The Kiss Army Put up With the Same Controversy 35 years ago
February 10, 2012 8:21 AM   Subscribe

This post was deleted for the following reason: Yeah, that's anywhere from blundering bad luck to just really shitty, but when all there is is "this happened and these guys might be lying about it or not" I'm not sure this needs to be a post on Metafilter. -- cortex



 
I'm not sure why we always have to act so surprised about this kind of thing.
posted by Stagger Lee at 8:23 AM on February 10, 2012


Maybe someone is blocking the KI of a KISS ARMY flag?
No, that's not it... :(
posted by stifford at 8:26 AM on February 10, 2012 [3 favorites]


No, no - it stands for "Knights in Satan's service". It has nothing to do with the Nazis!
posted by Curious Artificer at 8:27 AM on February 10, 2012 [1 favorite]


If I can make a guess at the defense that will come from the fair and balanced sector, we will hear the phrases, "bad apples," "blame game," and about the need to "move on."
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:27 AM on February 10, 2012 [2 favorites]


Hey jokesters, check the title bar on your browser...
posted by Nahum Tate at 8:28 AM on February 10, 2012


Hey jokesters, check the title bar on your browser...

lol...oops missed that :P
posted by stifford at 8:29 AM on February 10, 2012


A bunch of guys born in the 1990s didn't realize their Sniper Scout logo was similar to one used 50 years before they were born? I probably wouldn't have recognized an Nazi SS logo when I was 22 either.

I'll assume these kids aren't celebrating or even making a joke of genocide so I'm going to chalk this one up to dumbassery and save my outrage.
posted by bondcliff at 8:32 AM on February 10, 2012


"resembling"?
posted by Skeptic at 8:32 AM on February 10, 2012 [3 favorites]


cout nipers
posted by Jehan at 8:33 AM on February 10, 2012


It could be worse - they could have used comic sans.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 8:35 AM on February 10, 2012 [1 favorite]


I probably wouldn't have recognized an Nazi SS logo when I was 22 either.

You are right, any solution to this problem also calls for massive reinvestment in the education sector.
posted by DU at 8:35 AM on February 10, 2012 [5 favorites]


SS in the marines is a common acronym for "Scout Snipers" - a designation that is really unfortunate given the amount of training and dedication it takes to earn it.

The lightning SS thing is just retarded.

That being said, according to the Marine Corps Times, they were outed by a complaint registered by 45 other marines.Marine Corps Times
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 8:35 AM on February 10, 2012


I'll assume these kids aren't celebrating or even making a joke of genocide so I'm going to chalk this one up to dumbassery and save my outrage.

Whether you are outraged or not, this has the potential to be a hugely embarrassing international incident. Other countries will not be as ignorant of this history as Americans are.
posted by hermitosis at 8:37 AM on February 10, 2012


When I was in the 101st Airborne a couple decades back, one of our battalions was nicknamed the Totenkopf--had the death's head insignia and everything. After years of explaining that they weren't that Totenkopf, they gave in and changed the name.

Oh sorry, that's a bullshit story I just made up, exactly like the Marines referenced in the article.
posted by Nahum Tate at 8:37 AM on February 10, 2012 [4 favorites]


I probably wouldn't have recognized an Nazi SS logo when I was 22 either.

Really? Maybe it's a generational or location thing but, between fifth and twelfth grade the Holocaust and associated imagery was taught to us with This Is Really Fucking Important undertones like nothing else.
posted by griphus at 8:38 AM on February 10, 2012 [2 favorites]


Also, "logo"? The military don't have "logos", they have insignia. Also, definitely not buying the "innocent mistake" excuse. The SS runes are one of the most recognizable insignia of all times, and it should be familiar even to a bunch of 22-year-olds who should have seen it in, oh, about a bazillion WWII movies and videogames.
posted by Skeptic at 8:39 AM on February 10, 2012 [2 favorites]


Me, a bunch of army buddies, a military museum, and a nazi flag at the top of stairs. Some idiot gets the idea of taking a photo of everyone doing nazi salutes in front of the flag. I tell them I'll have nothing to do with it but these morons are still going through with it, so the only black guy amongst us got in there and poses with them, figuring the photo could be argued as ironic if ever it went public. Fucking idiots probably never appreciated what he did for them.

I miss my time spent in the army, but I don't miss half the people I worked with.
posted by furtive at 8:41 AM on February 10, 2012


Could it be that ... we ... are the baddies?
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 8:41 AM on February 10, 2012 [1 favorite]


I'll assume these kids aren't celebrating or even making a joke of genocide so I'm going to chalk this one up to dumbassery and save my outrage.

I grew up with these kids,* and I have to say that that's a pretty generous assumption. You must have spent your formative years in a very pleasant place.

* Not these kids specifically, but reasonable approximations thereof.
posted by invitapriore at 8:44 AM on February 10, 2012 [1 favorite]


Baa baa bullsh!*. This is discouraging. Rather than acknowledging, and addressing the fact that white supremacist groups encourage their members to join the military, they are attempting to sweep this under the rug.
posted by Human's Nephew at 8:45 AM on February 10, 2012


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