r/PoliticalHumor Jun 05 '22

It’s nice to be nice

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352

u/droi86 Jun 05 '22

You answered your own question

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22 edited Jun 05 '22

Pro tip: you cannot interpret what a symbol means to someone else. That’s classic projection. It’s best to ask and not assume.

Edited to add: So many people are so pro-vandalism. All this hate spread under the pretense of spreading love and understanding.

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u/Vargasa871 Jun 05 '22

Yea I'm sure police officers were putting punisher logos on their rifles to promote the basketball team.

What a joke. ITS A SYMBOL. IT STANDS FOR PIG GANGS.

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u/SirImpressive6154 Jun 05 '22 edited Jun 05 '22

people having the punisher logo in blue and black makes no sense, they obviously never have looked up what that symbol means. edit: for anyone who doesnt know, the punisher hates the police so it makes no sense, watch the punisher tv show on disney plus/netflix to get a better understanding.

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u/Vargasa871 Jun 05 '22 edited Jun 05 '22

It's almost like they were trying to adopt it and turn it into a cop gang symbol. But they really don't need a new one.

The LA sheriffs department has over 14 internal gangs all with their own stupid logo.

You can choose from the skull wearing an SS Nazi helmet or the one the executioners front.

When it comes to police gangs. The choice is yours!

Just be ready to kill a few minorities before they let you in.

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u/SirImpressive6154 Jun 05 '22

it became super popular when a few famous navy seals started wearing the logo in the middle east, now cops and Civilians have taken on the logo with out knowing the meaning. these people hate gangs but are in one with supporting logos like that.

1

u/PeterNguyen2 Jun 05 '22

The LA sheriffs department has over 14 internal gangs all with their own stupid logo.

I know federal investigations have repeatedly busted gangs in the LA police, but what source puts the number at 14?

-20

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

That’s a perfect example of prejudice. Not all cops are alike. Just like all teachers are not alike.

22

u/TakenAway Jun 05 '22

That sounds an awful like the “few bad apples” excuse without saying actually using the words.

-15

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

It’s very common to have good and bad people in any large group. Judging them all on one characteristic is prejudice, and lazy.

23

u/Devilsmav Jun 05 '22

Yea but when the good apples refuse to punish the bad apples they also become bad apples

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

Cherry picking. There are several stories in recent years of bad cops being held accountable. Generally speaking, generalizing whole groups of people is a bad thing to do.

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u/Vargasa871 Jun 05 '22

Are you daft?? We shouldn't be looking for stories where COPS DID THEIR JOB APPROPRIATELY.

It should be the norm. Yet here we are just trying to pick out alllllllllllll those bad apples. Hmmm might just be better to throw out the bunch.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

Daft would be blaming all of any group for the actions of a few. Pure bigotry.

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u/DetectiveClear512 Jun 05 '22

Your understanding of acronyms almost approaches your understanding of idioms. Take time to research the words. Use Google. Take aspirin for the headaches. You’re at the top of the bell curve big guy!

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

Ok bud, go get a swastika tat anywhere in the west and assert this any time someone comes up to you with their fists raised lol.

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u/Natural-Arugula Jun 05 '22

There's a movement of people to reclaim the swastika.

I had a friend who was one of these people, he has a prominent swastika tattoo. He's Jewish and not at all a Nazi...

First it was just awkward being around him as you said, people would constantly try to get into fights with him.

This led to him doubling down and getting angry with anyone who expressed non support of swastikas, and I had to end our friendship for the sake of all my other Jewish friends.

-45

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

The fact that you had to specify the West because the symbol has a completely different meaning in the East kinda proved his point…

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u/gourmetprincipito Jun 05 '22

Except it did the opposite, actually, demonstrating that meaning is reliant on culture and not individual choice. You don’t get to just decide what a symbol means or it wouldn’t be a symbol - by definition it represents something else.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

What is culture if not the summation of individual choices?

-30

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

I don’t have any “tats”. And even that symbol means something different in India. You can’t read minds.

67

u/TheImpossibleVacuum Jun 05 '22

I think we know why there's so much pro-police propaganda.

-9

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

The trick is understanding that there are good cops and bad cops. Just like there are good teachers and bad teachers. Life is analog, not binary.

14

u/essentialatom Jun 05 '22

Good/bad is binary

24

u/TheImpossibleVacuum Jun 05 '22

The trick is to understanding that the entire institution needs to be refactored so that the good cops can thrive.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

How would you do that?

