Funny stuff you came up with there. But then again, Hitler was a funny guy. Funny like the Joker. And even deadlier.
By 
, at
2:08 AM
Even if it is a joke from Fairbanks mind, it is still a sensitive subject to many people in the world. Please remove that cross from that evil symbol.
By , at
3:43 AM
Isn't liberalism supposed to be a good thing? I've looked up quite a few difinitions, and apparently liberals have been painted as people who have no regard for widely accepted rules or standards. Of course, another definition is that they're free form your standard set of rules and open to change. So why has the word liberal come to mean the former rather than the latter?
I've got my own ideas, of course, but I prefer to start the shitstorm and then duck for cover...
By , at
4:46 AM
Oh please. No one is forced to read this strip/comic/whatever. If you have a problem with the symbols in this strip, use Alt-F4/Ctrl-Q/Ctrl-W/whatever and ignore it. It is not an evil symbol at all, it was just used by someone evil.
Is a gun evil? No, but I am if I shoot someone with it.
By , at
5:44 AM
I must say, loved the strip. Laughed for a good ten minutes. The cross within the swastika, never seen it before. Hilarious. Although I would have expected Fairbanks to dream up George W. becoming Pope. But I think your idea worked much better.
Anyway, love all that you've done. Keep on drawing/writing!
By , at
10:42 AM
A swastika is definitely an evil symbol. It has come to represent Nazism. There is no way to draw up a swastika without calling upon the memory of Nazism. There is nothing inherently evil about those lines, but they are now inextricably bundled up with everything that Hitler wrought.
It's not so evil that it should be taboo and will cause your eyes to bleed if you see it, but it is most certainly evil.
By , at
2:38 PM
... Is it just me, or does Benedict the XVI look a lot like the sith lord from the star wars movies?
By , at
5:19 PM
Actually, the Swastika was the symbol of life to the Indians. It was a symbol of good that was corrupted and inverted by a madman
By , at
11:33 PM
Are you thinking of a red Swastika that isn't tilted? That's a religious sign for Buddists (maybe you're thinking of something I'm unaware of.)
Hitler's Swastika is an ancient Egyptian symbol, that I think has to do with luck.
By , at
4:44 AM
"... Is it just me, or does Benedict the XVI look a lot like the sith lord from the star wars movies?"
It's not just you - I was thinking the same thing.
By , at
7:50 AM
It is - rather unfortunately - true that quite a few people in the US, in hearing a German pope had been elected, momentarily entertained a vision in some fashion resembling Fairbanks', as to many, "german" and "nazi" are still inextricably linked in their minds via an endless array of films set in WWII and a complete lack of contact with Germany and Germans.
I don't think many thought of it in a positive fashion, though, and I doubt that more than a very few - if any - took that vision seriously.
By , at
9:06 AM
The swastica is a symbol that can be found all around the occident.
It can have several meanings. It's a symbol for luck, the sun, eternity...whatever.
It's correct that the nazi swastica was inverted (the arms are the other way round and the angle was changed by 45 degrees).
But of course I must admit that the symbol has been charged with all negative emotions that has been caused by the nazi regime.
Oh, by the way... I'm a german and consider me well educated and though I laughed my butt of when I read the strip.
So don't bother.
By , at
11:47 AM
I'm feeling both sides of this argument.
Yes, the swastika was originally a symbol for other things (luck, the sun, exc.), but a symbol is only as good as what it represents. If you use a symbol with many different meanings, knowing that what you're using it for will stir up negative feelings. . .it's generally not a good idea.
The first time I read this strip I was actually really annoyed. . . But I understand that it's a joke, and I understand what the joke was. Whatever. It was in bad taste (in my opinion).
~<*)))><
By , at
1:00 PM
yeah, i think i speak for everyone here, or at least most of the sane people when i say is not s symbol a version of communication? should it not also be free should someone not be free to draw such things of evil and for that matter speak them if you dont like the comic for that reason i guess what i'm saying is take it and shove it.
