No tolerance for Thor Steinar
Thor Steinar is a clothing brand that incorporates Norse motifs and Germanic mythology themes into its product line. As such, the label could remind the German people of their ancient ethnic heritage and identity. This, of course, is a problem for those who want the Germans to think about nothing except the Holocaust. That is where the "Anti-Fascists" come into play (1,2,3).
Guided by their views, the "Anti-Fascists" have taken action to do away with Thor Steinar (1,2,3):
Last month, the "Anti-Fascists" attacked a shop selling Thor Steinar apparel, setting into motion a series of events that culminated with the shop owner having his lease terminated. Now, after being harassed by the "Anti-Fascists", another store selling the Thor Steinar clothing line has decided to close its doors.
What do the Anti-Fascists tolerate instead?
The "Anti-Fascists" claim to be opposed to racism. Well, not too long ago, a friend of mine stumbled upon the following message, which was spray-painted on a wall next to an elementary school building in Hamburg, Germany:
Girls are brought up to drool over such a partner....
....and Playboy and Paris Hilton stuff:
And then there's the attitude the German girls learn to carry with it (translation below):
"To hell with everything, to hell with everyone. Do your thing, live your life."
While this certainly not the worst advice in some situations, look past the text, and at the picture, which screams out: "bitchy, amoral woman snob and I don't care."
Do we really need more of such "culture"? Do we really want to build community around such values?
Beyond that, women are encouraged to find an "individual identity" in pin-up, emo, goth or cult fashions:
This is the sort of thing popularized by brands like Emily the Strange. Nobody seems to know why the label is popular, but I would guess that the people in Germany feel strange. Devoid of any natural identity except guilt for being born German, and pushed to find identity in tattoos, cheeky outfits and the glorification of the asocial - why should they not feel strange?
Anything goes, except German identity reinforcement or Thor Steinar. Because, by rebranding ethnic heritage as "cool" and forcing Germans to think about who they are, Thor Steinar comes into conflict with the spirit of the "Anti-Fascists" and ideas of the German government and schools.
Because of its power to promote awareness of identity, a parallel can be drawn between Thor Steinar and the African-American label FUBU - "For Us By Us." For its work, FUBU has won a series of awards, including NV magazine - A Salute to Urban Professionals in Business (2001); Source Foundation - Hip Hop Cares Award (2001); Online Hip Hop Awards "Best Fashion Designer Label" (2001 and 2000); "Celebration of the Creative Spirit" -- The Black Alumni of Pratt Creative Spirit Award (2000); Essence Award (1999); Congressional Achievement Award for Entrepreneurship (1999); N.Y. African American Business Awards -- Outstanding Business Achievement Award (1999); NAACP Entrepreneurs of the Year Award (1999); Citation of Honor, "Team FUBU" - Office of the President, Borough of Queens, City of New York, (1999). By contrast, Thor Steinar has been attacked and called "offensive" and the people selling its merchandise are losing their leases. Apparently, we live in a parallel universe.
Thor Steinar is a clothing brand that incorporates Norse motifs and Germanic mythology themes into its product line. As such, the label could remind the German people of their ancient ethnic heritage and identity. This, of course, is a problem for those who want the Germans to think about nothing except the Holocaust. That is where the "Anti-Fascists" come into play (1,2,3).
Guided by their views, the "Anti-Fascists" have taken action to do away with Thor Steinar (1,2,3):
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| Translation: "Thor Steiner must go!" |
Last month, the "Anti-Fascists" attacked a shop selling Thor Steinar apparel, setting into motion a series of events that culminated with the shop owner having his lease terminated. Now, after being harassed by the "Anti-Fascists", another store selling the Thor Steinar clothing line has decided to close its doors.
What do the Anti-Fascists tolerate instead?
The "Anti-Fascists" claim to be opposed to racism. Well, not too long ago, a friend of mine stumbled upon the following message, which was spray-painted on a wall next to an elementary school building in Hamburg, Germany:
NO GERMANS, NO HOLOCAUST
While I cannot say that the "Anti-Fascists" are responsible for the graffiti, their politics fit the spray-painted slogan perfectly (1, 2, 3, 4). So, it would appear that the "Anti-Fascists" not only want to eliminate the stores they do not like, but want to get rid of Germans, too. Kind of ironic for a group that professes to be opposed to racism, isn't it?
The impulse: German society
If you want to know where the "Anti-Fascists" are getting their ideas, look no further than the society that creates them; for example, the German government is supposed to be serving the interests of the German people, but instead encourages the people it represents to want to distance themselves from German anything. During a speech about World War II, German Chancellor Angela Merkel suggested that "we Germans have brought endless suffering to the world." The keyword here is "we"; Merkel wanted the public she is speaking to, people who were not even alive for the war, to feel responsible for doing things they have never done, just because they are born German. Small wonder nobody wants to view themselves as German, or take interest in anything that reminds them that they are German.
Meanwhile, Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD), the second largest party in the country, and Green Party are vocalizing their opposition to Thor Steinar and have taken action to suppress the brand. Angela Kolb of the SPD has attended demonstrations against Thor Steinar and so have a number of SPD and Green Party figures. One SPD politician, Mathias Brodkorb, even decided to mock Thor Steinar by starting a parody brand called Storch Heinar, which features products that mock German ethnicity and promote turning the state into an international refugee dumping ground.