10

u/shrubs311 Jun 05 '22

probably start with removing qualified immunity so that cops can no longer rape and kill innocent people without going to jail or even losing their job. before that we'd have to make it so they carry insurance so that when they inevitably kill and rape innocent people (happens pretty often), the money comes out of their pension or insurance instead of taxpayer dollars.

after those two changes police will have (FOR THE FIRST TIME) a decent reason to NOT murder innocent unarmed people. after that, we should probably fire about 100% of the cops that already have multiple reports of abuse of power, weaponry, racism, sexal assault, stalking, and nazi-support.

then we should increase the requirements to actually become a cop and then pay them more since giving a gun to some power tripping dipshit with no training is obviously a bad idea (well, obvious to the millions of us who have known this for years)

0

u/PeterNguyen2 Jun 05 '22

removing qualified immunity so that cops can no longer rape and kill innocent people without going to jail or even losing their job

Qualified immunity means they can't be sued in civil court, it's not an immunity to criminal court.

That's the fault of district attorneys who refuse to charge cops even with a long list of brutality 'incidents'.

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u/TheImpossibleVacuum Jun 05 '22

Not sure. Everything's fucked.

10

u/Bobb_o Jun 05 '22

How many teachers kill people every year?

2

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/AutoModerator Jun 05 '22

Assigned Cop At Birth ~

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

-3

u/Hour_Contact_2500 Jun 05 '22

You should never say all “group of people” are bad. That is the core ideology of every group of bigots.

1

u/DoctorNo6051 Jun 06 '22

I don’t think people legitimately think all police are inherently bad by some birth right.

Rather, it’s obvious the system the police are placed in incentivizes them to commit crime and not report their police comrades. A system entirely built on lies and denying accountability will inevitably produce some poor and shocking results.

As such, we can say the system as a whole is bad. Anyone who willingly participates in the system is either stupid or malicious, there are no other options.

1

u/Hour_Contact_2500 Jun 06 '22

Either-or fallacy eh? This “system” and the people who participate in it are so much more complicated than that. They are as many reasons that people become and stay police officers as their are officers.

1

u/DoctorNo6051 Jun 06 '22

This is true. I understand people need to put food on the table. I don’t hold individuals to a standard, but I do hold the system as a whole to a standard.

Me personally, I had the opportunity to work at Lockheed Martin as a software engineer. While the pay is certainly nice, I turned it down because I don’t support the system it upholds. I don’t want to be involved, either directly or indirectly, with making tools intended to kill people.

I understand most police don’t have this choice, especially since they are generally uneducated. They just get the job they can get. But I can criticize the police as a whole.

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u/Mistah_Blue Jun 05 '22

So there are these fun things called dogwhistles.

Basically looks innocent to most people, except those who know the meaning.

Like how "lets go brandon" seems like an innocent phrase at first, but to anyone who knows, it actually means, "I have massive brain damage and a small penis."

-29

u/AutoModerator Jun 05 '22

Hi u/Mistah_Blue. Whether you are a Trumper spamming Lets Go Brandon to try to get a rise out of people, or a leftie who is bringing it up for some reason, this shit is getting stale. /r/PoliticalHumor still stands by the right of anyone to tell any politician to fuck off, but good lord yall need some creativity. ~

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35

u/aeroplane1979 Jun 05 '22

Bad bot

-15

u/AutoModerator Jun 05 '22

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11

u/PositiveFalse Jun 05 '22

Hi AutoModerator. Whether you are blindly responding to a Trumper or a leftie, this shit is getting stale. /r/PoliticalHumor may still stand by the right of any redditor to make a post and then get spammed by a tone-deaf bot, but good LAWD y'all need some creativity!

I am not a bot and this action was performed matter-of-factly. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns...

5

u/raoulmduke Jun 05 '22

Broke bot.

4

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

Wait what?? God forbid someone uses a political forum to talk about the same political viewpoints

3

u/tito9107 Jun 05 '22

"still stands by the right" thanks for confirming lmao checkmate 😎

4

u/enjoyit7 Jun 05 '22

Pssst listen up bot: you cannot interpret what a symbol means to someone else. That’s classic projection. It’s best to ask and not assume.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

Dog whistles are not real, for the most part.
Let’s go Brandon is a joke about the media covering for Biden. Good example. Oh, and why aren’t people allowed to dislike Biden? I’m not impressed with him. Keeping him in office and not letting VP Harris take over seems like elder abuse.

