Is Mocking Fanatical Hitler Antisemetic?

On my friends' daily email chain, a video ridiculing Hitler's fanaticism by subtitling his German speech with English subtitles... that were a mock of Hitler betting on the Dallas Cowboys and losing; was met with such a forceful and stern rebuke by another of my friends that left me with the question: When did mocking Hitler become grounds to claim insensitivity towards the Holocaust and its victims?

While the Holocaust (like other genocides) should not be grounds for humor, especially at the expense of those who suffered, it is appropriate, however, to use the organizers and supporters as the butt of many jokes, lest we forget. And apparently we have, otherwise the pride of nations would never influence their people into the revolting action of genocide. We have not succeeded: In Rwanda, Bosnia and now Sudan, we see genocide again.

I do not find fault with my friend's sensitivity toward the subject that caused massive systematic murder of his ancestors. All of us empathize with the Jews (and other peoples) who suffered greatly at the hands of the Nazi regime. If everyone could just see the shoes piled high in the Holocaust Museum in DC, they may understand their own empathy that much more. Unfortunately, survivors of that time are dying from old age everyday and soon there will be no longer any principal witnesses. [There are already many that deny the event ever took place. Those people should face the jokes and humiliation as Ahmajinedad faced at Columbia]

That being said, the humor many of us found in Hitler's losing bet for the Cowboys does not make us insensitive to Holocaust victims, but instead it demonstrates that the fanaticism that Hitler employed to lead the Third Reich was truly absurd (and thereby humorous). It is a good reminder, albeit at a laugh, of how fucking crazy this guy was and the lesson we have to remember. The subject is serious, the lesson doesn't have to be.

Blog Riotus: How to win the American Presidential Election

1. Promise to cut taxes.
No matter which party you belong to, promising to "put money back into the pockets of hardworking Americans, like yourselves" will work everytime. No need to mention that taxes are an essential cost for citizens to keep a well-balanced and strong infrastructure, one that in our country is eroding. (Fiscally responsible candidates will look weak and "intellectual". People don't want to be reminded of responsibility. What to do? Don't mention how incovenient wars will be financed.)

2. Repeat "America is the greatest country on earth"
Appeal to the tremendous hubris that ordinary Americans cling to with the regard to their favorite bandwagon team, the USA! Anything less than blind faith in the direction of this country, regardless of greedy profit-seeking motives that guide multinational corporations pulling the strings of government policy, should be exposed with such an incredulity, that even ambivalent voters will feel betrayed. (Bonus: Mention the legacy of Reagan and gain even more credibility as a patriot.)

3. Promise to "create" jobs.
Even though you already promised to cut taxes (see #1), people will worry about how their hard work will be compensated. Even though you have eliminated any government programs to assist homeless or mentally challenged, provide day care, afterschool programs or additional educational programs; you can always fall back on tax cuts to promote the wealthy Americans with even more money so they can buy even more unnecessary goods and services that will add additional jobs. Save less, spend more. Don't mention any additional thoughts on the economy, this will be too hard for ordinary working Americans to understand. If confused, they may seek union advice.

4. Change
If you can offer change, this is good. Actually all candidates can offer this, as there are no incumbents running this time around. Well, you may ask, what are we changing. America is already the greatest place on earth, so why do we need change? Well, don't mention these topics simultaneously and you don't need to answer that question. Of course we want change. Lowered taxes, more jobs, greater America. You can always improve great!

5. Appear tough on illegal immigration
Falling short of actually introducing any novel policies on illegal workers, strong stances on making life difficult for illegals creates a bandwagonning effect in which we can back the best team in the world over those dark skinned invaders coming from the south. Maybe even start a "USA" chant directly following your stated intention to build a Green Monster along the southern border.

6. Image is everything
Dress impeccably but don't be afraid to roll up your sleeves. Remember that crying can also sometimes guarantee the "sympathetic" vote, so don't be afraid drop a tear. (Not more than one one eye rub and no absolutely no sobbing). Wear a hard hat when talking with workers, wear a bomber jacket when speaking with military personnel.

Movie Thoughts

Somehow Ryan Reynolds is not convincing as a FBI agent. "Smoking Aces"

"The Departed" would have been better had not Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) died at the hands of Sgt. Dignan (Mark Wahlberg).

