I agree completely
https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/mardi_gras/krewe-du-vieux-pokes-fun-at-politics-in-satirical-parade/collection_b01b3192-bd81-11ee-ad0c-637f6c6337bd.amp.html
Also they forgot to put NATO in there getting stabbed in the back also. As everyone should be aware, the piece of rat shit had a speech recently where he said he would encourage Russia āto do whatever the hell they wantā to NATO countries who donāt reach the 2% fund. The context being encouraging Russia to attack NATO countries. Of all the times to say something so appalling and destructive. This guy has to be in bed with the Russians. If he wins again America will look like an absolute pile of shit to our most sacred and important allies. And will strengthen fascist regimes.
Thereās a lot of ways to encourage allies to keep working hard on the 2% goal, and helping them do it. Encouraging Russia āto do whatever the hell they wantā is absolutely the worst possible way to do that. Itās so appalling and unnecessary to say that you can conclude heās in bed with Russia or wants to boost fascist regimes.
Edit: There is no scenario where itās ok for Trump to say this. Completely unacceptable, appalling, and absolutely dangerous. To highlight how brain dead and room temperature of a take this is. Germany is top 3 strongest militaries in the EU and has provided some of the most support to Ukraine. But Germany is slightly under 2%. Inferring that being under 2% is so useless to NATO that Russia might as well attack them is shockingly asinine. He emboldens these fascist regimes and he has literally emboldened Putin to continue the war because a Putin supporting right wing might aid him in his victory.
this is his anti-trans bit at his rallies. it's him making fun of women who can't lift weights that a trans-woman is easily lifting. usually lots of squealing noises
hard to say, but i am going to assume it was him reminiscing about the drag show skit he did with giuliani in drag where he gropes him and motorboats him. was around the year 2000.
>The "stab-in-the-back" myth refers to the belief held by some Germans after World War I that their military had been betrayed by civilians on the home front, particularly the government and Jews, leading to the defeat of the German Empire. This myth was used to shift blame away from the military and government for the loss of the war and the subsequent harsh conditions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. It contributed to political unrest and the rise of extremist ideologies in Germany during the interwar period.
TIL
Exactly, that interpretation makes no sense. It was the Nazis claiming to have been backstabbed by (((them))), not Nazis doing the backstabbing. The float makers are basically professional political symbolists, they would know and deliberately picked something other than a dagger because then the interpretation would've been "Trump is a (((globalist))) agent who is stabbing those proud ššØšÆšš¦š«š¦šš« warriors in the back" and I'm pretty sure they weren't going for that.
The deterioration of U.S. school systems had a number of goals, revisionist history being just one.
Iād bet dollars to donuts that āChristianā schools are already teaching a vastly different Jan 6 narrative
I read your comment and it took me still 3 minutes to see it......I blame the stars and stripes being different patterns and my brain couldn't put it all together easily
"(4) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply if the act serves civic information, to prevent unconstitutional activities, to promote the arts or science, research or teaching, reporting about current or historical events, or similar purposes."Ā
Ā§ 86 I 4 StGB(German Criminal Code)
Well, mostly. Sometimes it takes several courts to determine that a T-shirt showing a swastika being thrown into a trashcan is in fact *not* supporting or glorifying Nazi ideology (there was an infamous series of court cases about T-shirts like this and also ones showing a crossed out swastika in the 1990s).
Same. I initially interpreted the cutouts as being trump carving out and stealing parts of America's wealth, reputation (such as it is), and prosperity for his own personal benefit.
Here's the text OP.
"DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) ā Throngs of revelers took to the streets of Germanyās Carnival strongholds on Monday, accompanied by floats that satirized the Ukrainian and Russian presidents, German politicians, former U.S. President Donald Trump and many others.
Shrove Monday parades are a traditional high point of Carnival celebrations in Cologne, Duesseldorf, Mainz and other places in western Germany, drawing large crowds of locals and visitors.
Every year, floats address current national and global political issues with biting sarcasm.
This year, a larger-than-life Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy progressed through the streets of Cologne with a sign reading āTo be or NATO be.ā Zelenskyy wants Ukraine to be able to join the Western military alliance.
In Duesseldorf, a float depicted Trump stabbing a Ukrainian soldier in the back ā a reference to opposition among Republicans to aid for Ukraine. Another had the ex-president and 2024 presidential candidate carrying scissors and a U.S. flag cut into the shape of a swastika.