What garbage, is the only way you can represent a German leader is as Hitler. I don't think much of the Pope or the Church, but your stuff is nasty peurile trash
"What garbage, is the only way you can represent a German leader is as Hitler. I don't think much of the Pope or the Church, but your stuff is nasty peurile trash"
Except of course when you realize the INTENT is that the character immediately associates "Conservative" + "German" with "Nazi". Is someone saying "German is Associated with Nazism in the mind of many Americans" really a joke at Germany's expence? Or somehow denying/making light of the Holocaust? Not really.
While Hitler jokes are always going to be a bit risque ... it's not like he's in bad company. Ever hear of a little Broadway Musical, based of a little film, written by a little Jewish chap called Mel Brooks. It's called the Producer's ... and it's about the making of a musical called "Springtime for Hitler" ...
By , at
10:40 PM
And don't forget: The pope's... how old? 77? 78? All those original nazis are dying or are already dead. I was born in 1980, 35 years AFTER the end of the war. Just wait a few more years and they are all dead because men don't live forever.
But I fear, "german" and "conservative" will always be associated with "nazi" in the next 200 years or so.
By , at
11:09 PM
This strip is far too ridiculous to actually be offensive, right? I mean, come on. Look at that again.
If this looks like a serious statement to you, you're taking yourself far too seriously.
By , at
1:27 AM
Wow... so many people read WAY too far into things, it's quite sad.
And! For the record... Pope Benedict XVI was a Nazi Youth...
A Nazi Youth and a soldier of the German Army, yes. Just like every other kid/person who didn't want to end cracking rocks and cleaning rubble in Dachau.
Seriously, you can't hold that against him.
Er, Koreans don't associate swastikas with bad stuff... At least, not red ones that aren't tilted, because, well, it's assoaiate with buddism here. I'm pretty sure the Egyptian symbol is tilted and exactly like the NAZI one. It's thinner though, standard fonts not being availible to the acient artist.
I have no problem with the joke being in poor taste, it's just not that funny. It's just kind of obvious and cliche and pretty much exactly what I was expecting. I suppose for some people that makes them feel smart, but I feel dumber having read it.
By , at
5:28 AM
Hitler wasn't as evil as history makes him out to be. The holocaust certainly could have happened without him, but most certainly could not have without the German people. Of course, it would have never happened if the British had be reasonable after the First World War. And most certainly Germans do not have a monopoly on genocide, even in the Western world.
That's why Hitler is percieved as more important and evil than what he was. He's a scapecoat for the actions of the German people and allowed to be by Western and Eastern powers that have commited equally discpicable acts. If the whole world feels ashamed of their governments (which they should have after World War II), then maybe they would start questioning the need for such abusive forces in their lives. Societies cause genocides, not single evil men.
By , at
5:33 AM
Aw, heck. I'm an American Catholic who is just plain sick of hearing people accusing the new Pope of being a Nazi (I mean, Youth Group, people. It wasn't optional. The Nazis were a FACIST regime, 'optional' wasn't exactly in their vocabulary list), and I still got that you were making fun of Fairbanks and not Benedict XVI. Do the people complaining think that you agree with Fairbanks on everything? Perhaps they're also upset that you go around drowning Arabic-Americans in soup? If your character does/believes/imagines it, it's obviously a reflection of everything you do/believe/imagine.
By , at
5:45 AM
I wasn't accusing the new pope of being a Nazi, nor was I stating that he was evil, or bad, in any way, shape, or form. I was merely stating the fact that he was [a nazi youth] because I was gathering a general feel of "The pope wouldn't be like that / the pope would never even be associated with Nazis" and was merely stating that to prove that even people who are good-intentioned did something (forced or otherwise) that they are not proud of, and that it is arrogant to think that any one man is beyond all that.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law
By , at
6:07 AM
Benedict XVI may have been Hitler Youth...but if he really was a Nazi, would he be pope? Wasn't the catholic church considered an enemy of the Aryan nation (Hitler)? The Nazi party were all prodistants (don't remember which branch), not catholic.
