The Hitler t-shirt issue has turned out to be much bigger than I wanted. Last night I had a heated msn discussion about the appropriateness of the Hitler t-shirt with Tristain. This was exactly the kind of discussion that I wanted to avoid by bringing the issue up discretely. Yes, on the one hand there is a sort of ironic, Onionesque humour in comparing Hitler's conquest of Europe with a rock band's road tour, but on the other hand, there are serious red lines that are crossed and harms that are commited in the wearing of this shirt that, in my opinion, far outweighs the humour intended. In the end, it seemed as if the debate hinged on the existence and seriousness of anti-semitism. To those of you reading this I say that anti-semitism is real and I have personaly experienced it. This was not a discussion I wanted to have.
During the course of this discussion, I became aware of Zandara's (the shirt wearer) reaction to the whole thing. Tristain gave me her blog address and I read what she had to say. It seemed that when Zandara recieved my protests, she became defiant. She posted on her blog about the lack of courage of those who had protested anonymously as I did. In doing so, she did not address the main issue. In the comments posted below, it seemed as if the issue was not being taken seriously at all. To show my side of the issue, I posted a long and detailed statement of why I thought the shirt was offensive and inappropriate. Zandara responded by posting a reply that included an apology, and I am satisfied.
Once again, I would just like to stress that I was not looking for an apology. An apology from a stranger is a mere formality. While nice to hear, it is hard to say whether it means anything. My goal throughout the whole affair was to make the t-shirt wearer aware that this shirt was offensive so that hopefully she would not wear it again in such a setting. That said, I hope this unpleasantness goes away as quickly as possible with lessons learned on all sides.
If you want to read Zandara's account an the message I posted it is at http://www.livejournal.com/users/zandaralee/112477.html
In happier news, I have booked my ticket to Beijing with Gabe's travel agent. It is on JAL through Tokyo, but unfortunately does not include a layover. This means that, assuming my parents come through with the money, I will be in Beijing on the night of May 29. I can't wait. I have booked two tickets, so that I can go together with Rae. Once there, we should start looking for jobs and and apartment so that we can be making money as quickly as possible.
Marc
During the course of this discussion, I became aware of Zandara's (the shirt wearer) reaction to the whole thing. Tristain gave me her blog address and I read what she had to say. It seemed that when Zandara recieved my protests, she became defiant. She posted on her blog about the lack of courage of those who had protested anonymously as I did. In doing so, she did not address the main issue. In the comments posted below, it seemed as if the issue was not being taken seriously at all. To show my side of the issue, I posted a long and detailed statement of why I thought the shirt was offensive and inappropriate. Zandara responded by posting a reply that included an apology, and I am satisfied.
Once again, I would just like to stress that I was not looking for an apology. An apology from a stranger is a mere formality. While nice to hear, it is hard to say whether it means anything. My goal throughout the whole affair was to make the t-shirt wearer aware that this shirt was offensive so that hopefully she would not wear it again in such a setting. That said, I hope this unpleasantness goes away as quickly as possible with lessons learned on all sides.
If you want to read Zandara's account an the message I posted it is at http://www.livejournal.com/users/zandaralee/112477.html
In happier news, I have booked my ticket to Beijing with Gabe's travel agent. It is on JAL through Tokyo, but unfortunately does not include a layover. This means that, assuming my parents come through with the money, I will be in Beijing on the night of May 29. I can't wait. I have booked two tickets, so that I can go together with Rae. Once there, we should start looking for jobs and and apartment so that we can be making money as quickly as possible.
Marc
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