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Saw the last thing I probably ever thought I'd see in Dubai, driving to work and just past city centre mall saw a guy walking down the street wearing a t-shirt with a swastika on it.

Now I actually know the original swastika was a Hindu symbol of peace but this was a proper black, in a white circle on red symbol of the nazi party.

As there are no elections etc in the Emirates I would have thought support of any, let alone far right politics, is a bit futile. However this kind of thing is banned in a lot of western countries and if not banned, wearing such a t-shirt would pretty much get you lynched in others.

So any guesses as to what was what?

freedom of speech

Jus some oblivious idiot espousing his fashion statement!

Someone who doesn't respect the genocide in Europe during WWII and,
a UAE law enforcement that practically doesn't give a crap about it either.

Or do they,...oficially?

Only a thought here, but we probably all agree that the people who would take the MOST offence would be Jews and the locals are not too concerned about their sensibilities....one guy wearing a swastika tee say in London would raise an eyebrow or two but would go unmolested. As was said above, freedom of speech. What's the point of your post?

And saint robby, bless you, again defending those that for sure don't need your benificence, I now think it's you that has the Messiah complex, not me!

By the way, and only out of interest, was the swastika facing left or right, because that's where the difference in connotations lies? No-one else has even thought to ask that question.

Yep, always guarding the weaker in this world. And when they start turn against me...well what do you do with a dog that turns false on you...

don't know....blame yourself because it thought you smelled funny? dogs are simple creatures, i never had one turn against me and I kept them all my life, all different breeds, i love animals full stop, but i know how to be boss!

Hey, I'm the first to give a cooky OK :D:D

No cooky? SLAPPPP

FTD wrote:Saw the last thing I probably ever thought I'd see in Dubai, driving to work and just past city centre mall saw a guy walking down the street wearing a t-shirt with a swastika on it.

Now I actually know the original swastika was a Hindu symbol of peace but this was a proper black, in a white circle on red symbol of the nazi party.

As there are no elections etc in the Emirates I would have thought support of any, let alone far right politics, is a bit futile. However this kind of thing is banned in a lot of western countries and if not banned, wearing such a t-shirt would pretty much get you lynched in others.

So any guesses as to what was what?

Government official?

Sick bastard.

Well, the Middle East is the only place you can get away with wearing that t-shirt and have people actually approve and cheer you on.

kanelli wrote:Well, the Middle East is the only place you can get away with wearing that t-shirt and have people actually approve and cheer you on.

Na. You'd be surprised to visit back country in Alabama and Georgia, Kanelli

Yeah, true, there are still some other pockets in other countries where that kind of t-shirt would go over well.

Speedhump wrote:one guy wearing a swastika tee say in London would raise an eyebrow or two but would go unmolested.

I doubt it, leaving the genocide out for a moment, London experienced quite heavy shelling in WWII. Not to mention the amount of lives lost on the front line. People would object, probably physically.

Speedhump wrote:As was said above, freedom of speech. What's the point of your post?

There is freedom of speech in the UAE? Especially to promote the ideologies of far right, facist dicatorships?

Think I'll pass when they have David Irving on at Festival City (sponsored by Etisilat, tickets available from Time Out and Virgin).

The point of my post was that it was such a peculiar sight and something that would have got the wearer a black eye in London, I was trying to dissect the sygnificance of the situation with others here in Dubai, because it plainly confused me.

Speedhump wrote:By the way, and only out of interest, was the swastika facing left or right, because that's where the difference in connotations lies? No-one else has even thought to ask that question.

As I said in the orginal post it was a proper Nazi one

FTD wrote:

Speedhump wrote:one guy wearing a swastika tee say in London would raise an eyebrow or two but would go unmolested.

I doubt it, leaving the genocide out for a moment, London experienced quite heavy shelling in WWII. Not to mention the amount of lives lost on the front line. People would object, probably physically.

Speedhump wrote:As was said above, freedom of speech. What's the point of your post?

There is freedom of speech in the UAE? Especially to promote the ideologies of far right, facist dicatorships?

Think I'll pass when they have David Irving on at Festival City (sponsored by Etisilat, tickets available from Time Out and Virgin).