By , at
6:44 AM
I did a lil research and found out that, true he was a german soldier. BUT he was DRAFTED so it's not like he wanted to, and he also deserted. The fallowing is from a website with a timeline of his life:
1945 Spring (end of April or beginning of May): As the Allied front draws closer, Ratzinger deserts the army and heads home to Traunstein. When the Americans finally arrive at his village, they choose to establish their headquarters in the Ratzinger house. Josef is identified as a German soldier and incarcerated in a POW camp.
so...
YES-he was a nazi
NO- he did not want to be one
and aparently he has a fanclub! that made me chuckel, http://www.ratzingerfanclub.com/
By , at
7:07 AM
im a classical history major, and you all know that the swastica was used in clothes and building designs for thousands of yeards by the romans, greeks, and middle eastern peoples. if its an evil symbol why dont we scrap it off of all the ruins wait that would be dumb, and so is this. besides this comic is someone elses art, someone elses creative work, unless you are a censor how dare you tell the authors what they can and cannnot put in their artwork. if it offends you dont look at it, free will is a beautiful thing, use it to not look at this. cuz if you want to talk about fascism, asking someone to change or stop doing their artwork because it offends you is trying to force homogeny which is what fascism is all about.
By , at
7:54 AM
I just hope he's as forceful as everyone is making him out to be. The catholic church needs a sudden and immediate kick in the ass over all of these child molestation cases. No real devout catholic would put up with this bullshit or cowardly pedophiles who hide in what's supposed to be God's house. After all, being exemplorary, moral, upstanding and honest is supposed to be a part of their job, isn't it? Again, I hope he give his constituents a push in the right direction...
- Infamous 370
By , at
9:05 AM
I think that this comic should not be taken seriously. Symbols are symbols. They're not EVIL, they may REPRESENT evil, but they're not evil.
By , at
12:21 PM
Loved it!! I am going to show this to all my friends ASAP. As for the cross in the swastika... well it was pure brillance.
By , at
2:18 PM
Well. I thought it was funny.
By , at
4:12 PM
For the person who mentioned Godwin's Law, I'm not sure it counts if the thread is actually about Naziism in the first place.
By , at
6:33 PM
Benedict/Ratzinger probably won't do anything about the scandals. Didn't he back Law being made a Cardinal?
By , at
6:38 PM
Great comic :)
"It is - rather unfortunately - true that quite a few people in the US, in hearing a German pope had been elected, momentarily entertained a vision in some fashion resembling Fairbanks', as to many, "german" and "nazi" are still inextricably linked in their minds via an endless array of films set in WWII and a complete lack of contact with Germany and Germans."
--- The Americans are somewhat isolated from Europe. Here in (Northern) Europe, Germany is mainly associated with efficiency and idolized as the heart of Europe.
"Hitler wasn't as evil as history makes him out to be. The holocaust certainly could have happened without him, but most certainly could not have without the German people. Of course, it would have never happened if the British had be reasonable after the First World War. And most certainly Germans do not have a monopoly on genocide, even in the Western world.
That's why Hitler is percieved as more important and evil than what he was. He's a scapecoat for the actions of the German people and allowed to be by Western and Eastern powers that have commited equally discpicable acts. If the whole world feels ashamed of their governments (which they should have after World War II), then maybe they would start questioning the need for such abusive forces in their lives. Societies cause genocides, not single evil men."
---What the fuck? Where did you study history? 1)Hitler was an evil man. 2)The German people were no more guitly than any other people. The Germans were in fact becoming moderates untill the US stock market crash devestated German ecconomy. That's when Hitler started gaining power. (It was either him or communism.) 3)Britain was not resposible for the Versailles treaty. They were in fact the only ones who had doubts about it. France was pissed off and the U.S wasn't willing to let a great financial deal escape them. 4)Single evil men can easily lead societies astray if cirumstances permit them. A combination of charisma, resourcefulness and recession will do it every time. If a leader can play on the emotions of the people, even rich countries can be swayed; like Bush playing the 9/11-card. Note that I'm not accusing Bush of being evil. It was just an example of how powerfull a tool such incidents can be for controlling the people.