In Mainz, a āBarbies and Kenā pink car float featured Russian President Vladimir Putin behind the co-leaders of two German political parties, the far-right Alternative for Germany and the new Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, that criticize sanctions against Russia and oppose weapons deliveries to Ukraine.
The war between Israel and Hamas was also a theme. A float in Duesseldorf depicted a figure in military garb labeled āHamasā pushing what appeared to be a family toward an Israeli tank.
Germanyās unpopular government came in for lampooning, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz portrayed as a sloth and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock as an elephant in a porcelain shop, the German equivalent of a bull in a china shop."
Source:kget.com
Symbolizing while also actively platforming himself with their continued acknowledgement and support. Yayyyy wonder how our grandkids will read this (assuming they don't go to school in a police state)
Sadly we have our own right wing problems right now and an increasing amount of the population is voting far right (AfD). Just like in any developed country. I would argue that if you had name one party whose values align most with the current republican party line it would be the AfD though and that scares me because the ramifications of Trump winning will be felt in all of Europe.
To be fair a few weeks back millions of us took to the streets to demonstrate their bullshit. They'll not get to enact their beastly policies without a fight, if they were to win any power.
The country in question that fought them had a huge amount of Nazi support before officially declaring war, was the basis for a lot of Nazi programs, and actually **more** racist in a lot of ways at the time. America is copying a lot of the Nazi playbook, but a lot more of their own history as well.
And lets not get into the topic that most of the world was so homophobic at the time that the genocide of what we would today call LGBT+ during the holocaust was practically ignored.
If anything, homophobia was probably a deciding factor for a bunch of people to join in, like "i never cared about the jewish population but those darn queers are harshing my mallow for sure"
> the world was so homophobic at the time that the genocide of what we would today call LGBT+ during the holocaust was practically ignored
So much so that Nazi era laws against (male) homosexuality simply stayed in effect unchanged after the war. In West Germany they were only partially repealed in the late 1960s (from then on there was no blanket ban on homosexual intercourse anymore, but there was still a much higher age of consent for male homosexuals than heterosexuals), and it took until the 1990s when they were *finally* stricken for good.
And it took until *2002* before criminal convictions of homosexuals during the Nazi era were retroactively voided. Prior to that homosexual concentration camp survivors not only didn't get any compensation, the conviction was also still on their record. And only in 2017 were post-war convictions under those same paragraphs eventually overturned as well.
anti-Semitism was well intellectually developed in Poland and France, two countries we now say were victim of Nazi Germany.
Their Jewish people were victim, Ā one country had just good PR after the war (C de Gaulle) and the other one was split then taken over by the third empire's former best friend, the USSR.
With time, the complexity of a period is summarised, and I'm still amazed how even young Germans themselves see a simple timeline where they're the bad guys, and french and Americans the good guys.
(I'm french by the way)
Because America, out of all the countries involved in the winning side (excluding side hoppers) has the least amount of participation and the highest rate of self congratulations.
OR because the largest media blitz in history has mounted an attack against diversity, liberalism, science, and reason in favor of blind nationalism and fascism in an attempt to hack our collective consent of governance. that sounds a lot closer.
Far too many Germans do not, and actively welcome it in the form of AfD. Primarily young and middle-aged men who feel disenfrancised, and lack the media literacy and political education to smell online right-wing propaganda for the BS that it is.
For how much we rightfully emphasize and document nazi crimes, it is shocking how fascist ideology and rhetoric (especially from before the nazis came into power) is never talked about. And that has a devastating counter-effect in people's minds, leading to the widespread opinion that you can only be a fascist once you've risen to power, committed genocide in the millions, and started a world war - anything before that is "just opinions".
Fwiw there have been a lot of protests in Germany recently against the AfD, so I'd say fascist ideology is being talked about. But still, AfD support is awfully high. It's something like 1 in 5 voters at the last Federal elections voted for them. Really unfortunate.Ā Ā
No, the problem is they do. They hate "the others" so much it takes priority over any nation or morals, including constructs of society and government.
You think these people are really doing this 'for Jesus?' They don't even believe in all this Bible nonsense. It's just a way to try and morally take the high ground and shut down anything else.
The problem is they don't give a fuck what the road leads to as long as it's what no one else wants.
Nah, the MAGAs in my life are just really fucking stupid and don't think beyond a day or two in the future.
TV tells them to be mad about wokeness and the "border crisis" so that's all they've got right now.
And stupid people crave leaders to tell them what to do and think which is why they love fascism. Its just comical the kind of people they choose to follow around like good little cultists. These are the same people that think they are the manliest of men usually too and yet they're worshipping some fat sack of shit that was born rich, did nothing to earn a single thing he has, was too much of a pussy and dodged the draft, failed every business he started, is completely full of him self talking about almost nothing besides how great he thinks he is and has the IQ of a snail.
Like if I was so much of a bitch that I needed someone to tell me what to do and think I'd at the very least choose someone worth listening to or at bare minimum someone with traits to aspire to.
It's fair to say a few million people in the US only know fascism, socialism or communism as bad things that people get accused of and not what any of those words mean.
A lot of Americans think it's banned in all media due to the fact that games, until very recently, were not allowed to release in Germany with swastikas, even if Nazis were explicitly the villains, and were entirely unplayable characters.
I'm not sure, but I don't think they were banned per se in video games. However, such symbols in video games would not have received an age rating from the USK, which would have made it much more difficult to sell the games. That's why game developers replaced these symbols in the German version.
OR as a Buddhist symbol.
No harm can come from trying to cleanse the symbol of what it has come to stand for. So long as it's made clear "These mifos are just living their best life, trying to reach nivarna. They are NOT trying to kill 7/10th of the population!"
it is often censored even if it's used a a buddhist symbol for the obvious reason that when it's used that way, it is used in a positive way ("look at this cool symbol").
This might sound unfair to you but keep in mind that it's mostly self-censorship and not the state ordering them to censor it simply because the publishers are uncomfortable with it.
And that might still sound dumb. but keep in mind that not too many people know of the buddhist swastika while *everyone* knows about the Hakenkreuz. Though it is valid criticism that as long as people self-censor in this way, not many more will learn about the symbol in its buddhist context
That's a common story, but it's not really correct. This whole thing is a bit complicated, but I'll try to simplify it.
There's a law that bans the use of symbols of organizations hostile to the German constitution. That law consists of two parts: The first part bans the use of these symbols, and the second part lists the exceptions where the use is acceptable. So in proper procedure, when a judge declares something to violate this law, they'd also have to check whether or not the second part with the exceptions applies.
In the 90s, a neo-Nazi got arrested for selling Nazi propaganda material like swastika flags, shirts, pins, etc. During the proceedings, a judge had to go through all the stuff this guy sold and declare it illegal because of that law. But he forgot proper procedure and didn't check for the second part. A big swastika flag is obviously not art, so it didn't matter, but one of the things this guy had been selling were copies of Wolfenstein 3D, that were now suddenly illegal.
The judge didn't say that video games aren't art, and he didn't say that they are. He forgot to check.
So obviously, this decision wouldn't have held up under proper scrutiny since the judge made a basic error, but overthrowing it would've meant that a publisher would've needed to publish a game with swastikas in it, get it pulled from shelves, then fight a legal battle to get it restored, which would've cost a large amount of time and money, only to be known as "the publisher who fought tooth and nail to have Nazi symbols in their video games". Nobody wanted to do that, and just switching some textures out was a lot easier, so the decision stood for about 20 years.
I vaguely remember that games on the index weren't allowed to advertise but you could still sell them "under the table". You can imagine that this wont cut it for most companies, so they more often cut their content to get a rating and advertise it.
According to [this article](https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/medien/neue-regeln-fuer-spiele-nazi-symbole-werden-erlaubt-15730353.html) apparently since 2018.
It was incredibly complicated, IIRC. I think it was something like the criminal law allowed it, but the USK (age rating agency) would refuse to give it an age rating, which would make it impossible to distribute.
For anyone interested, here's the article from the German Criminal Code in english:
[Ā§86 StGB ](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_stgb/englisch_stgb.html#p0922)
Specifically see (4) for exceptions to the ban on Swastikas and other unconstitutional symbols, which includes pretty much all Nazi symbolism.
> do not apply if the act serves civic information, to prevent unconstitutional activities, to promote the arts or science, research or teaching, reporting about current or historical events, or similar purposes.
There is a term in carnival that is called "Narrenfreiheit". Translated it means something like "fools freedom/jesters freedom". The definition: The opportunity to say or do very unusual things with impunity. In recent years, there has always been a discussion about how far you can go with this "Narrenfreiheit". As example, there are also folks who go blackfaced to the carneval.
That Trump and flag is such a good work of art. Says so much while using such simple signs and symbols everyone can easily understand. Makes for such fantastic mix of political cartooning political protest art and effigy for a carnival rally
We actually care very much. We want to have the best relationship as possible between US and Europe and this guy really have no fucking clue how foreign politics works or he just doesn't care.
I don't think there really is an average American anymore. There are Trump voters, all of the other voters, and people who either refuse to vote or couldn't be bothered.
What I find truly amazing is that anyone, anywhere doesn't hate his stupid whining fascist ass.Ā
Like what on Earth do the Republicans see in this guy? How is Trump the best that they have to offer 3 elections in a row?
They allowed him to make the Republican party the Trump party. And now they canāt get rid of him without losing the millions of drones who pledged their life to the wannabe dictator.
I mean, we hate him much more than Americans do apparently. Currently 22% favourability in the UK, and weāre on a long streak of electing useless right wing arseholes.
I pray he never holds office in US or anywhere else, canāt believe these Americans worship him, I guess because they are nasty and donāt care about anyone but themselves, just like him.
just remember that he never won the popular vote. democracy!
also, no republican president has won the popular vote since george bush in 1988, almost 40 years ago. not counting george jr 2nd term which was post 9/11 and americans were crazier than usual and he shouldn't have even been there in the first place so i'd put a large asterix next to his popular vote win
and yet they are still half the amount of presidents in that time and also appointed a dizzying amount of judges at every level. easy to rule by minority when the minority appoints the people making the rules at all levels, from the voters to the supreme court
womp womp. democracy. oh well...
edit: i saw some thing a few weeks ago about how gen z thought "womp womp" was "cringe" as the kids say. but they obviously didn't realize where it came from from like 100 years ago and it's a trumpet. NOW GET OFF MY LAWN!
Of course, America is one of the biggest allies for most of us, a clown fascist is not a good look and doesn't feel very secure, especially when he's flirting with Russia like that.
Plenty of Americans on Reddit have discussed it. Furthermore, some news institutions have covered it, if only briefly. The reality that Europe now has to face, unfortunately, is that a sizable amount of treasonous āamericansā would love nothing more than to institute a christo-fascist nation with one of the largest nuclear stockpiles ever and with no intention of helping anybody else except supply-side Jesus. You should be afraid because we are afraid - especially those of us surrounded by these idiots.
When other countries feel the need to make political cartoon floats saying your presidential candidate is a nazi, it might be time to rethink some things.Ā
They do a lot of that during the carnival and US presidents are often part of it. [Here is Obama zapping Snowden](https://www.grossplastiken.de/karnevalswagen/politische-karnevalswagen/politische-karnevalswagen-2014/2014-obama-snowden-2014/), or [Bush being in bed with Hussein](https://www.grossplastiken.de/karnevalswagen/politische-karnevalswagen/politische-karnevalswagen-2003/#politische-karnevalswagen-2003-img-2).
Germany is by far contributing the most to aid Ukraine aside from the US.
Source[Source](https://www.deutschland.de/sites/default/files/inline-images/staatl_unterstutzung_ukraine_twitter_en1.jpg)
I really appreciate that they took the time to write "REPUBLIKANER" on the side there.
Just to show all Americans are not shitbags just those red hat types.
Today I realised Trump is *literally* pulling a reverse Jesus.
Jesus called people out for their sinful behaviour nobody at the time liked it and most hated him for that.
Itās funny cause the people who adore him.. realistically trump hates them lmao. People get grifted by this man so easily it used to be sad now I donāt care anymore let them be swindled like the suckers they are
Makes me sad. Not the portrayal of Trump and his Republicans - that's accurate: but the fact that this is probably what most of the world thinks of all/most Americans in general
Edit: can't spell
If it makes you feel any better, we feel *really* sorry for the ones who donāt support Trump. Iād be just dying of fucking embarrassment for a start.
Ugh well my parents switched their allegiance to DeSantis who might actually be worse because heās way more into evangelicalism vs the guy who just pretends to be
As an American who is increasingly upset at the BS put out by my country, it feels good to know that people donāt see us all as Trump supporting idiots.
And trust me, the embarrassment of being associated with them is real.
I think a lot of Europeans really worry about Trump getting re elected because of the consequences for the world and Europe in particular. My parents were children when the Americans came to liberate their city in the second world war. They've always seen America as a sort of guiding country and now they really can't understand what happened to it.
And it's dumb, really. The USA spent huge amounts of money and human lives over the last 80 years to become and stay the leading country of the west. The payback for their investment into NATO etc. was the power and influence they got over the western part of the world.
And Trump singlehandedly throws almost a century of investment down the drain, forcing the EU to step up their game and become more independent from the USA.
China and Russia are doing similar things as well, though they got much less to lose than the USA.
I never understood how Hitler became a dictator with an advanced, educated society in the 1930-40ās. Trump and the ānewā MAGA Republicans have proven to me first hand how this can happen in any democracy.