The point of my post was that it was such a peculiar sight and something that would have got the wearer a black eye in London, I was trying to dissect the sygnificance of the situation with others here in Dubai, because it plainly confused me.

Speedhump wrote:By the way, and only out of interest, was the swastika facing left or right, because that's where the difference in connotations lies? No-one else has even thought to ask that question.

As I said in the orginal post it was a proper Nazi one

It's just an idiot wearing a t-shirt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

kanelli wrote:Well, the Middle East is the only place you can get away with wearing that t-shirt and have people actually approve and cheer you on.

Hey, stop accusing, do you need a history lesson to know who the real racist is? KKK, Nazis, Apartheid...wake up!

Yeah, yeah... only white people are racist. We already know that.

kanelli wrote:Yeah, yeah... only white people are racist. We already know that.

Really

kanelli wrote:Yeah, yeah... only white people are racist. We already know that.

Yes. We also already know!

Do you think that it's actually more correct that someone wearing a swastika should be physically assaulted? Feel free to call him a bigot, an ignoramus, a twat, whatever. He should have the freedom to express his views. The rest of us have the freedom to ridicule/ignore/mock him.

You can't destroy an idea.

sage & onion wrote:It's just an idiot wearing a t-shirt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You're right, life does go on, I slept last night and will have to go to Carre Four today

Just though it was a strange occurance that was worth 5 mins coffee break time talking about on here.

gamercowboy wrote:Do you think that it's actually more correct that someone wearing a swastika should be physically assaulted?

Yeah, equal rights for supporters of mass murderers!

FTD wrote:

gamercowboy wrote:Do you think that it's actually more correct that someone wearing a swastika should be physically assaulted?

Yeah, equal rights for supporters of mass murderers!

Now you are getting ridiculous

sage & onion wrote:Now you are getting ridiculous

T'was sarcasm against people who say nazi supporters should have freedom of speach.

FTD wrote:

gamercowboy wrote:Do you think that it's actually more correct that someone wearing a swastika should be physically assaulted?

Yeah, equal rights for supporters of mass murderers!

In essense, yes. Have they actually hurt anyone? Sure, it's offensive and vile but physical assault or any type of corporal punishment, whether extrajudicial or otherwise, is unjustified.

What about all those Che Guevara posters, tshirts, and accessories? Ferdinand Marcos, Josef Stalin, and many other lovely people have supporters to this day. Let them exist and let them spew their bile. It just makes them look even more ignorant than if they were silenced.

I just love how some people only seem to remember racism on the part of Europeans etc. and they completely ignore the many examples of racism committed by non-whites/non-Europeans through history around the world.

Freedom of speech is a right, but it can be abused when people spread misinformation to propagate hatred. I am in favour of free speech but do think a line needs to be drawn sometimes.

In the case of the t-shirt, one can just walk up to him and tell him his shirt is offensive and makes him look like an insensitive idiot. No physical harm is appropriate.

kanelli wrote:I just love how some people only seem to remember racism on the part of Europeans etc. and they completely ignore the many examples of racism committed by non-whites/non-Europeans through history around the world.

Freedom of speech is a right, but it can be abused when people spread misinformation to propagate hatred. I am in favour of free speech but do think a line needs to be drawn sometimes.

In the case of the t-shirt, one can just walk up to him and tell him his shirt is offensive and makes him look like an insensitive idiot. No physical harm is appropriate.

Well said K.

Why not, why can't the dude wear the T-Shirt. Although I'm not a fan of hitler or nazi's but when a european news paper can print material which 1.5 billion people worldwide find extremely offensive and then claim its their right ( freedom of speech etc etc ). Why can one dude wear a T-shirt !

kanelli wrote:I just love how some people only seem to remember racism on the part of Europeans etc. and they completely ignore the many examples of racism committed by non-whites/non-Europeans through history around the world.

Thats because they are so good at it, and there many more examples of it than others. We don't really have to turn back many pages in history to go back to the time when the black and white issue still exsited in the US. In my own living memory there was the apartheid in South Africa.

Sid Vicious wore one and it didn't do him any harm....ah.