"I just hope he's as forceful as everyone is making him out to be. The catholic church needs a sudden and immediate kick in the ass over all of these child molestation cases. No real devout catholic would put up with this bullshit or cowardly pedophiles who hide in what's supposed to be God's house. After all, being exemplorary, moral, upstanding and honest is supposed to be a part of their job, isn't it? Again, I hope he give his constituents a push in the right direction..."
---Haha! The new pope is the same guy who did his best (back when he ran the Inquisition), to cover up all the child molestation cases: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1469055,00.html
...
Why did I ever bother writing all this? Can't people just stop complaining every time someone jokes around with Hitler and all. We weren't born back then anyway. So some of you lost a grandfather or something during the war... big fucking deal. As you weren't born then, you won't miss said grandfather anyway. I'm sure more of you have lost someone in a car-accident. Now run along and get pissed at everyone who talks about cars :-P
By , at
6:48 PM
"Can't people just stop complaining every time someone jokes around with Hitler and all?"
No - and for a damn good reason. I'm half-german myself. And that means a large part of my life has been one long-winded whinge of people calling me "Nazi", "Hitler", and "Racist" purely on the basis of my ancestry. I'm not an isolated case; all germans get this crap.
Russian kids don't get called "Stalin". Chinese kids don't get called "Mao". Nor should they. But I for one have had it up to here with this idea that you can call germans racists and Nazis with no repercusions whatsoever.
Essentially I would not find this half as offensive if there were, for example, an accompanying comic with the joke being Cecania fantasizing about another Stalin or Mao. There won't be.
By , at
1:35 AM
How dare you lot defend Ratzinger? He was a fucking NAZI. A NAZI, people. Do you understand what that is? Nazis are scum, and Catholics now worship scum. There is no other way to look at it, unless you're some bleeding heart too scared to admit the existence of actual evil people to see reality.
By , at
2:01 AM
Since I detest superstition I oppose all religions as well as nazism (and most other so-called political ideologies.
I found the strip hillarious.
Fairbanks is totally bigoted and prejudiced and so is a perfect medium for ALL such attitudes ever displayed by anyone in the world ever.
He's simply an over-the-top, larger-than-life travesty of what an USAnian conservative is to the liberal (and equally prejudiced) mind that anything he does becomes side-splitting rather than offensive.
I love that strip! Oh, and the Hitler-Pope looked funny!
Irreverently yours
The Fat Man From Sweden
By , at
2:13 AM
"I spent hours designing those freaks! I'm gonna get some use out of them!"
By , at
2:36 AM
We agree entirely. I'm not sure why you're pissed off.
I agree that Germans get bad rap from Hitler and it's unjustified. I do call Chinesse people out on Mao though. It's justified, because they still love that murdering piece of shit. Makes me sick.
Of course, a lot of Americans think some truely dispicable people where bad guys. I'm not sure about Montgomery in Britain, but he said he wished more Germans had died in interment camps during the occupation. (A lot died.)
In any event, I'm still right about Hitler being evil, but not as evil as he is percieved. People just like to say, "You're defending Hitler? You're a racist or something." But what they're really saying is, "I want the same things to happen over and over again in history, because I'm going to make a single man the scapecoat for the cruel and unthinking nature of virtually all societies."
As a side note. The US opposed the Treaty of Versailles and it was France who wished to punish Germany. Britain sided with France over election fears.
By , at
4:42 AM
Propaganda. It is a proven fact that the American government unofficially loved the treaty of Versailles, but publically denounced it for political reasons. They knew it would make no difference to the outcome.
