photoshop actually. The light seems a bit off and who shoots in black and white?
Heidi said,

April 21, 2008 at 11:22 am

Statistically, i think it’s more likely that the hundreds of people passed the person with the sign and didn’t know about 1936 or were too embarassed to point it out than that someone has such a developed sense of humour. People have a tendancy to turn a blind eye to things they find uncomfartable… speaking of which, “they-didn’t-know”?? my arse! They knew Hitler was an antisemite, so what if the rest came after the election or after 1939? What they knew was enough, what we know today is enough.

Enough God damn it!
Citizen Politician said,

April 21, 2008 at 11:44 am

Actually the Olympics were held in Nazi Germany in 1936. That is where Jesse Owens won a medal.

For more info: http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/olympics/
Summing Up Economic Woe « Mobile Success said,

April 21, 2008 at 11:51 am

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Don River said,

April 21, 2008 at 12:28 pm

Thank goodness that China doesn’t buy into the West’s hypocrisy. China is big enough and self-confident enough to be able to think for itself and not be influenced by the media lies and myths that the West like to propagate.

An example of these lies and myths? As many commentators pointed out here, Jesse Owens was actually greeted enthusiastically by the Nazis, and was snubbed by none other than the President of the United States for being black.

Take that! You Western hypocrites!
Kelly said,

April 21, 2008 at 1:54 pm

China is hardly self-confident.
Bob Jenkins said,

April 21, 2008 at 6:08 pm

Who is more stupid, a person who would make such a sign not knowing that Nazi Germany did in fact host the Olympics, or a person who sees such a sign and misses entirely its winking sarcasm? Answer: The latter. Which is funnier, the sign’s sarcasm, or the hubris of the people who don’t understand it? Answer: Tie.
clivex said,

April 22, 2008 at 9:04 am

Um, what if the sign writer means would we - as in present day people - have allowed Nazi Germany to host the Olympics? Perhaps it would be better if it said ‘Would we allow Nazi Germany to host the Olympics?’

If you see what I mean.
Stephen W. Carson said,

April 22, 2008 at 12:24 pm

Fake Steve Jobs linked to you. You are now officially cool.
http://fakesteve.blogspot.com/2008/04/why-i-love-san-francisco.html
Louis said,

April 22, 2008 at 2:43 pm

@jt
“Oh well, we can always send the US war machine to “save darfur” and “the children” instead.”

Uhhh, we can’t even do that since we’re bogged down in Iraq and need to keep enough troops there to keep Iran in check. The US military has shown what a paper tiger it really is. We bow down to China because we can’t afford to piss them off. The US has let itself become a joke. That needs to be fixed. Maybe we can start by taking back our manufacturing sector.
austinfromboston said,

April 22, 2008 at 3:14 pm

clivex’s explanation sounds most reasonable to me. the protester is fine, it’s y’all who don’t get it.
You gotta understand, out here in San Francisco we have ( and are already tired of ) something called post-irony. It’s when you intentionally do something dumb just to show how ironic the accepted norm really is. Like wearing unfashionable shoes _because_ it calls out the entire idea of “fashionable shoes” for review and disparagement.

For further research on the culture that produced this sign, checkout the youtube videos “The Qwesi: An Exploration Of Post Irony” (more scholarly) and “Hipster Olympics” (direct application).

No need to check it out online, though. Like wraps, bowling sneakers, yoga, and opposition to the war, this San Francisco fad will be in your hometown soon enough. Til then, enjoy the laugh — that’s what is there for.

“Would we have allowed Nazi Germany to host the Olympics?”. Yes, and for the same dumb reason: Fear of the economic and political fallout from opposing an immoral regime.

Ha. Ha. What a dumbass.
rdofnz said,

April 22, 2008 at 4:33 pm

Thankfully someone gets irony. (austinfromboston/clivex)
The whole point of the sign is to demonstrate that it _was_ done before and for the same reasons. By asking a rhetorical question it’s calling for us not to make the same mistake again.
It’s not dumb, it’s very intelligent.
Even if it is fake (and I don’t believe it is) the point has been made.
Administrator said,

May 6, 2008 at 6:30 pm

The Tibetan prayer flags on the sign lead me to believe that it was probably made by a pro-Tibetan/anti-China protester.

Which in turn inclines me to believe that it wasn’t intended ironically.