A few movies I am looking forward to seeing: "The Golden Door", "Ladron que roba a ladron", "Gone Baby Gone", "American Gangster", "The Darjeeling Limited", "There Will Be Blood", "Dan in Real Life", No Country for Old Men",

Watched "The Big Country" again and was still disappointed that we couldn't see a final rebuke seen with the Major's daughter, Patsy.

Shakespeare's plays have influenced us so completely, that in order to make a successful film about Ancient Rome, the actors must tote English accents to be "authentic".

I have watched "Serenity" now over 20 times. That may be alot but it does not come close to my three leading movies "Where's Marlowe (>60), "O Brother, Where art thou?" (~35) and "Tigerland" (~30). Other viewing estimates: "Gladiator" ~10 times, "Master and Commander" 7-8 times and the "Star War Original Trilogy" ? times.

Another famous movie star dies this week. Another young man with everything. Heath Ledger died in Manhattan tonight. This follows Brad Renfro last week. Rest in Peace dudes.

I can't help but compare two recent films on life's unfairness for Africans, "The Constant Gardener" and "Blood Diamond". Both star white protagonists and both die at the conclusion of the film. While "Blood Diamond" was a big budget Hollywood film and "The Constant Gardener" a smaller indie, both were gritty enough to depict the terrible conditions plaguing the African continent.

Is Scarlett Johanssen a good actress? Or is she just a pleasure to watch? I think it's the latter because she isn't believable in anything I have seen her in outside of "Lost in Translation". Absolutely awful in "Scoop" and unconvincing in "The Black Dahlia".

Oscar nominees feature a few for Best Picture that I definitely want to see, including "Juno" a film that may be a different take on "Knocked Up" and a continuation of "Superbad" for Michael Cera, from "Arrested Development".

I wonder when we will start seeing the action-dramas start showing up in Hollywood from the Iraq-Afghanistan conflicts a la "Black Hawk Down". David Simon is currently filming a series of the taking of Baghdad but I am sure there will be feature films to follow.

Annoying Fans - Providence vs Connecticut 1/17/08

Have you ever been at a sports contest and just by your luck there is a obnoxious fan sitting next to you? Of course. It is the bain of existence for those fans who attend contests to cheer on their team at a rational level, respecting others around them. I am not speaking about the fans that stand up for extended periods of time, or those who embarrass themselves by heckling the opposing team with rarely funny spats. No, I am speaking of the fan that says the most inane things about the game and his team that a) speaks volumes about his (lack of) knowledge as a fan, b) speaks at such a volume so that everyone for a complete section of the stands has to listen to him, and who is c) cheering for the team you're cheering for, stealing the enjoyment right from your own cheering because you don't want to be associated within a mile of his annoying rants.


I recognized these thoughts at the Connecticut - Providence men's basketball game on thursday night in Hartford. Section 217 was filled with a contingent of "Friar Fanatics" (student fans of the Friars) cheering and chanting for the surging Providence team. However, sprinkled into the mix were a few older men, who fit into the former category. Led by a nim-witted fool, the foolish comments I heard during the game were irritating and distracting. Every three point shot that was fired by PC - a team that lives and dies by the three - was met with a exasperating "No!...YES!" - when a PC player netted the shot. If I wasn't alone, and if he weren't with three other men, I was going to approach him and ask him if that ceremony was a good luck charm, "the ol' No-Yes move?"

I was relieved to see the Friars finally cap off an away victory in convincing fashion over a potential tournament team, even at the expense of listening to a leader in gametime annoyances sitting a few rows from me. The Friars won the game 77-65 behind a career high from sophomore guard Dwain Williams' 23 points. Old Reliable, Geoff McDermott slipped in a quiet double-double, scoring 12 points, pulling 11 boards and dishing 6 assists. The guy is a rock. Without Big Mac, PC has no offense. Go Friars.