By , at
11:03 AM
I knew you were gonna get a lot of flak for that comic, merely because the vast majority of the human race isn't intelligent enough to be as apathetic as I am.
Keep up the good work!
By , at
11:39 AM
"How dare you lot defend Ratzinger? He was a fucking NAZI"
No, he was a member of _Hitlerjugend_. That's different. Do you know what the law was in those days? Every young man, and I mean _every_ young man who was not disqualified on racial grounds had to be a member. What the hell did you expect him to do? It was, literally, that or the camps. He had no choice in the matter. Would you have refused to join Hitlerjugend when the penalty would have been your life, that of your parents and of any family you had?
I agree that anyone who thinks Hitler as a good man deserves nothing but to be despised - exactly in the same way that people who support Communism or Stalin or Mao should be despised.
By , at
3:24 PM
ha. hahahahahhah. all the expected back and forth, siigh, i can't not read the cookie-cutter controversy. well here's some german pope humor that doesn't involve nazis. because my german girlfriend would be th ever-livin' snot outta me fer makin the jokes i laughed my ass off in here:
new communion:
warm beer & schnitzel
"take, drink drink drink, and remember me"
By , at
8:48 PM
That's most groundless thing I've ever heard. The US had an entire proposal (the 14 point plan) that it was backing that was, I dunno, sane.
The US did not support the irrational views of the French and the only reason that it did not do more to push the 14 point plan was out of respect for Europe it it's ability to handel it's own problems. A mistake that has repeately cost the US and one it will no doubtablely make in the future.
Perhaps, the only thing the US is guilty of is general apathy. It didn't see how it would affect the US in the future, because what were the odds of Europe dusching itself over again? No place on Earth is that stupid. Whoops, thousands of Americans dead later, the error was realized... Well, at least it created a deep feeling of freindship in the hearts and minds of political leaders in liberated countries that has lasted well into the 21st century and well into the forseeable future.
By , at
5:58 AM
This particular comic is funny for so many reasons... particularly because of the stereotype associations adressed, I mean, most of the nazi leadership were catholic, Ratzinger was a soldier for the german-nazi army back in the day whatever his personal feelings on the whole matter, hes massively conservative even by catholic standards... I know when I add these facts together (german + catholic + conservative), the obvious association is = Nazi. Still, im sure he isnt actually a nazi, just a grumpy old ex-inquisition, ex-nazi, ultraconservative catholic douchebag. I just hope the majority of catholics know better than to pay attention to anything he decrees.
By , at
7:52 AM
i only want to say, very cool and funny comic. this is the way i think about the new pope and the old one too. and for me as a german is absolutely teribble that this guy is the new pope. and i understand what the pope/hitler guy say good really only some words are on the wrong place.
thanks for reading greets.
By who wants to know?, at
9:45 AM
I whole heartedly agree that J. Ratzinger is ultraconservative. But that doesn't necessarily make him a supporter of the Third Reich.
Re:
2)The German people were no more guitly than any other people. The Germans were in fact becoming moderates untill the US stock market crash devestated German ecconomy. That's when Hitler started gaining power. (It was either him or communism.)
I do think (for reasons too long-winded to go into) that the German people were guilty of what happened during the rise and fall of the Third Reich.
Not all were guilty in a "they arbitrarily pulled the trigger" way, but guilty in a "they were feeling too comfortable to counteract it" way.
That said, communism as such isn't bad. It does not work as a political system, aggreed; it was horribly perverted/distorted in pretty much every country it has been instituted in, agreed. But communism per se is not "bad", "evil" or anything like that. It just doesn't work.
By , at
9:50 AM
Wow... just wow. I can't belive the ignorant things that are being stated on both sides of this argument.
First of all, I would just like to say that I have studied the Holocaust in great depth, along with the Armenian, Ukrainian, Native American, and the ongoing Rwandan Genocides.
I have had the great privilege to meet numerous Holocaust survivors. Including ones from Terezin, Auschwitz-Birkeneau, and Dachau and the survivors ranged from Jews to Jehovah's Witnesses.