In the schools, German children get more of the same. They are told that their own families are responsible for the Holocaust, an idea that the "Anti-Fascists" have adopted as their own. Schoolbook lessons also include the idea that, if a pro-German mindset were to ever take hold in Germany as existed for hundreds of years, the result would be a totalitarian government that starts wars and builds gas chambers that non-Germans are thrown into. Small wonder the "Anti-Fascists" have such a strong aversion to Thor Steinar and insist that all Germans ever think about is the Holocaust.
Through popular media, German children get plenty of encouragement to turn away from their unique ethnic culture and embrace foreign things - things that are generally asocial or degenerate. For example, MTV Europe encourages boys to wish they were from New York and emulate the law-breaking, chain-wearing, gun-toting drug dealers there:
The impulse: German society
If you want to know where the "Anti-Fascists" are getting their ideas, look no further than the society that creates them; for example, the German government is supposed to be serving the interests of the German people, but instead encourages the people it represents to want to distance themselves from German anything. During a speech about World War II, German Chancellor Angela Merkel suggested that "we Germans have brought endless suffering to the world." The keyword here is "we"; Merkel wanted the public she is speaking to, people who were not even alive for the war, to feel responsible for doing things they have never done, just because they are born German. Small wonder nobody wants to view themselves as German, or take interest in anything that reminds them that they are German.
Meanwhile, Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD), the second largest party in the country, and Green Party are vocalizing their opposition to Thor Steinar and have taken action to suppress the brand. Angela Kolb of the SPD has attended demonstrations against Thor Steinar and so have a number of SPD and Green Party figures. One SPD politician, Mathias Brodkorb, even decided to mock Thor Steinar by starting a parody brand called Storch Heinar, which features products that mock German ethnicity and promote turning the state into an international refugee dumping ground.
In the schools, German children get more of the same. They are told that their own families are responsible for the Holocaust, an idea that the "Anti-Fascists" have adopted as their own. Schoolbook lessons also include the idea that, if a pro-German mindset were to ever take hold in Germany as existed for hundreds of years, the result would be a totalitarian government that starts wars and builds gas chambers that non-Germans are thrown into. Small wonder the "Anti-Fascists" have such a strong aversion to Thor Steinar and insist that all Germans ever think about is the Holocaust.
Through popular media, German children get plenty of encouragement to turn away from their unique ethnic culture and embrace foreign things - things that are generally asocial or degenerate. For example, MTV Europe encourages boys to wish they were from New York and emulate the law-breaking, chain-wearing, gun-toting drug dealers there:
Girls are brought up to drool over such a partner....
....and Playboy and Paris Hilton stuff:
And then there's the attitude the German girls learn to carry with it (translation below):
"To hell with everything, to hell with everyone. Do your thing, live your life."
While this certainly not the worst advice in some situations, look past the text, and at the picture, which screams out: "bitchy, amoral woman snob and I don't care."
Do we really need more of such "culture"? Do we really want to build community around such values?
Beyond that, women are encouraged to find an "individual identity" in pin-up, emo, goth or cult fashions:
This is the sort of thing popularized by brands like Emily the Strange. Nobody seems to know why the label is popular, but I would guess that the people in Germany feel strange. Devoid of any natural identity except guilt for being born German, and pushed to find identity in tattoos, cheeky outfits and the glorification of the asocial - why should they not feel strange?
Anything goes, except German identity reinforcement or Thor Steinar. Because, by rebranding ethnic heritage as "cool" and forcing Germans to think about who they are, Thor Steinar comes into conflict with the spirit of the "Anti-Fascists" and ideas of the German government and schools.
Because of its power to promote awareness of identity, a parallel can be drawn between Thor Steinar and the African-American label FUBU - "For Us By Us." For its work, FUBU has won a series of awards, including NV magazine - A Salute to Urban Professionals in Business (2001); Source Foundation - Hip Hop Cares Award (2001); Online Hip Hop Awards "Best Fashion Designer Label" (2001 and 2000); "Celebration of the Creative Spirit" -- The Black Alumni of Pratt Creative Spirit Award (2000); Essence Award (1999); Congressional Achievement Award for Entrepreneurship (1999); N.Y. African American Business Awards -- Outstanding Business Achievement Award (1999); NAACP Entrepreneurs of the Year Award (1999); Citation of Honor, "Team FUBU" - Office of the President, Borough of Queens, City of New York, (1999). By contrast, Thor Steinar has been attacked and called "offensive" and the people selling its merchandise are losing their leases. Apparently, we live in a parallel universe.
Who is the fascist here?
Fascism has many meanings in the contemporary, but what it really goes back to, historically, is the state creating a totalitarian society in cooperation with, and based around, corporate interests - and that is according to the godfather of fascism, Italian fascist Benito Mussolini.
If we consider the fact that global corporations dominate our states, and it is in their best interest to destroy whatever sets one market apart from another; if we consider the fact that the people determined to stop Thor Steinar from being sold will only permit a society where global products are sold, in the best interests of global corporations. Then, tell me: are the Anti-Fascists not actually the Fascists?
Fascism has many meanings in the contemporary, but what it really goes back to, historically, is the state creating a totalitarian society in cooperation with, and based around, corporate interests - and that is according to the godfather of fascism, Italian fascist Benito Mussolini.
If we consider the fact that global corporations dominate our states, and it is in their best interest to destroy whatever sets one market apart from another; if we consider the fact that the people determined to stop Thor Steinar from being sold will only permit a society where global products are sold, in the best interests of global corporations. Then, tell me: are the Anti-Fascists not actually the Fascists?