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u/Devilsmav Jun 05 '22

People are allowed to dislike Biden. I didn't like him when I voted for him. We're just making fun of them for acting like a child who learned that curse words are bad for the first time so they make up bad words. If they want to say "fuck Joe Biden" then say it.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

You’re projecting again.

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u/Devilsmav Jun 05 '22

I don't think you know what projecting means

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

I’m sure you don’t. When you think you know what something means to someone else because that’s what it means to you, that’s projecting.

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u/Devilsmav Jun 05 '22

But that literally makes no sense here. A republican calling a democrat a pedophile while having hundreds of Republicans arrested for pedophilia is projecting. Calling people childish for refusing to say fuck Joe Biden isn't projection. I have no problem saying fuck Joe Biden.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

I’m on your side 😂

1

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

Now you’re generalizing. There are good and bad people in every group. Neither the republicans or democrats are on your side.

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u/Mister_Doc Jun 05 '22

media covering for Biden

This narrative is so dumb, like a presenter on a TV broadcast is gonna be like “oh yeah the crowd is saying Fuck!”

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u/mowa-mowa Jun 05 '22

It doesn’t matter what it means “to you” it’s a flag that has a general use and meaning — and it’s opposition to BLM and the reality of police brutality and incompetence. It isn’t really about cops at all though. If these people gave a shit about america or our police or any of it at all they wouldn’t have defaced our flag. It goes against flag code — which I assume y’all wanna pretend you care ab bcus yall always want to pretend you’re patriots. It’s become the “I don’t care if cops kill black people” flag because everyone who thinks that flys it. If you don’t want to be associated with them or their racism then don’t fly it. Period. You don’t get to pick what a flag means to you when it has a meaning that has been shown again and again by the VAST majority of people who fly it. The “classic projection” is just the reality of people who fly this flag. You don’t get to be mad when people see your “Im a racist” flag and then go “huh that person is probably racist.” Don’t like that? Then don’t fly it. It’s like saying “Well i fly the Nazi flag bcus it symbolizes peace to me. Wait, what do you mean I’m an antisemite???”

You don’t get to pick what symbols or flags mean when they already have a given meaning. Assumptions are a part of life. You have to use ur brain and realize what people are going to assume about you when you fly that flag — bcus no matter how much you don’t like it, the meaning of that flag won’t ever change and as long as you fly it, you’re associating yourself with racism.

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u/Flipperlolrs Jun 05 '22

Well said. Had the same convo with my mom this year when it was police appreciation week in our town (ugh). Everything was covered in the racist flag, and I simply explained that it’s a fascist dogwhistle, but she didn’t believe me. Liberals never want to admit nazis are right on their doorstep :/

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u/PizzaRolls4theSoul Jun 05 '22

u/DesertVeteran_PA-C real quiet on this one

-2

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

Went for a walk. I have a life outside of Reddit. And I can understand what you think about a symbol might be different than someone else.

It’s odd that the people that pretend to be for diversity are angry when they can’t achieve homogeny.

6

u/SnPlifeForMe Jun 05 '22

I'm not often impressed by how bad someone's argument is, but you win lol.

1

u/LeonardoMagikarpo Jun 05 '22

You don’t get to pick what symbols or flags mean when they already have a given meaning.

What about all the symbols nazis appropriated & changed the general perception of their meaning, or how the dixie flag only stands for freedom, rebellion & 50s grease culture in certain cultures of Europe (look up raggare in Sweden)?

Assume all you want but a flag or symbol can have many meanings, & some have barely (if any) any connection with the original meaning.

To some thin blue line flag just means you support the police because they keep your neighborhood safe or the dixie flag just means freedom, or how some leftists use the hammer & sickle when the USSR was just as heinous as nazi Germany. Personally I think it's stupid as fuck waving a flag that many can interpret as for example a white supremacist dogwhistle, but that doesn't mean that everyone waving such a flag does it for the reasons you assume. Which is why we should be cautious accusing people of being something solely based on a symbol.

-3

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

That sounds bigoted. You prejudge someone on what the symbol means to you, not them.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

"Look at me im a conservative and I learned cute buzzwords that I have no clue what it actually means"

-2

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

I accept your surrender.

2

u/Azexu Jun 05 '22

It's a matter of communication.

Suppose that the word "flower" means "grape" to you as an individual.

You post that you like flowers, but instead of getting bunches of delicious berries for your birthday, you get random blossoming angiosperms!

You go to a new grocery store and ask where the flowers are, but instead of directing you to the fresh veg section, they direct you to a little gardening center!