Blaming the wrong hand: Illegals in this country

After a lengthy conversation with my [all adults] class today about how to resolve the immigration "problem", it seems pretty clear to me that there are really two major camps. Nativists (Entitle-ists) really hate/fear the encroachment of brown people who look and speak differently than them. On the other hand, Sympathists recognize the hard work of the common immigrant as an individual, not the strain on infrastructure that the total number encompasses. If it were really a national debate, there is undeniably a clear solution to the issue. Make harsh punishments on those businesses that employ illegal aliens and we could predict an immediate reduction of immigrants to this country and even one step further, an exodus away from the United States.

So you may ask why this hasn't been done already? Well, first off, politically, it is easier to castigate those without any voice. The illegal immigrant has absolutely no power in this country and he/she is a very easy target. Secondly, those in charge recognize that immigrants are willing to live out on a shoestring and live comparably rich than how they would live in their own country. They trade the consternation of constant harrassment and permanent instability working and living as an illegal alien in this country for this relative prosperity. In return, businesses, especially agro-business, can hire them out at half of a native-born worker's rates and they will work harder and longer, keeping products and food at dirt-cheap prices. Those-in-charge recognize that its easier to contain simmering racial ravings and rantings from nativists and keep them at bay with local immigrant busts and allowing them to march along borders with automatic weapons than come to terms with the ramifications of their proposals: A countrywide uproar over dramatic increases in costs of living. Political suicide.

And consider how difficult it is for immigrants to assimilate. In a nation that values the dollar over everything else, an immigrant trying to make money for himself and family is chastised for saving the rest of us the costs of labor. Go figure. If people are serious about immigration, it is about time we take a look at the real causes of immigration and take the [BIG] steps that are required to quell it. No? Didn't think so. My advice: Never pay attention to anyone who wields a gun to solve a domestic problem. Better yet, force them into a compound to fight to the death for their "principles" and then surround and napalm them into the ground. Wow, that was pretty angry!

Election Thoughts

Race, religion and the economy seem to be at the top of the media interests covering this campaign. And with these three issues, the media has cornered three issues that seem to warrant an opinion and garner concern from everybody. None are a science (although economists would have you believe that) and each issue has almost limitless points of view. Race has stalemated Democrat campaigns with both Obama trying to "outblack" Hillary in South Carolina (with ~50% black voters). Republican candidates are taking strong positions on religion. Romney did his best Kennedy impression passionately displaying his separation of his Mormon church and state and Huckabee has supported making constitutional changes with regard to abortion (which should be the nail in his campaign's coffin). The economy has become a central piece to the Edwards "two America's" mantra. McCain seems the likely choice for those who are afraid to support another candidate who advocates broad-reaching programs for change. Giuliani's track running on the 911 train has seemed to have reached its frontier. Whatever the case, the election is still very much up in the air.

Tag-Words that I am getting very, very tired of hearing this campaign season:
Republican in the tradition of Reagan, Hope, Change, economic stimulus (package), housing crisis*, tax cuts, faith-based _____.

Tag-Words that deal with issues we should want to hear from candidates:
Fiscal conservatives, Recession, Iraq War, National Debt, Borrowing money, Trade deficit with _____. So far, we have heard more words from the former list rather than the latter. The problem with this is that the former list contains terms that connect vaguely to real issues while the second list contains terms that connect with real issues that our country must deal with in the near future. It's time for the candidates to start dealing with the real issues and stop candy-coating the future with mere buzz-words. Enough buzz.

Sensitivity in society

A few months ago Nikko asked me to do a piece on how sensitive our society has become. I did some preliminary research on the subject and it appeared that it was in case the opposite, in general. Politeness and common decency has been encroached on from all sides. Take movies for example: On the silverscreen a prototypical bad guy would meet his rebuke with a good walloping and would limp off or wipe the blood from his mouth as he ran away, tail between his legs. I can't remember the last recent action movie that the villain did not meet his maker in the most grotesque fashion and disturbingly lacking in human dignity. Society has upped the ante. Videogames regularly push the envelope with displays of reckless murder and gratuitous violence that would incense even the most carefree parents.

Gambling, a pastime historically paired with prostitution that had been deemed illegal at one time in 49 of 50 states, has made a comeback into the popular consciousness, even so much that ESPN even televises events in primetime. Gambling is an addictive behavior, and has landed many people to lose their jobs, their families and ultimately their lives. There was a reason why gambling has been illegal for so long but now with legalization in certain markets, it is obvious that society has taken a giant leap backwards. Gambling satisfies an instant gratification, an animal instinct that man has grown to resist. It's sad to see the thrill of chance replace the vast forbearance of our rational predecessors.

