Separated at Birth?
Posted on 01/13/2005 5:47:48 PM PST by veronica
So, Prince Harry, the nightmheir to the throne, has put his intellectually subnormal foot in it again. Prince William’s half-witted half-brother attended a fancy dress party held by Richard Meade, the triple Olympic gold medallist (1968 & 1972), and his fancy dress consisted of Rommel shirt with a bright red Nazi armband on the sleeve. Oh, and he had a fag on. A veritable tsunami of bad taste.
Harry has been drawing a lot of flack for this gaff. Rabbi Jonathan Guttentag, leader of spiritual leader of the Whitefield Hebrew Congregation in Manchester, described the photo of a swastika-adorned Prince as "a most unfortunate gift to neo-Nazis and Holocaust deniers." Michael Howard, leader of the Conservative Party (a fringe British political group), who is himself Jewish, said "I think a lot of people will be disappointed to see that photograph and it will cause a lot of offense."
So far, not a single voice has been raised in support of the plonker's actions. However, we at the London News Review are staunch fans of Harry and are ready and willing to mount a clumsy defence:
Our defence of Prince Harry
1. Prince Harry is sensationally stupid. Seriously, the lad is practically retarded, so it’s appropriate to cut him some slack. It’s a small miracle every time he finds his mouth with his cigarette, so the fact that he would put on a Nazi armband and not think – at any point – that this might possibly be a really really wrong thing to do, is perfectly understandable. Questions must be asked of the people around him: his friends, his carers, his bodyguards. Did no one think to mention to the dribbling moron that maybe the pretty red armband with the funny black squiggle in the middle was maybe best left in the limo? Would you blame a coma victim for wetting the bed? No. So don’t be too harsh on Harry.
2. The theme of the fancy dress party, thrown by famous horseman and friend of Prince Charles, Richarde Meade, was – believe it or not – ‘Colonials and Natives’. Oh lordy. Colonials and Natives? What the **** are these people on? What century are they living in? Colonials and Natives? It beggars belief. Why not ‘Imperialists and Nig Nogs’? Or would that have been bad taste? So anyway, a fair share of the blame for Harry’s outfit must surely go to the imbecilic Richarde Meade and his appalling choice of party theme.*
3. Where did Harry get the armband? Presumably he went for advice to his grandfather, who delightedly threw open his closet doors to reveal rack upon rack of Gestapo jackets stormtrooper boots. Or maybe Prince Philip simply slipped off his dressing gown to reveal his own swastika armband, which he rolled off and pressed lovingly into Harry’s upturned palm. “Now off you go, you young scamp, and have fun.”
4. No one seems to have wondered: perhaps Prince Harry didn’t realize it was a fancy dress party? It’s possible he just came on from a meeting, and didn’t have time to change. In which case it is heartening to see that he has developed an interest in politics. An early brush with fascism didn’t do Ricky Tomlinson any harm, so let’s go easy on Harry: he may well grow out of it, and soften in his politics towards Stalinism instead.
5. Most crucially: this was a fancy dress costume. In this context, the Nazi uniform has become a novelty, a bit of fun. This is surely a good thing. It is wrong to be scared of it: if we let the taboo linger, if we draw an amazed breath when we see Harry sporting the emblem of the Nazi party, then the swastika still has its power. So much better for us to think of it as a daft (yet undeniably stylish) outfit in a fancy dress shop, hanging alongside a wizard’s garb, a policeman’s uniform and a fairy costume. To treat the swastika in this way is not in any way to deny the seriousness and horror of the holocaust, but to remove the last vestiges of power from the Nazis. Little does Harry realize it, but his wearing of the swastika is an important political statement: it is the militant trivialization and belittling of Nazism. Mel Brooks should think about finding a bit part for him in the Producers. I bet he throws a wonderful salute.
¤
*Prince William went in a skin-tight leopard costume with tail and claws: a cleverly diplomatic outfit, although one has to ask what the heir to the throne was doing attending a party which had the theme 'Colonials and Natives'. Might it not have been more politically astute to have feigned a headache, stayed at home and watched a DVD of Zulu Dawn instead?
Of course I pay respect to the fallen soldiers of the Nazi regime. I pay respect to the comrades of my Grandfathers, who defended their homeland for a government that served its own egoistic, evil, sadistic, cruel and horrible goals. They are not to be blamed for being drafted and doing what they were ordered to do to avoid being shot themselves. But, these people did not fight under the swastika, even though they fought for it. The symbol of the Wehrmacht was the Iron Cross, and todays German Armed Forces still use it (in a slightly different style). Prince Harry used to imitate General Field Marshall Rommel, who was compelled to committ suicide by the Nazis in 1944, and of whom I have never seen a photograph wearing a swastika armband.
Unlike the SS, which fought under the swastika and deserves no respect at all. It is in no way honorable to put millions of people in shower-rooms and rob their breath.
Yep, the ex-SS man must have been a draftee in the Waffen-SS. The actual SS had only volunteers and in the Waffen-SS, there were also lots of draftees. That´s why I have no problem that Reagan payed tribute to the fallen Germans (Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS) during his visit in Bitburg in the 80´s. But let´s not forget, it is generally correct to say that the average Wehrmacht soldier was not to blame while the average SS guy bears a whole lot of guilt.
And it's in no way honorable to allow your fellow countrymen to do it.
Errr, where did I state otherwise?
Short term memory problems, pard?
No. Not at all. For me, allowing something needs the freedom to decide. None of the soldiers had the freedom. If Rommel had refused orders again (and he did once by refusing to shoot captured enemy soldiers), he and his family would have been sent to the death camps, too. The same applies to the other Wehrmacht soldiers, too. Several hundreds had the guts to take the risk, and the outcome was widely seen after July 20 1944. It didn´t work, because Hitler replaced all opponents with loyal Nazis.
Sure they had the freedom to decide. They chose to submit.
It is no freedom when you stand at the ballot and have the choice between A and B. The guy next to you points with a pistol at you and says "choose A". It is also no freedom when you get orders and are threatened to be shot when you don´t come by. I am not defending the SS guards who did not need to do their tasks, I am defending the average Wehrmacht soldier.
The royals are parasites, fleas, and worse. There's so much to say I can't get started -- Britain has a problem. Harry is just a symptom.
Your sarcastic attack on the Southern Heritage issue is NOT appreciated. Confederate Soldiers were NOT Nazis......
May I suggest you fade away before the hounds are released......
Thats what happens when Englishmen reject their King (James II) for a bunch of Germans......:)
-ccm
-ccm
Thanks for the interesting information. I knew it had eastern religious significance, but didn't know they use it currently in Buddhism. The stained glass windows -- that must be unique! Thx again.
Great info, great pic. Thx again, Poly!
Separated at Birth?
The Swastik is/was an ARYAN symbol, so, part of Germanic culture.
Well, the German 'royalty', the Hohenzollerns were barely half a century old, petty electors of Prussia allowed the Kingship. Of far more impressive lineage was the Hapsburg dynasty which traces itself back to Charlemagne and beyond
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.