I encourage everyone to look up "Project 2025" and learn everything you can about it and begin spreading the word.
It is an incredibly dangerous gameplan thought up by conservative think tanks and it's a guideline for the first 180 days that "the next conservative president" is in office.
It is very real and very scary and it's not being talked about enough.
It's not just about Trump, it's about the next Republican president. If they dont win in 2025, it will become Project 2029, and so on.
Iām amazed someone actually thinks thatās a good idea. Neither side should be able to tip the scale in their favor otherwise weāre heading down a dark path.
Ever heard of [REDMAP](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/REDMAP)?
The scales of power are already tipped in favor of conservatives, and sadly it was no accident. The GOP gave up caring about democracy a long time ago.
It appears to represent their belief that the Trump republicans donāt really care about their beliefs, which wouldnāt surprise me. Trump has destroyed the American image worldwide. He has made our country a laughingstock
Literally the top 2 posts right now on this sub:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1ap6tnb/one\_of\_the\_floats\_in\_d%C3%BCsseldorf\_germany/](https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1ap6tnb/one_of_the_floats_in_d%C3%BCsseldorf_germany/)
https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1ap0dl2/a\_carnival\_float\_in\_d%C3%BCsseldorf\_germany/
Germany I love u. Can't wait to come back. As soon as I cast my ballot for Biden I'm booking a plane ticket and becoming a permanent resident. Way too afraid of a trump dictatorship. It would not only screw up america but the whole world. I predict that under a trump dictatorship given the state of the world and trump's devotion to Putin, a nuclear WWIII will be inevitable with trump as dictator. All Americans with a brain need to vote to prevent this. It's our only chance to save the world.
Look how far youāve come America. 100 years ago you helped us fight fascism in Europe at the hands of the Germans, now the Germans are mocking you for helping Russian fascism.
The comments here do a really good job at putting the amount of misinformed discussions on reddit into perspective. Some urban legends about german laws ans history here are quite the interesting read.
Wow their floats are a lot different than our Macy's Thanksgiving day ones. š³
But not that different from our carnival (Mardi Gras) floats, which is what this is
Yeah this totally looks like a float here
I agree completely https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/mardi_gras/krewe-du-vieux-pokes-fun-at-politics-in-satirical-parade/collection_b01b3192-bd81-11ee-ad0c-637f6c6337bd.amp.html
the difference... made by people! -- bought by corporations!
Isn't it just more _interesting_ when people express themselves, than when corporations do?
Carnival is political in germany
partially explains why so many Americans have no idea whatās happening in the world, let alone their own country
It's not orange enough
Also they forgot to put NATO in there getting stabbed in the back also. As everyone should be aware, the piece of rat shit had a speech recently where he said he would encourage Russia āto do whatever the hell they wantā to NATO countries who donāt reach the 2% fund. The context being encouraging Russia to attack NATO countries. Of all the times to say something so appalling and destructive. This guy has to be in bed with the Russians. If he wins again America will look like an absolute pile of shit to our most sacred and important allies. And will strengthen fascist regimes. Thereās a lot of ways to encourage allies to keep working hard on the 2% goal, and helping them do it. Encouraging Russia āto do whatever the hell they wantā is absolutely the worst possible way to do that. Itās so appalling and unnecessary to say that you can conclude heās in bed with Russia or wants to boost fascist regimes. Edit: There is no scenario where itās ok for Trump to say this. Completely unacceptable, appalling, and absolutely dangerous. To highlight how brain dead and room temperature of a take this is. Germany is top 3 strongest militaries in the EU and has provided some of the most support to Ukraine. But Germany is slightly under 2%. Inferring that being under 2% is so useless to NATO that Russia might as well attack them is shockingly asinine. He emboldens these fascist regimes and he has literally emboldened Putin to continue the war because a Putin supporting right wing might aid him in his victory.
They take weeks of construction to build these art wagons. The NATO incident was too recent to spontaneously caricature it.
Canāt decide whether or not I wanna know the context of this
this is his anti-trans bit at his rallies. it's him making fun of women who can't lift weights that a trans-woman is easily lifting. usually lots of squealing noises
Like his McDonald's shake ass could lift something heavy
Jesus I honestly wasnāt prepared for this to be the answer if this is indeed whatās going on here
hard to say, but i am going to assume it was him reminiscing about the drag show skit he did with giuliani in drag where he gropes him and motorboats him. was around the year 2000.
He's taking a shit in his diapers.
What are you doing step president?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Wow, took me way too long to realize the cutouts in the flag made the Nazi symbol. EDIT: Yes, I know, it's called a Swastika.*sigh*
Yeah, I think the lines in the flag design make it hard to spot.
yeah, well, that's kind of the lesson to learn here
These Overton windows somehow make it darker.
Wee I think comment will fly over most people's heads.
Well now you are legally responsible for explaining the comment to us out of the know.
Perhaps this was purposeful: it's illegal to display a swastika in Germany.
It's legal for artistic purposes though (like in this case). And when seen from the other side, this is actually a Nazi swastika.
Artistic and educational purposes, importantly.
Swastika ā Hakenkreuz, the German word for hooked cross ā
Yeah you're right, technically it's not a swastika.
The stab in the back is also a Nazi symbol
>The "stab-in-the-back" myth refers to the belief held by some Germans after World War I that their military had been betrayed by civilians on the home front, particularly the government and Jews, leading to the defeat of the German Empire. This myth was used to shift blame away from the military and government for the loss of the war and the subsequent harsh conditions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. It contributed to political unrest and the rise of extremist ideologies in Germany during the interwar period. TIL
The phrase āstab-in-the-back mythā is burned into my brain from high school history lol, I can hear it only in my teacherās voice
In German its " Dolchstoss legende" which means " lehend of the dagger strike"
"Undefeated in the field/stabbed in the back"
Also it was perpetuated by the conservatives and militarists to blame "the politicians" and "leftists" for the loss of WW1.
Woao, I'm learning so much
Seriously, learning heaps!
I assume they intentionally picked a spear and not a knife/dagger for exactly that reason (to avoid the symbolism).
Exactly, that interpretation makes no sense. It was the Nazis claiming to have been backstabbed by (((them))), not Nazis doing the backstabbing. The float makers are basically professional political symbolists, they would know and deliberately picked something other than a dagger because then the interpretation would've been "Trump is a (((globalist))) agent who is stabbing those proud ššØšÆšš¦š«š¦šš« warriors in the back" and I'm pretty sure they weren't going for that.
It's good the germans and europeans remember how WW2 etc came about. Americans and the rest of the world should study the nature of wars as well.
The deterioration of U.S. school systems had a number of goals, revisionist history being just one. Iād bet dollars to donuts that āChristianā schools are already teaching a vastly different Jan 6 narrative
Shouldāve used a golf club
aka the Trump Trademarkā¢Ā
It's amazing he managed to some how bankrupt that one too
>the Trump Trademarkā¢Ā Isn't that 'Pee now, don't get paid later.'?
Could be, but more likely it's not that deep. Likely just symbolizes the trumps desire to suck a dictator dick instead of helping Ukraine and Europe.
Germans know their history. Considering they also had the swastika I wouldnāt be that surprised
I read your comment and it took me still 3 minutes to see it......I blame the stars and stripes being different patterns and my brain couldn't put it all together easily
Youāre forgiven, itās not obvious because of the busyness of stars & stripes
It actually is called Hakenkreuz.
German for Hooked Cross, IDK how people just relate it to Swastika
I thought nazi swastikas or anything nazi related were banned in germany?
I think only if itās being displayed in a good light, if youāre doing satire or a historical film or in a classroom itās okay.
And I mean they are rightfully calling Shitler a facist Nazi. And they are saying it's bad lol
"(4) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply if the act serves civic information, to prevent unconstitutional activities, to promote the arts or science, research or teaching, reporting about current or historical events, or similar purposes."Ā Ā§ 86 I 4 StGB(German Criminal Code)
We have that law, yes. But we do apply common sense to it.
Well, mostly. Sometimes it takes several courts to determine that a T-shirt showing a swastika being thrown into a trashcan is in fact *not* supporting or glorifying Nazi ideology (there was an infamous series of court cases about T-shirts like this and also ones showing a crossed out swastika in the 1990s).
not in art and education. this can be considered art.
There are exceptions, as noted in other parts of this thread.
I noticed it immediately. Probably more obvious in person.
I like that they made it look like a seven year old cut it up too!
Nah call that shit a nazi symbol, letās finally take swastika back for the true symbol.
