there are lot's of reasons to explain the swastika in biker culture. - i'll give 2 quick ones.
1st. in the 60's and 70's bikers wore nazi gear and symbols as part of their total 'fuck you' statement to the man. - and this picture is a trike built in that era.
2nd. the japanese bikes that are posted often on COC have a symbol that is often mistaken for a swastika . . . it is actually an ancient spiritual symbol called the Manji - representing universal harmony and the balance of opposites.
The swastika moves clockwise, the manji moves anti clockwise.
interesting though that the only folks that use this as a fuck-you statement are ones who didn't live through an era where that specific symbol stood for a mindset that turned much of the world to a steaming pile of dead shit....
having asked, i know folks who lived through that era dont see it as a fuck you statement, they see it as an affront to humanity and a sign of stupidity
The use of the swastika could be equated to your average suburban teen drawing pentagrams on their school books, symbolic rebellion and intended to shock authority figures, often without in-depth knowledge of meaning or belief?
Or as Micro suggests there could be a deeper knowledge that indicates a big FU to the authorities and larger community? A more grown-up version of shocking behaviour?
There could also be an interest in the ideology that the symbol represents? There's no accounting of how insensitive or what others see acceptable?
Personally I don't like to use of the symbol, but that's me.
It's not illegal to display a swastika in Australia (where the picture was taken, about 30+ years ago?
An enlightening essay from one of Australia's more respected news journals http://www.theage.com.au/news/Opinion/Swastikas-changing-symbolism/2005/01/26/1106415661687.html
I haven’t researched this in any depth, just my knowledge and a bit of Googling.
6 comments:
why are Nazis so admired around here? The bikes are awesome, but I can't help but notice the common thread of swastikas throughout the pictures.
there are lot's of reasons to explain the swastika in biker culture. - i'll give 2 quick ones.
1st. in the 60's and 70's bikers wore nazi gear and symbols as part of their total 'fuck you' statement to the man. - and this picture is a trike built in that era.
2nd. the japanese bikes that are posted often on COC have a symbol that is often mistaken for a swastika . . . it is actually an ancient spiritual symbol called the Manji - representing universal harmony and the balance of opposites.
The swastika moves clockwise, the manji moves anti clockwise.
people still use these symbols as a "fuck you" type thing.
just like the 'fasces', an ancient symbol that was used by fascist italy and is considered a racist/fascist symbol.
interesting though that the only folks that use this as a fuck-you statement are ones who didn't live through an era where that specific symbol stood for a mindset that turned much of the world to a steaming pile of dead shit....
having asked, i know folks who lived through that era dont see it as a fuck you statement, they see it as an affront to humanity and a sign of stupidity
Anthropologically speaking I think that was the point!
The use of the swastika could be equated to your average suburban teen drawing pentagrams on their school books, symbolic rebellion and intended to shock authority figures, often without in-depth knowledge of meaning or belief?
Or as Micro suggests there could be a deeper knowledge that indicates a big FU to the authorities and larger community? A more grown-up version of shocking behaviour?
There could also be an interest in the ideology that the symbol represents?
There's no accounting of how insensitive or what others see acceptable?
Personally I don't like to use of the symbol, but that's me.
It's not illegal to display a swastika in Australia (where the picture was taken, about 30+ years ago?
An enlightening essay from one of Australia's more respected news journals http://www.theage.com.au/news/Opinion/Swastikas-changing-symbolism/2005/01/26/1106415661687.html
I haven’t researched this in any depth, just my knowledge and a bit of Googling.
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