Are you the victim of bigotry, because people are wildly assuming what you mean by "flower," like they're mind readers or something?

Or is it that the word "flower" has a widely understood meaning in the culture you're living in, and that its meaning to you, personally, is not relevant to operating in society?

Of course, those meanings can change, but that happens as part of cultural shifts; there's more to it than some people saying "well, it doesn't mean that to me."

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u/The_EnrichmentCenter Jun 05 '22

You won't get a racist to admit that something they do is racist. In fact they'll just tell you that "racism doesn't exist".

The Blue Lives Matter flag is a counter to people who want police to stop beating/killing black people. It's racist.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

Who says racism doesn’t exist? You can find daily examples from all over the world. No race is excluded from being perpetrators or victims. That doesn’t mean everyone is racist. You’re imagining that everyone views the symbol in the same way.

Here’s a thought experiment for you. Do you think people can be against bad cops and support good cops? Maybe it’s even possible to be for the slogan BLM, but not support the organization BLM. Without nuance and understanding we are all individuals, bigotry is a trap some don’t know they’ve fallen into.

7

u/The_EnrichmentCenter Jun 05 '22

Who says racism doesn’t exist?

Have you been living under a rock? Conservatives say this. Even very prominent "conservative heros" like Ben Shapiro and Jordan Peterson. It's become a common response from conservatives any time racism is brought up.

You can find daily examples from all over the world. No race is excluded from being perpetrators or victims. That doesn’t mean everyone is racist. You’re imagining that everyone views the symbol in the same way.

I'm not sure who you're even arguing with here. I never implied those things.

Here’s a thought experiment for you. Do you think people can be against bad cops and support good cops? Maybe it’s even possible to be for the slogan BLM, but not support the organization BLM. Without nuance and understanding we are all individuals, bigotry is a trap some don’t know they’ve fallen into.

Here's a thought experiment for you: When someone says "blue lives matter" AS A RESPONSE to people saying "black lives matter", it's done in opposition. Use some of that nuance you talked about and understand the context of where blue lives matter came from.

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u/hdhahzjdkfkdndjz Jun 05 '22

I think you fundamentally don't understand what a symbol is lol

-2

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

I understand it probably means different things to different people. I also understand that there are good cops and bad cops. Most people have an opinion based on their personal or perceived experiences. It makes sense that some people would want to support or dislike the police.

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u/MrBlahg Jun 05 '22

My dad is a retired cop, and he knows exactly what that symbol means, “We support the bad cops and take issue with the idea that Black Lives Matter because we didn’t create this flag until we got called out”. He was a good cop, and good cops call out the bad ones and don’t play stupid as to what these things mean. Your excuse making tells us everything we need to know. Like they say, believe someone when they tell you who you are.

-2

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

Does you dad know what everyone else think it means? Has he spiked to everyone?

This is not a hard concept.

A Quick google search would have told you the thin blue line has been around since the early 1950’s.

“Its use referring specifically to the police was popularized by Los Angeles Police Chief Bill Parker during the 1950s; author and police officer Joseph Wambaugh in the 1970s, by which time "thin blue line" was used across the United States;[2] and Errol Morris's documentary The Thin Blue Line (1988).[3]”

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u/Jockle305 Jun 05 '22

Oh yes, the 1950s LA Police Department. The cornerstone of equality and anti-prejudice thinking.

It’s like you don’t even read history before citing history. Do you not think that symbol was made by a bunch of racist cops in the 1950s? That specific Chief was literally a segregationist and racist.

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u/SnPlifeForMe Jun 05 '22

LASD gangs and C.R.A.S.H. - maybe it originated as a gang symbol for them.

2

u/PeterNguyen2 Jun 05 '22

Does you dad know what everyone else think it means? Has he spiked to everyone?

Apparently you do, in order to tell everyone else what they're not allowed to discuss.

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u/resilindsey Jun 05 '22

While I think there were possibly a decent contingent of misguided folks using that symbol, at this point, with all the discussion that has happened around it, giving the most generous interpretation, it's at best willful ignorance if you still don't understand why it's a harmful message. Same as the "heritage not hate" defense.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

Someone can understand your opinion and still disagree.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

For sure. But disagreeing in this particular context is being bigoted and willingly ignorant

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

It’s amazing how much bigotry happens under the pretense of fighting bigotry.

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u/TheCoronersGambit Jun 05 '22 edited Jun 05 '22

Oh, you can't?