"How dare you lot defend Ratzinger? He was a fucking NAZI. A NAZI, people. Do you understand what that is? Nazis are scum, and Catholics now worship scum. There is no other way to look at it, unless you're some bleeding heart too scared to admit the existence of actual evil people to see reality."
-Oh my. Several things about this statement.
1) Joining Hitler's Youth was most certainly not optional, if you didn't, the SS would become suspicious of you and your family. You would be signing all of your death warrants.
2)Hitler's Youth was started as an organization akin to the Boy Scouts.
3)The truth is, reality is never as clear-cut, black and white as we would want it to be. There are cases of prisoners in the concentration camps falling in love and marrying Nazi soldiers. How can you call that soldier evil, if a victim of the Third Reich loves him.
"Hitler wasn't as evil as history makes him out to be. The holocaust certainly could have happened without him, but most certainly could not have without the German people. Of course, it would have never happened if the British had be reasonable after the First World War. And most certainly Germans do not have a monopoly on genocide, even in the Western world.
That's why Hitler is percieved as more important and evil than what he was. He's a scapecoat for the actions of the German people and allowed to be by Western and Eastern powers that have commited equally discpicable acts. If the whole world feels ashamed of their governments (which they should have after World War II), then maybe they would start questioning the need for such abusive forces in their lives. Societies cause genocides, not single evil men."
-It is true that no genocide can be perpetrated by only one man. But you just called the author of the Final Solution not "as evil as history makes him out to be." So exactly how evil is a person who calls for, and attempts to implement, the destruction of an entire race of people? Germans should not be ashamed of their government. The German goverment has implemented quite a few measures to prevent another Holocaust. One of them is that every German student is required to visit the site of a concentration camp, which, I might add, are maintained by the government, and admission is free. The nations of the world should be more ashamed that they are allowing the atrocities currently being committed in Rwanda to go unquestioned.
A great deal of the Nazi soldiers should not be blamed for what they did. If you've studied at all about the psychological concept of obedience, you would know that when faced with an unbending, seemingly knowledgible, authority, most people will obey, even to the point of taking a human life. If you don't believe me, do a google search on Stanley Milgram.
-Descartes
By , at
4:28 PM
"We rarely attempt any sort of commentary in SORE THUMBS"
Well, that's a lie. Kind of negates the rest of the post, really.
By , at
7:31 PM
One of the biggest problem of german people is, that we feel ourselves responsible for what happened in WW2. The old ones do it because they saw it. The middle generations do it because they rised up in the ruins of germany after WW2 and because the world always said: "You're from germany. You are guilty!" And the young ones do it because they were told so. If you look into the german newspapers, you can see even today articles about jewish groups taking companys to court because their parents (!!) did forced labor there during WW2.
I see it all this way: I'm born in 1980. I had nothing to do with WW2. I don't feel myself responsible for that. But I won't forget what happened there and why it happened and that's the difference. But if you talk that out loudly here, they all talk about you as a nazi.
I'm not proud of what happened in my country in the past and not what's happening here now. But I think there are people who are proud of germany. Are they nazis? The world says so, but think about that for a secound or two: If an american says he's proud about his country, they don't call him a nazi, they call him a patriot.
By , at
11:45 PM
That thing about Jewish people taking companies to court because of its parents is pretty worrying. That sort of thing can only foster resentment.
By , at
2:34 AM
Yeah, that's what I said. You want to aurgue with it, but you just agreed with all of it.
I said that Hitler was evil, but not as evil as he's made out to be. (As in, if you believe in evil, you can point many other people that where just as, or more evil than Hilter, they just never had the opportunity to lead a people that were ripe for commiting genocide.)
I still stand by that all people should be ashamed of their government's history at some point. You're right, though it maybe sounded like I was ragging on Germans, which wasn't my intention. Germans have a lot to be proud of.
And you're right in pointing out that genocide has happened and is happening in other places in the world. Has Darfur been resolved? Doubtful. Of course, you can blame the UN's impotence for that.
If the UN was created to prevent another holocaust, then it is the biggest joke ever. Fools in suits walking around getting respect, but what do they do? What have they done? The only place that's somewhat better off is South Korea, but that's only because the war was fought only because the UN did not act unilaterally.
By , at
3:31 AM
"No - and for a damn good reason. I'm half-german myself. And that means a large part of my life has been one long-winded whinge of people calling me "Nazi", "Hitler", and "Racist" purely on the basis of my ancestry. I'm not an isolated case; all germans get this crap.
Russian kids don't get called "Stalin". Chinese kids don't get called "Mao". Nor should they. But I for one have had it up to here with this idea that you can call germans racists and Nazis with no repercusions whatsoever.
Essentially I would not find this half as offensive if there were, for example, an accompanying comic with the joke being Cecania fantasizing about another Stalin or Mao. There won't be."
--Excuse me. I'm about three quarters German myself. And I'd like to know where the hell you live, that you get crap just for being half German. Because-- in my part of America, we don't do that shit. It's not fair for you to generalize on such matters as prejudice and racism.
For the rest of you, I would just like to say that if you can't properly use grammar and spelling, perhaps you shouldn't be commenting. I'm sure you're trying to be intelligent; it's just not working.
By , at
7:01 AM
>> For the rest of you, I would just like to say that if you can't properly use grammar and spelling, perhaps you shouldn't be commenting. I'm sure you're trying to be intelligent; it's just not working.
Thank you very much. I'm just trying to do my best. Sorry for my bad english, but... you know... I'm 100% percent german and NOT living in the states. :p The ability to speak (or write) a language perfect is not intelligence. I know a guy from Jugoslavia who was a lawyer there. He had to leave the country and is now living in germany. Because he have no clue of the laws here and is barely able to speak german, he have to work as a waiter in a restaurant. I won't go that far and call him stupid, because that would make ME stupid, you know?
By , at
11:29 PM
fzzygreypickles, please don't start sentence with the word "and". It is very annoying.
By , at
12:13 AM
Actually, it's okay to start a sentence with "and". I'm 100% English speaking.
Right, I think using perfect grammar/spelling is indicative of spending far to much time thinking about what you post on a web comic's web log... or "blog" as has passed into the common lexicon.
By , at
12:27 PM
No, it as absolutely not 100% fine to start a letter with the word "and". If you do it in an academic paper you will be shot down.
By , at
2:23 PM
I meant start a sentence with the word "and", obviously.
By , at
2:23 PM
This is a late reply, but to the person who said the majority of Nazi leaders were Catholic, I would like to see a source for that statement. From this site http://www.catholicculture.org/docs/doc_view.cfm?recnum=2857 , it would seem that the Nazis were doing everything that they could to destroy Catholicism.
By , at
3:57 PM
If you're some loser college student writing about how anrexia is bad, then yes, using "and" to start a sentence will be shot down by your professor and grad student who checks yours and 100 other papers that day. If you're a respected member of academia, then no, no one will care if you use "and" to start a sentence. What you're refering to is a rule that middle school English teachers tell their students.
By , at
11:04 PM
look simple fact is that it was a joke people... no where did he say he actually agreed with it or that Natzis were in anyway good or not.. all he did was make a joke those of you who are all upset get over yourselves and understand NO ONE REALLY CARES IF YOUR SAD BY THIS... grow up and move on...
By , at
11:43 AM
I suppose starting sentences with "and" might be fine for people who rely overmuch on their bongs and are unable to construct sentences properly. It may also be allowable in poetry. For those of us interested in good english, however, it simply reveals a complete lack of lucidity.
By , at
3:30 PM
You're entirely wrong on this. It's not good to do it often, but it's fine to do if there's a purpose behind it. There is techinically nothing grammically unsound about using "and" to start a sentence. (well, as long as it's capitalized.)
