rut row raggy! this is, uh, in rather poor taste...

[Mike70]

a guy running for a congressional seat in ohio's 9th district (toledo) likes to dress up as an SS soldier in his free time. HUH?? at first glance this kind of appears innocent until this:


He admitted, however, that he belonged to a group called Wiking, which says on its website that it aims for ‘the preservation of the history of WWII and the lifestyle of the German combat soldier.
In particular, the organisation models itself on the Wiking division of Hitler’s dreaded SS.

and this:


But he couldn’t hide his admiration for the Germans in an interview with The Atlantic after the picture surfaced.

‘They took over most of Europe and Russia, and it really took the combined effort of the free world to defeat them. From a purely historical military point of view that’s incredible,’ he said.


are you fucking serious?

this guy is obviously far, far too stupid to even serve in the house of representatives.

in my opinion, this shows some seriously questionable judgment in someone with political aspirations.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1319438/Rich-Iott-Tea-Party-candidate-dresses-Nazi-SS-soldier-weekends.html?ITO=1490

[Danny]

I get to "tea party" in the title and am unsurprised.

[AcesandEights]

Gotta hand it to them Germans, they know how to tailor some snazzy uniforms.

Also, everyone knows you're supposed to reenact as just the plain old wehrmacht heer when up for public office. Bad show, bad form.

[Eyebiter]

Read the guy's bio, he also does American Civil War and World War One reenacting.

Does that mean he wants "the south to rise again" or he wants to go "over there" to free Western Europe from the threat of the Kaiser?

[AcesandEights]

Read the guy's bio, he also does American Civil War and World War One reenacting.

Does that mean he wants "the south to rise again" or he wants to go "over there" to free Western Europe from the threat of the Kaiser?

Well, I don't have a problem with reenactors, but the choice to do reenactments as a member of the German armed forces, let alone the Waffen SS, is bound to be contentious for someone in the public eye. Shit, it'd be contentious for a lot of people not in the public eye, for that matter.

I agree, in theory, it shouldn't be an issue, and I know the historical reenactment community by and large is full of decent, very giving people (they depend on a good public face and the mentoring of possible future members to help keep the long term prospect of their hobby vital). That said, there's always warning bells that go with this sort of thing, and I can agree to a degree with the reasoning behind it.

Ever peruse a newsgroups about WWII history? If you've ever taken a look at axis-oriented historical communities online you'll eventually see that some of the people there are certainly a little too in touch with the attitudes of the people they study. Not all of them, probably not even a majority, but there always seems to be a few.

[Mike70]

Well, I don't have a problem with reenactors, but the choice to do reenactments as a member of the German armed forces, let alone the Waffen SS, is bound to be contentious for someone in the public eye. Shit, it'd be contentious for a lot of people not in the public eye, for that matter.

I think this guy's biggest public relations problem isn't that he re-enacts WWII battles but that he belongs to an organization that calls itself "wiking ." like aces said, that is bad form for someone with political aspirations.

[BillyRay]

like aces said, that is bad form for someone with political aspirations.

Unless your political aspirations include burning the Reichstag...

[MoonSylver]

Why not? We've got a nazi president anyway (don't we?)

http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090511185040/wikiality/images/e/e2/165207_190obama_nazi.jpg

And now, in the interest of fair time, the rebuttal:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a319/fladj11/Obama%2013/ObamaHitler.jpg

[Andy]

Gotta hand it to them Germans, they know how to tailor some snazzy uniforms.

Also, everyone knows you're supposed to reenact as just the plain old wehrmacht heer when up for public office. Bad show, bad form.

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/q3JKcExmQlA/0.jpg

Wait a minute, are we the baddies?

[MoonSylver]

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/q3JKcExmQlA/0.jpg

Wait a minute, are we the baddies?

http://spyhunter007.com/Images/indiana_jones_wearing_his_hat.jpg

Nazis! I HATE those guys! :lol:

[blind2d]

Murdoc: What's so bad about dressing like a Nazi? I mean, what about Lemmy and Keith Richards, and Leonard Nimoy?
Russel: You can't go around dressed as a god damn Nazi! Cracker ass...