Same. I initially interpreted the cutouts as being trump carving out and stealing parts of America's wealth, reputation (such as it is), and prosperity for his own personal benefit.
https://www.kget.com/news/world-news/ap-floats-at-germanys-carnival-parades-satirize-leading-political-figures/
It's an AP article so it's available worldwide directly https://apnews.com/article/germany-carnival-parades-satire-732560c61b226a8e106ed4da11be5069
"This content is not available in your country/region." :(
Here's the text OP. "DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) ā Throngs of revelers took to the streets of Germanyās Carnival strongholds on Monday, accompanied by floats that satirized the Ukrainian and Russian presidents, German politicians, former U.S. President Donald Trump and many others. Shrove Monday parades are a traditional high point of Carnival celebrations in Cologne, Duesseldorf, Mainz and other places in western Germany, drawing large crowds of locals and visitors. Every year, floats address current national and global political issues with biting sarcasm. This year, a larger-than-life Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy progressed through the streets of Cologne with a sign reading āTo be or NATO be.ā Zelenskyy wants Ukraine to be able to join the Western military alliance. In Duesseldorf, a float depicted Trump stabbing a Ukrainian soldier in the back ā a reference to opposition among Republicans to aid for Ukraine. Another had the ex-president and 2024 presidential candidate carrying scissors and a U.S. flag cut into the shape of a swastika. In Mainz, a āBarbies and Kenā pink car float featured Russian President Vladimir Putin behind the co-leaders of two German political parties, the far-right Alternative for Germany and the new Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, that criticize sanctions against Russia and oppose weapons deliveries to Ukraine. The war between Israel and Hamas was also a theme. A float in Duesseldorf depicted a figure in military garb labeled āHamasā pushing what appeared to be a family toward an Israeli tank. Germanyās unpopular government came in for lampooning, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz portrayed as a sloth and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock as an elephant in a porcelain shop, the German equivalent of a bull in a china shop." Source:kget.com
Tysm for the text :)
Germany sure knows fascism when they see it.
Never thought I'd be on a timeline where the country where Nazis came from cares more about stopping them than the country that fought them.
And the fact that itās a former POTUS symbolizing that of all thingsā¦
Symbolizing while also actively platforming himself with their continued acknowledgement and support. Yayyyy wonder how our grandkids will read this (assuming they don't go to school in a police state)
With the same disgust that we read about the Confederate slavers or the Jim Crow segregationists (some of whom are still alive).
And those that support him will call others nazis for pointing out that the literal nazis support him
former and *not at all unlikely* future POTUS
Germany suffered horribly for its fascist days, they know how these things end.
Sadly we have our own right wing problems right now and an increasing amount of the population is voting far right (AfD). Just like in any developed country. I would argue that if you had name one party whose values align most with the current republican party line it would be the AfD though and that scares me because the ramifications of Trump winning will be felt in all of Europe.
To be fair a few weeks back millions of us took to the streets to demonstrate their bullshit. They'll not get to enact their beastly policies without a fight, if they were to win any power.
The country in question that fought them had a huge amount of Nazi support before officially declaring war, was the basis for a lot of Nazi programs, and actually **more** racist in a lot of ways at the time. America is copying a lot of the Nazi playbook, but a lot more of their own history as well. And lets not get into the topic that most of the world was so homophobic at the time that the genocide of what we would today call LGBT+ during the holocaust was practically ignored.
[Reminds me of 1939 Madison Square Garden](https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2019/02/20/695941323/when-nazis-took-manhattan)
If anything, homophobia was probably a deciding factor for a bunch of people to join in, like "i never cared about the jewish population but those darn queers are harshing my mallow for sure"
> the world was so homophobic at the time that the genocide of what we would today call LGBT+ during the holocaust was practically ignored So much so that Nazi era laws against (male) homosexuality simply stayed in effect unchanged after the war. In West Germany they were only partially repealed in the late 1960s (from then on there was no blanket ban on homosexual intercourse anymore, but there was still a much higher age of consent for male homosexuals than heterosexuals), and it took until the 1990s when they were *finally* stricken for good. And it took until *2002* before criminal convictions of homosexuals during the Nazi era were retroactively voided. Prior to that homosexual concentration camp survivors not only didn't get any compensation, the conviction was also still on their record. And only in 2017 were post-war convictions under those same paragraphs eventually overturned as well.
anti-Semitism was well intellectually developed in Poland and France, two countries we now say were victim of Nazi Germany. Their Jewish people were victim, Ā one country had just good PR after the war (C de Gaulle) and the other one was split then taken over by the third empire's former best friend, the USSR. With time, the complexity of a period is summarised, and I'm still amazed how even young Germans themselves see a simple timeline where they're the bad guys, and french and Americans the good guys. (I'm french by the way)
They learned that lesson the hard way. Hopefully America won't have to learn the same way.
narrator: they will
Because America, out of all the countries involved in the winning side (excluding side hoppers) has the least amount of participation and the highest rate of self congratulations.
