Coke "promotes" Nazi Robot

Other Chit-Chat
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Did anyone see this on the robot news or Slashdot?

http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?r70267182

"Coke promotes ‘Nazi’ robot

A Coca-Cola promotion in Hong Kong featuring a robot adorned with ‘swastikas’ has been condemned. Rabbi Yakkov Kermaier, of Ohel Leah Synagogue, says it is probably an honest mistake, but he’s called toy sets featuring the “Robocon” characters unacceptable.

One character, the robot-like “Robowaru,” has two swastikas on its chest and can be bought in the UK for around £2.60 with any purchase of six bottles of Coke. The figurines stand on small plastic pedestals with Coca-Cola logos on them.

“It’s not simply a politically incorrect symbol,” Rabbi Kermaier said. “It’s an emblem that represents the wholesale slaughter of six million Jews.”

Rabbi Kermaier acknowledged the Nazi swastika can easily be confused with Buddhist swastikas that are common in Asia. The two symbols are close to being reverse images of one another, with the arms pointing in opposite directions.

Animation International, which sells rights for Robocon and worked with Coca-Cola on the toys, says the symbols were designed by the creator and “did not have anything to do with any organisation or religion.” —AP"

Well, if you look at the picture of the robot in that article, the swastika is clearly clockwise…

If you go to this site: http://www.hindu-mythology.com/html/sacred_symbols.htm

You’ll note that the Hindu swasika is actually clockwise and has no affiliations with the Nazi’s beliefs. My friend Ian got back from India last weekend (his sister goes to school there) and he said, when I showed this to him, that the Hindu swastika is posted everywhere in India as would be the American flag or a street sign.

I think Rabbi Yakkov Kermaier should learn more about another religion before he goes off criticizing it… or perhaps the press should check what they publish first :slight_smile:

Hindu Swastika:

swastik.jpg


swastik.jpg

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I saw that two days ago from the NY Post, wow when I saw that I just started laughing.

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Yep, I’ve always marveled over people’s ability to take one symbol and attach to it all the hatred and meaning of a particular group, until it looses all its original meaning.

Here’s some more information.

[EDIT]PS. I just wanted to point out that I do not advocate the hateful use of the swastika (although, I don’t believe “hate speach” should be a crime, but that’s another topic).[/EDIT]

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There’s only one problem with this: according to the link posted above, both symbols have arms that point “clockwise.” The only difference is that the “bad” symbol is rotated 45 degrees. The two symbols, except for that small difference, are identical.

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When i was in middle school there was a student who had the Hindu Swastika on one of his note books, he had the book taken from him and was almost suspended from school until a teacher noticed that it was different from the Nazi’s. The student did get the book back and he did remove the symbol from the book just not to offend anyone. I just remembered that story when i saw the pic of the Hindu Swastika I felt so bad for that kid because alot of people didnt talk to him after that anymore.

<edit>I stil talked to him but he didnt stay at the school much longer after that happened</edit>

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*Originally posted by srawls *
**

[EDIT]PS. I just wanted to point out that I do not advocate the hateful use of the swastika (although, I don’t believe “hate speach” should be a crime, but that’s another topic).[/EDIT] **

I think thinking you’re in any position to decide what constitutes ‘hate speech’ should be a crime :wink:

Oh, wait.

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*Originally posted by srawls *
**
PS. I just wanted to point out that I do not advocate the hateful use of the swastika (although, I don’t believe “hate speach” should be a crime, but that’s another topic). **

Yay for freedom of speech!

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That’s just disgusting!!!

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*Originally posted by M. Krass *
**I think thinking you’re in any position to decide what constitutes ‘hate speech’ should be a crime :wink:

Oh, wait. **

Don’t you just love Catch-22? :smiley: :stuck_out_tongue:

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*Originally posted by Jonathanb *
**That’s just disgusting!!! **

Jonathanb: What is disgusting? That coke produced this? That it is being seen as Nazi? Hate Speech not being a crime? …

There are several subjects listed here already, please say what you are refering to.

<rant cost=“$0.02”>
Personally, I don’t think the symbol of the swastika on a coke product promotes anti-semitism or racism. Regardless of it being a different form or not.

Reminds me of a story here in MI… A school that was erected in I believe the 1880’s had the symbol of an eagle and a swastika (reverse of the Nazi symbol) on their terrace floor. During a remodeling of the school some time later, a new set of flooring was placed over the old tiles or whatever was down at the time.
The Jewish community was up in arms about the Nazi symbol being uncovered in 1999 for about a week until they found out that there was more than one meaning to the swastika.

Coke pulled the product so it wouldn’t offend people. I think it’s a stupid decision because only “the fool” could take offense to a plastic coke bottle robot with non-chalant swastikas.

</rant>

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*Originally posted by Gadget470 *
**
Coke pulled the product so it wouldn’t offend people. I think it’s a stupid decision because only “the fool” could take offense to a plastic coke bottle robot with non-chalant swastikas.
**

But it’s a problem when that ‘fool’ is a political leader with power… :slight_smile:

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“the fool” are those who have no respect for the events in history or for the feelings of others!:frowning:

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*Originally posted by srawls *
**Yep, I’ve always marveled over people’s ability to take one symbol and attach to it all the hatred and meaning of a particular group, until it looses all its original meaning. **

In all fairness to the Jewish people who survived the camps, if all you saw was the Nazi symbol painted everywhere while heathens did horrible things to you and your family… you wouldn’t want to ever see that symbol again :mad:

Although it is just a symbol, and a symbol can have many meanings, to a lot of people that symbol represents just how ugly and evil human beings can be. It is just like the confederate flag… although many people say it is a symbol of their heritage, it is also a symbol of division.