Perhaps the worst of it is the gladiatorial events, which are cleverly hidden behind harmless-sounding titles such as Mixed Martial Arts or Ultimate Fighting that gives somewhat less of a picture than the barbarism these “sports” actually represent. I can’t imagine anything more sinister and damaging for young people to see than a defenseless fighter being pummeled with flush face punches until a referee actually has to break up the massacre. The act itself is repulsive to me, a grown man, but I cannot imagine how seeing this could either desensitize or scar a younger viewer. Some things are meant to be shocking, so when we see these things we can immediately recognize inhumanity. Putting these guys (and girls) in rings and making it into sport does nothing to diminish this barbarity in my eyes. It’s sad that so many people have to gratify a need for senseless violence. What is really stopping us from opening back up the Coliseum in Rome and arming these men with a sword or trident?

Pornography, which I think everyone would agree can be harmful to younger (and older) psyches, is available to anyone with internet access. It’s not that sex is unnatural (I would conversely argue that sexuality is repressed entirely too much in our society), however, pornography expresses sexuality in a negatively contrived, misogynistic and masochistic light, creating a false reality and altering perceptions on normal gender roles. These altered perceptions endanger relationships and become haunting reminders of a fabricated sexual identity that the viewer has no practical way to satisfy. For a younger viewer the results are potentially psychologically damaging. Obviously, one viewing of a regular porno film will not permanently damage anyone. But consider that constant exposure to potentially harmful images reinforces patterns that will be very difficult to break in the future.

Although I cannot disagree, we have become a society obsessed with political correctness and things that offend us, even if they don’t really offend us, but may offend someone else (i.e. Tiger Woods and his friend’s joke on lynching him to make it possible for others to win a tournament), we must really grasp how much influence potentially harmful media sources have on us, our kids and on our society before we can chastise the willingness to be incensed. We should be incensed, in the truest sense of the word, to gratuitous violence, lewdness, addiction, and the wave of inhumanity damaging our society but instead we focus on issues that cloud our integration and reinforce color barriers rather than promote color blindness and understanding.

BCS Championship - LSU defeats the OSU

Can't say I was that surprised of the outcome of this game. Once again from last year's annual Ohio State vs. the SEC, Ohio State scores first and then falls flat on her face. LSU converted 8 of 9 third downs in the second and third quarters and went on to roll up 31 unanswered points. No friends, it was not the refs, the frequently thrusted fall-guy for the Buckeyes' ineptitude. For the big bad Big-10, the Ohio State looked decidedly overmatched on both sides of the ball. Their early rushing success gave way to a flux of Tiger pressure, leaving the Buckeye QB with little time to throw or get out of the way. An absolute trouncing. Lest to say, unless OSU is 11-0 entering the BCS postseason, they will be certainly left off the list for contention of the title. That's too bad, because I wouldn't mind seeing another Ohio State thrashing at the bloody fingertips of those SEC monsters. (I was surprised watching my Gators get upended by the supposedly faulty Big Blue.)

I must admit guilt for bringing my LSU voodoo doll to my Ohio State friends' gathering. When I arrived, LSU scored its first points on a field goal, then four consecutive TDs bringing the score to a steep 31-10. I did not want to see the suffering of the Buckeye faithful, especially my OSU alumni buddies, but I have to admit a small sense of vindictive pride seeing the Tigers get SEC revenge for the Florida-Michigan game, and fulfilling my never-ending spite of my friends lining me up for the buckeye grill at Game On for last year's BCS game (Ohio State-Florida), my Percy Harvin jersey being one blue in a sea of Red Buckeye jerseys. They failed to mention we would be watching the game together at the Buckeyes Alumni bar. It was their intention to embarrass me with the crowd at their back, and on the field with the Gators at their mercy. But it didn't unfold as planned, the Gators uncooperative performance embarrassing the Buckeyes fans with their teams' bellyflop on field. So I couldn't be happier when their sea of red is crying especially when it comes at the hands of the bigger and more badass SEC.

Small Bill