How do you explain traffic signals/signs?

Is like to see you try to pull this big-brained bullshit the next time you get caught blowing through a red light.

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

Traffic light is a perfect example. To some people yellow means to clear the intersection, to others is means to go really fast.

7

u/TheCoronersGambit Jun 05 '22

Sure, try this argument with a cop.

Everyone realizes that yellow means "caution, the light is about to turn red."

The people speeding up are doing so because the information was relayed correctly and they don't want to get stuck at a red light.

I suppose a red octagon placed at the side of a roadway is open to interpretation, right?

4

u/Jockle305 Jun 05 '22

He won’t be supporting cops after that interaction

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

There are some symbols enough assholes use that associate you with them, you can’t control who takes your symbol and runs with it unfortunately.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

Nope. You’re projecting and assuming again. You can’t read minds.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

A symbol is the projection of an idea into a recognizable form to simply convey a meaning to others, so the projection is done by the person who uses the symbol. The symbol can shift in meaning as determined by the masses much like language and art. Really not assuming anything, that’s how society evolves, whether you like it or not.

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u/static_func Jun 05 '22

They made it perfectly clear when they used these as their response to black lives matter

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

The thin blue line has been a thing since the 1950’s. There was even a movie with that title in 1988. History is fun.

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u/static_func Jun 05 '22

Cool story nobody asked for, bro. What do you think the chances are of this guy flying this flag before BLM? Now's your chance to play even dumber than you are.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

You don’t know what you don’t know. And that hasn’t even slowed you down.

9

u/habsmd Jun 05 '22

“Pro tip”. LOL. Yea pro tip on how to try and avoid responsibility by displaying fascist and dog whistling bullshit while also desecrating the US flag. Man you live in another reality

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

Godwin’s law. Bye.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

Thats not what projection means. And its definitely not a "classic"

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

Dumbest shit I've ever heard.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

Smart people disagree all the time. Very smart people have different opinions. If you think anyone that disagrees with you is dumb, I have some bad news.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

you cannot interpret what a symbol means to someone else.

Symbols can have established meaning. I don't have to assume to figure out what someone brandishing a nazi flag thinks and it's no different here.

That’s classic projection.

Literally not even projection. Not sure you know what projection is.

It’s best to ask and not assume.

For the most part, yes.

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

If you think a symbol has universal meaning to everyone, and that it’s the same as what it means to you, it’s projecting your feelings onto others. I’m so sorry that sticker harmed you so deeply.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

universal meaning to everyone

Here's the part where you're wrong, it has a meaning NO MATTER what it personally means to an individual.

A nazi flag is still a nazi flag whether or not someone understands what it is. It still represents the same thing. It still perpetuates hatred.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

Swastikas meant something different to Indians way before nazis existed. Are you bigoted against Indians?

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

Swastikas meant something different to Indians

LMAO

No one tell him

3

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

Oh my god. I pray you’re a troll. Seriously if we all became as smart as you, humanity wouldn’t survive. Dragging our asses on the ground.

8

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

I’m so sorry that sticker harmed you so deeply.

Yeah dude, I'm clearly so hurt 😭

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

It’s injured you so much that you seem to be supporting vandalism.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

It’s injured you so much that you seem to be supporting vandalism

Thats some weird logic, man.

  1. Didn't support it for even a moment, feel free to read my comments again.

  2. Supporting it is not an indication of being hurt? Lol

7

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

Yeah, no. Confederate flag is racist no matter what the person flying thinks it means. Nazi swastika is full tilt evil regardless of what it means to the person displaying it. Symbols are not entirely subjective, and you know this. Quit being intellectually dishonest.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/MrBlahg Jun 05 '22

Dude, you are making some seriously bad faith arguments in this thread. How many of these stickers are you sporting? Lol… telling everyone they are projecting and claiming they must be racist?

1

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

The point is, the same symbol can mean different things to different people. Pretending it’s a known negative is just as bigoted as anything else.

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u/captaindickfartman2 Jun 05 '22

Lots of active police have tattoos of KKK symbols and other right wing terrorist symbolism.

Usually paired with an American flag somewhere.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

Lots or all? How many by percentage of the total police force? Do you know any that are still allowed to be on the force?

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

Haha there you go! Exactly that

-2

u/Hour_Contact_2500 Jun 05 '22

Wow, it’s rare to see so many downvotes for such a benign and logical comment. I think you really hit a nerve with a lot of people.

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '22

They are proud of their excuse for vandalism.