By , at
7:00 AM
Great, AND now, may we please return to the topic above? Honestly, bloggers are just the same people you meet in your everyday life: Some are okay, some are blithering idiots. Some are very lucid and verbose, others are barely literate. Some you like, most of them you want to strangle with a garden hose and then dispose of their remains by putting them through a woodchipper and feeding them to pigs. I think Hitler would have done it that way, or had it done to him...
By , at
8:13 PM
"This is a late reply, but to the person who said the majority of Nazi leaders were Catholic, I would like to see a source for that statement."
I cant recall the URL or book i read it from, but the information is out there. The majority of the nazi leaders WERE catholic, even hitler... they werent DEVOUTLY catholic, but few world leaders really are, I mean look at bush : he might pretend to be a devout born-again southern baptist, but thats a complete crock he went along with because it made him electable.
Check this history lesson out : http://www.nobeliefs.com/nazis.htm
By , at
3:43 AM
Ugh. Way, way too high a signal-to-noise ratio, here.
Kudos to the anonymous one who mentioned Milgram's experiments. That's a bit of psychological history that needs to be brought into mainstream consciousness, because it's frightening what it'll tell you about people.
To the folks who were so dismissive of the suits by the children of Holocaust survivors against the companies that profitted by the war crimes and slave labor of the Nazis:
The corporations being targeted were built on blood-money, pure and simple. Had the boards of these companies even the remotest level of conscience, they would have OFFERED to compensate Holocaust victims and their families. But they didn't. Instead, they tried to cover up their involvement, conceal the records showing that they profited from slave-labor.
I'm not saying the companies should be driven to the point of bankruptcy [though I would've been all for that during the first generation following the war]. But yes, compensation IS owed to these families. It's not just a matter of financial gain [you really can't stick a price tag on the horrors of the Holocaust]. It's a matter of acknowledgement, and owning up to the responsibility.
Curious that the government of Germany is so open in its own atonement, but the corps are so dead-set against being accountable for their organizations' actions.
And, oh yeah--it was just a joke, folks. And until Ratzi apologizes for helping the cabal of silence surrounding the Church's pedophile problem, I'm disinclined to cut him any slack, anyway.
By , at
5:08 PM
Yeah, Milgram's experiments are pretty disturbing. That goes a long way towards proving that my theory of social minimilism (which I've misspelt, among other things).
I understand why the corps aren't interested in providing reprovation to Holocaust survivors. Many of their stockholders had nothing to do with what went on during the Holocaust and many aren't even German. They're international companies that were basically complelely destroyed during WWII and rebuilt after that into what they are now.
Maybe corporate excuatives from German companies were punished (such as the founder of Porshe... but for a short time..)
By , at
5:02 AM
He wore a real swastika, in that 1943 picture of him in the German air force uniform, that was provided by the German Catholic News Agency and distributed by Associated Press. The patch on the jacket is of an eagle on top of a swastika, which only shows up as a blur because it's so small. A clear picture of the same patch is availabe on many World war II memorabilia sites, and it's obviously the same patch.
By , at
12:04 PM
Grammatical Trivia (because yes, I sadly have nothing better to do).
"And" is a conjunction, and is intended to be used to link two ideas together in one sentence. It is typically inappropriate to start a sentence with "and" since there is nothing coming beforehand to link the latter part of the sentence with. However, of course, many grammatical rules are much more lax in use than in theory, especially in this day and age. Therefore in normal speech it is considered fine to start a sentence with "and" but one should refrain from doing so in more academically-minded writing.
Thus ends the lesson.
By , at
9:12 PM
Right, academic in the sense that if you're in college. But if you're writing an academic paper, say, on particle physics then no one will care. Actually, no one will care anyway. Many academic papers are written in English by people who speak it as a second langauge and they are filled with much more glaring errors. If you use And to start a sentence, I think they'd just know that English was your first language.
By , at
4:56 AM
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