I'm reminded of one of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books where vampires try to train themselves not to be bothered by a cross, since it's merely a simple shape. They repeatedly remind themselves that different simple shapes have meaning to various religions, and go through many examples. Unfortunately, it eventually backfires on them, since they now associate all sorts of shapes with various religions, so they end up being bothered by almost every simple shape.
There's something of that flavor here, inverted - i.e. not (evil vampire) / (good cross) but (good liberal) / (evil swastika). A good person is supposed to be so attuned to the evil of the symbol, that it showing up anywhere, even by accident, is deemed to cause emotional distress. That does have an internal logic of a sort, with the extreme importance often invested in taboo symbols.
I was thinking of Bill Murray's joke from "What About Bob?"
The doctor draws two circles and says “What do you see?” the guy says “Sex.” So the doctor draws trees, “What do you see?” the guy says “sex”. The doctor draws a car, owl, “Sex, sex, sex”. The doctor says to him “You are obsessed with sex”, he replies “Well you’re the one drawing all the dirty pictures!”
Yours is the best attempt at showing where the swastika is, and I still don't really see it. I completed the puzzle hours before I caught wind of people claiming the NYT was suddenly a new booster of Third Reich ideology. I went back and turned the thing upside and looked at it in a mirror but still came away with nothing.
I spent part of my childhood in Kathmandu, where you could see actual swastikas in places of worship. In fact, there is still a big brass tub lined with swastikas we bought there in the family home. My father was a war time evacuee with very strong feelings about the evil Hitler unleashed into the world - i.e., not a Nazi. I certainly hope today's expat community in that part of the world doesn't go around accusing Hindus and Buddhists of fascism, though nowadays it would not surprise me.
Good piece, except that dress is clearly white and gold, you weirdo.
I'm reminded of one of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books where vampires try to train themselves not to be bothered by a cross, since it's merely a simple shape. They repeatedly remind themselves that different simple shapes have meaning to various religions, and go through many examples. Unfortunately, it eventually backfires on them, since they now associate all sorts of shapes with various religions, so they end up being bothered by almost every simple shape.
There's something of that flavor here, inverted - i.e. not (evil vampire) / (good cross) but (good liberal) / (evil swastika). A good person is supposed to be so attuned to the evil of the symbol, that it showing up anywhere, even by accident, is deemed to cause emotional distress. That does have an internal logic of a sort, with the extreme importance often invested in taboo symbols.
I was thinking of Bill Murray's joke from "What About Bob?"
The doctor draws two circles and says “What do you see?” the guy says “Sex.” So the doctor draws trees, “What do you see?” the guy says “sex”. The doctor draws a car, owl, “Sex, sex, sex”. The doctor says to him “You are obsessed with sex”, he replies “Well you’re the one drawing all the dirty pictures!”
I like that connection! (I also love that book. Scraps for the win!)
I wonder where that bathroom tile came from... ; )
Yours is the best attempt at showing where the swastika is, and I still don't really see it. I completed the puzzle hours before I caught wind of people claiming the NYT was suddenly a new booster of Third Reich ideology. I went back and turned the thing upside and looked at it in a mirror but still came away with nothing.
I spent part of my childhood in Kathmandu, where you could see actual swastikas in places of worship. In fact, there is still a big brass tub lined with swastikas we bought there in the family home. My father was a war time evacuee with very strong feelings about the evil Hitler unleashed into the world - i.e., not a Nazi. I certainly hope today's expat community in that part of the world doesn't go around accusing Hindus and Buddhists of fascism, though nowadays it would not surprise me.
Interesting that you can't see it and others can't not see it. The brain is a funny thing.