If you are a good person, why would you want to wear or display something that many people associate with evil? Likewise, if you are an American, why would you wear or display something that represented division among the states? I am all for the freedom of speech and press, but that doesn’t mean I always have to agree or understand what people do :confused:

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The Nazi’s the symbol meant absolutlely nothing to them. I was reading The Great Gatsby and wondering why a Jewish character would have a swasika hanging on his door. Then I realized this was before World War two and it said in the appendix that it was actually a symbol of luck go figure.

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*Originally posted by WakeZero *
In all fairness to the Jewish people who survived the camps, if all you saw was the Nazi symbol painted everywhere while heathens did horrible things to you and your family… you wouldn’t want to ever see that symbol again :mad:

I don’t mean any disrespect to the Jewish people. They went through a horrible ordeal under the NAZI regime (indeed, their history is a long pattern of struggles). But at the same time, I think they should take the time to learn and understand another culture before they make a knee-jerk reaction and assume that this symbol is directed hatefully towards them.

If you are a good person, why would you want to wear or display something that many people associate with evil?

Because as a good person, you make judgements based on logic and reason, and not the whims of the masses. Many people think Americans are evil, does that mean no good person should display the American flag? Besides, the Swastika is part of the Hindu religion. It has been a part of their religion long before Hitler came about. To use a phrase from a previous post, what I think is disgusting is the inability for people to undertand and appreciate the Hindu culture, and force them to be ashamed of publically displaying a religous symbol.

Stephen

PS. I hope this thread doesn’t need to be closed. If I have said something you think I shouldn’t have, please pm me.

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PS. I hope this thread doesn’t need to be closed. If I have said something you think I shouldn’t have, please pm me.

I do not think it should be closed but it should be moved after seeing that this is not even a robot but a toy and that the discussion is more political than anything.

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Agreed. The General Forum is for general FIRST discussion. This has absolutely nothing to do with FIRST, and should be moved to Chit-Chat.

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It’s been said before, but yeah, most people aren’t aware there’s multiple meanings to the swastica.

On the discovery channel one day I was watching a show where they went into this. Apparently the swastica has been found on pottery and decorations in India dating back to the Indus River civilization. It has been a symbol of life and prosperity. Hitler apparently took this symbol and it’s meaning and had his artists cleverly rotate it 45 degrees, make it bold, and bam! It became the symbol of his regime. If you look at it from his point of view, it actually was a good propaganda move to have such an inspiring symbol (at that time) as the national symbol. Of course, if you look at it from a Western Post-Hitler point of view, it obviously has a different meaning.

When you think about it, it’s actually pretty interesting how a symbol of life and prosperity has been transformed into a symbol of evil and hatred in such a (relatively) short period of time. It’s also pretty interesting to note that outside of Western culture (i.e. Buddhist India and Asia), the swastika is seen as a religious symbol. Just goes to show you how different the world is outside of the West.

The show also brought up another interesting symbol. Before Christianity, the cross was seen as a symbol of death and punishment, much like the swastika is seen now. However, once Christianity spread… well, it’s worn around the necks of countless people around the world now.

As for the Coca-Cola bot, $10 says it was designed and manufactered in Asia. This is one of those examples that businesses face when trying to market products in other countries - cultural differences tend to get in the way. In Asia and India, with a large number of Buddhists and Asian culture, nobody saw anything wrong. When they tried to bring it to the West, though… well, yeah. Swastikas don’t exactly fly too well around here.

The example of the Ford (?) Nova comes to mind. A few decades ago, Ford (?) made a car called the Nova. However, when they tried to market it in South America, it just didn’t sell and cost them lots of money. Apparently no one realised that in Spanish, “no va” translates to “does not go”. Who wants to buy a car that doesn’t run? :wink:

[Edit]It’s been mentioned that the swastika is Hindu, not Buddhist… my bad[/edit]

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*Originally posted by SuperDanman *
The example of the Ford (?) Nova comes to mind. A few decades ago, Ford (?) made a car called the Nova. However, when they tried to market it in South America, it just didn’t sell and cost them lots of money. Apparently no one realised that in Spanish, “no va” translates to “does not go”. Who wants to buy a car that doesn’t run? :wink:

Chevrolet, for what it’s worth. :slight_smile:

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*Originally posted by srawls *
**But at the same time, I think they should take the time to learn and understand another culture before they make a knee-jerk reaction and assume that this symbol is directed hatefully towards them.

Funny you should say that, because the Jewish people have been misunderstood, persecuted and attacked throughout their entire existence. Even today they are not safe, and must try to go about their daily lives while terrorists run through malls and crowded streets with bombs attached to their chests. I think they have every right to be weary of such things.

To use a phrase from a previous post, what I think is disgusting is the inability for people to undertand and appreciate the Hindu culture, and force them to be ashamed of publically displaying a religous symbol.

Did I miss something? The Hindu symbol is totally different from the Nazi one. The little dots and the curved endings aren’t on the swastika, so what’s the big deal? Anyone wearing a pure swastika though should learn to respect what horrible things the Jewish people have been through, and just not wear it: plain and simple.

Anyone who does wear it though, has that right to do so in this country… but then I also have the right to spit on every sidewalk that they walk on… unless of course it makes the sidewalk slippery enough to be dangerous :yikes:

PS. I hope this thread doesn’t need to be closed. If I have said something you think I shouldn’t have, please pm me. **

As long as threads remain civil, they shouldn’t be closed. Just stay on topic and attack/defend the issue, not the people :wink: