Those Marines Bought an SS Flag Without Knowing What it Was? Seriously? That’s Your Excuse?

1. Its in very bad taste due to what the Nazi regime did

2. It is in very bad taste to wave a fascist regimes flag around

3. There are still people alive today that fought the Nazis in war. Show that to a WWII veteran that fought against the Nazis and I'm pretty sure they'd be repulsed.

4. It makes the Marines look like idiots regardless if they knew the meaning behind the flag or not

reply to post by seabag

I think you have a distain for military members, as do many people on ATS, and this is another opportunity for your group to take a cheap shot.

I don't have a distain for all military members.
I do have to admit i'm as anti-military as it gets.

But does that mean i can't discuss topics like this?

The outcry doesn't only exist on ATS.

And why if everything is so clear cut, did the military give an official statement on the subject?
Saying that the soldiers made a naive mistake and just didn't know what the flag was.

Btw i'm not making any cheap shots.
If you think otherwise, prove it.

Snipers exist to kill folks.
They don't press a button in a control room somewhere or target a vehicle, they look into someone's eyes and then take their life. Coolly, deliberately, remorselessly.
It's natural that they gravitate to darker symbology and frankly, if it helps them even in a small way, those of us who rely on them for our safety and liberty should leave them the hell alone.

anyone who backs this insanity is indeed,themselves insane.!!!!!!!
'SS' is a symbol that even school children are aware of as a nazi symbol.
nice job america,your mothers must be proud.
my prayers go out to all the mothers who lost sons in this insane occupation,ALL MOTHERS!
i don't need oil or land that bad to kill for it.
pray for peace.

reply to post by SprocketUK


your a #ing ass! I see the whites of your eyes when i'm runnin ya through with my claymore! fight like a man

oh ya,i forgot to remind people of how much big buisness backed the nazis in WW2. (ford,dupont,3m,etc....)
guess who supplied the gas for the chambers,or remember IBM? they made the first computer to keep trap of the jews.project paperclip? thank got america got all those nazi scientists off the hook and gave them a job!!!
bloody joke

Sigh

I see everytime, stuff like Kiss, like social security, etc etc is brought up. How ridiculous.

The fact is, these symbols, was used by military guys, not by a stupid metal band, or on a social security document, those arguments, is frankly childish, and absurd.

The military guys, using SS symbols, is what is making this controversial, because the SS is connected with war, with death, not with some music from the 70's, or a little document in your wallet.

So stop trying to justify the use of the SS symbols, with those absurd examples. Soldiers, trained in the art of killing, posing with a SS flag, will obviously cause people to think of the other killers of the Nazi regime. It is just logical, and rather obvious.

How hard is that to understand.?

vvv

Originally posted by reficul
reply to post by SprocketUK

 

your a #ing ass! I see the whites of your eyes when i'm runnin ya through with my claymore! fight like a man

Just remember to keep the pointy end towards the enemy.
Or the convex side if you mean the claymore that goes boom...
Anyway, these days, sniping is probably more personal than most kills in a combat zone. The days of cold steel are long gone.

SS symbols are bugger all when you consider what society actually expects of these lads.
Forcing them to kill, to live with the knowledge that they'll be spending their best years in harm's way.

To b1tch about them not being sensitive is just daft. How sensitive are the people who sit on their fat arses and moan but do nothing to stop these boys having to go and risk their lives and humanity?

reply to post by SprocketUK


i suppose it depends on what poor country the yanks decide to occupy for their own reasons.

One thing I didn't see anyone mention is the brotherhood like atmosphere the SS tried to promote. Officers and soldiers were meant to mingle, unlike in the regular German army which was part of the old Prussian system.

That's my 2 cents, and as some others have pointed out SS could represent Scout Sniper, my family suffered under the Nazi regime and I don't find this repulsive in anyway. I honestly think people are way too PC these days, and anything and everything offends some.

Peace

reply to post by kn0wh0w


Until recently, I wasn't aware that the "SS" symbol had anything to do with Nazi germany. Besides the swastika, school textbooks rarely have any pictures by the time you are old enough to start learning about the Holocaust and teachers do not go out out of the way to educate on Nazi symbolism. Also, in college you are free to take history electives that have nothing to do with WW2, as I did because I found ancient sumeria and egypt far more interesting.

That being said, if that particular "SS" flag is not easy to find, then it makes it more likely that the person who bought it and introduced it to the group knew full well what it represented. But I don't think that means every person who posed in that picture knew that it was a nazi symbol.

Typical of the marines, they are protecting the individual at fault, but at least one person is definitely guilty in my mind.

Originally posted by Kenrichaed
Well to be fair, I'm a history major specializing in military history and I can honestly say that i've never seen that ss flag. Didn't even know they had their own flag actually, I thought all Nazi's waved the Swastika around. I could certainly understand how they didn't know what it was.

Kinda reminds me more of one of the special forces designs more than anything to do with Nazi's.

No that is definately an SS symbol that has been around quite a long time. I am not a major in History and I knew that.



Here is one of the rings the officer's wore that exterminated Jews.





Fork and Knife set from the WW2 Era






Some more Pins




There's much more out there.

Bottom line is NOT the old Nazi use of the symbols it is the ongoing use by the Aryan Nation, elements of the KKK and other white supremist groups that gets me. They got that #e flying under the red ,white and blue and that ain't the way America rolls. It is not why my family has given so many lives for this country since we fought the original wearers of these symbols.It may stand for "scout sniper" to some but to everyone else who sees it it is Nazi. Some say MYOB it is only for them. I say fark that! they have their BS nazi flag right under mine. Ya'll are in a PR nightmare and then you argue FOR this #e. Well How about this? maybe the symbols are right on and they knew just what and why the chose it. Perhaps they truly feel the white is right and shooting brown folks is "their job". Either way it is a stupid move to wave enemy colors as your own or if not enemy at least the symbols of some of our most rabid hate groups.
That there is so much heated and hateful debate defending it says volumes about today's military and it is not a compliment. Sorry boys your corporate mercs now and do not rep the interest of most folks. Might as well fly a halliburton flag.
There is a big difference between "edgy" and stupid this is fully the latter and given the other examples shown it is part of the "culture" to use nazi imagery given the SS skull often also used.
Oh well my days of giving a genuine rats arse about any of it are drawing closed. My time sucked ass. I know theirs does too. I just hope they come home and don't bring that #e with them.
APB

SS stands for Black Sun::Schwarze Sonne... JUST FYI

I'm a 26 year old who was raised in the rural South, and I was thirteen the first time I learned about the SS flag, and I've seen it several times since.

If none of them knew, then this bunch needs to be kicked out of the armed forces and sent back to high school.

Originally posted by Unrealised

Originally posted by Kenrichaed
Well to be fair, I'm a history major specializing in military history and I can honestly say that i've never seen that ss flag. Didn't even know they had their own flag actually, I thought all Nazi's waved the Swastika around. I could certainly understand how they didn't know what it was.

Kinda reminds me more of one of the special forces designs more than anything to do with Nazi's.

I'm 31 years old, and I know what an SS symbol looks like.



Only a fool who didn't pay attention in school wouldn't know.

Oh, wait a minute, they're soldiers.



Maybe they didn't know then.

So, you have to be a FOOL to be a soldier/Marine eh? I'm not even going to start to verbally smash you like I wanted to when I started my reply 30 seconds ago because its not worth it. You sir are obviously the SMARTEST man on ATS, hence you knew what that logo meant which means that everyone should know what it means I guess, since YOU say so.


BTW, when I joined the Marine Corps, I had a 3.9 GPA all through out my PRIVATE high school career, guess I also am stupid and belonged in the military.


It's people like you that don't deserve to breathe oxygen for free, because you contribute NOTHING. NOTHING.

reply to post by Imightknow

It's people like you that don't deserve to breathe oxygen for free, because you contribute NOTHING. NOTHING.

Come on now people.
I see my thread is going downhill again.

Keep the snarky remarks, generalisations, insults and ad hominems OUT of this thread.

I specifically asked not to resort to these measures.

Having said that.

How do you know wether or not someone cotributes to the 'system'?

What did you contribute?

Ps. I'm not buying into any of the:
- we gave you freedom arguments
- we saved your ass arguments
- we're keeping the world safe arguments

Originally posted by Imightknow

Originally posted by Unrealised

Originally posted by Kenrichaed
Well to be fair, I'm a history major specializing in military history and I can honestly say that i've never seen that ss flag. Didn't even know they had their own flag actually, I thought all Nazi's waved the Swastika around. I could certainly understand how they didn't know what it was.

Kinda reminds me more of one of the special forces designs more than anything to do with Nazi's.

I'm 31 years old, and I know what an SS symbol looks like.



Only a fool who didn't pay attention in school wouldn't know.

Oh, wait a minute, they're soldiers.



Maybe they didn't know then.

So, you have to be a FOOL to be a soldier/Marine eh? I'm not even going to start to verbally smash you like I wanted to when I started my reply 30 seconds ago because its not worth it. You sir are obviously the SMARTEST man on ATS, hence you knew what that logo meant which means that everyone should know what it means I guess, since YOU say so.


BTW, when I joined the Marine Corps, I had a 3.9 GPA all through out my PRIVATE high school career, guess I also am stupid and belonged in the military.


It's people like you that don't deserve to breathe oxygen for free, because you contribute NOTHING. NOTHING.

I can understand why you would be upset. This was certainly an unwarranted attack on all soldiers that put their lives on the line for who ever it was that said this. Some people knew curse words in high schoo, that I still don't know so this person knows nothing more than the averageperson ORsoldier. Don't worry about it man, there's a lot about weaponry and other things that YOU know that thisperson would feel ignorant about dicussing with you. As you said...anyone can say ANYTHING online...and everyone seems to know everything. Ignore this know-it-all, who probably knows nothing.

A lot of allied vets were spinning in their graves when those soldiers displayed that flag.

Just what their intent was in showing that flag will always be speculation but man was it in exceptionally poor taste.

That's an old emblem used by US marine snipers. Before that, it was used by most of the German military (not only by first members of German SS). Is it coincidence? It's not IMO, but that's just me.

Now the actual excuse US military staff came up with just shows you how they don't even think before they throw out these lies. They are in fact incapable of investigating these matters, it's much easier and cheaper to just throw out these comedic excuses. If, say, Pakistan military smokes its own civilian building and blames it on US military, the US military would come up with an excuse like "We didn't know" or "It was a misfire" or "Ooops"... they would not even bother checking it out. Fact is, people don't care, nobody cares, why even bother investigating? Tomorrow a Pakistani suicide bomber will blow up a mosque and it will be all over the news... problem solved. People will say "It's war" and shrug.

This "SS flag" crap will go away like everything else and people will forget they even read about it. No sign will be banned, no investigation will be done for the simple reason that it's completely pointless. If it gets bad, media will easily find some other ME-related news to blow out of proportion.