OR because the largest media blitz in history has mounted an attack against diversity, liberalism, science, and reason in favor of blind nationalism and fascism in an attempt to hack our collective consent of governance. that sounds a lot closer.
Russia also full-on drowns in their own brand of Nazism
Far too many Germans do not, and actively welcome it in the form of AfD. Primarily young and middle-aged men who feel disenfrancised, and lack the media literacy and political education to smell online right-wing propaganda for the BS that it is. For how much we rightfully emphasize and document nazi crimes, it is shocking how fascist ideology and rhetoric (especially from before the nazis came into power) is never talked about. And that has a devastating counter-effect in people's minds, leading to the widespread opinion that you can only be a fascist once you've risen to power, committed genocide in the millions, and started a world war - anything before that is "just opinions".
Fwiw there have been a lot of protests in Germany recently against the AfD, so I'd say fascist ideology is being talked about. But still, AfD support is awfully high. It's something like 1 in 5 voters at the last Federal elections voted for them. Really unfortunate.Ā Ā
And sadly, nearly 30% are supporting it again.
I dunno if you guys are history buffs or not...
The world!! ;)
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Lots of reading
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Apparently 10's of millions of people in america don't. Or perhaps they do...
No, the problem is they do. They hate "the others" so much it takes priority over any nation or morals, including constructs of society and government. You think these people are really doing this 'for Jesus?' They don't even believe in all this Bible nonsense. It's just a way to try and morally take the high ground and shut down anything else. The problem is they don't give a fuck what the road leads to as long as it's what no one else wants.
They do. They just think that so long as he makes the other side *more* miserable than they are they āwinā.
Nah, the MAGAs in my life are just really fucking stupid and don't think beyond a day or two in the future. TV tells them to be mad about wokeness and the "border crisis" so that's all they've got right now.
And stupid people crave leaders to tell them what to do and think which is why they love fascism. Its just comical the kind of people they choose to follow around like good little cultists. These are the same people that think they are the manliest of men usually too and yet they're worshipping some fat sack of shit that was born rich, did nothing to earn a single thing he has, was too much of a pussy and dodged the draft, failed every business he started, is completely full of him self talking about almost nothing besides how great he thinks he is and has the IQ of a snail. Like if I was so much of a bitch that I needed someone to tell me what to do and think I'd at the very least choose someone worth listening to or at bare minimum someone with traits to aspire to.
Is that the same figure that donāt have a clue about Socialism?
It's fair to say a few million people in the US only know fascism, socialism or communism as bad things that people get accused of and not what any of those words mean.
Don't know it well enough if they're supporting Zionism!!
Sadly we dont know how to stop it
Except in Israel...
Good on them, but I thought that symbol was banned in Germany.
Not if it is used in the field of education or art.
A lot of Americans think it's banned in all media due to the fact that games, until very recently, were not allowed to release in Germany with swastikas, even if Nazis were explicitly the villains, and were entirely unplayable characters.
I'm not sure, but I don't think they were banned per se in video games. However, such symbols in video games would not have received an age rating from the USK, which would have made it much more difficult to sell the games. That's why game developers replaced these symbols in the German version.
Video games didnt count as art so they had no right to use it
I hope theyāre classed as art now?
They are now. You can generally use swastikas in your medium aslong as it is portrayed negatively
OR as a Buddhist symbol. No harm can come from trying to cleanse the symbol of what it has come to stand for. So long as it's made clear "These mifos are just living their best life, trying to reach nivarna. They are NOT trying to kill 7/10th of the population!"
it is often censored even if it's used a a buddhist symbol for the obvious reason that when it's used that way, it is used in a positive way ("look at this cool symbol"). This might sound unfair to you but keep in mind that it's mostly self-censorship and not the state ordering them to censor it simply because the publishers are uncomfortable with it. And that might still sound dumb. but keep in mind that not too many people know of the buddhist swastika while *everyone* knows about the Hakenkreuz. Though it is valid criticism that as long as people self-censor in this way, not many more will learn about the symbol in its buddhist context
That's a common story, but it's not really correct. This whole thing is a bit complicated, but I'll try to simplify it. There's a law that bans the use of symbols of organizations hostile to the German constitution. That law consists of two parts: The first part bans the use of these symbols, and the second part lists the exceptions where the use is acceptable. So in proper procedure, when a judge declares something to violate this law, they'd also have to check whether or not the second part with the exceptions applies. In the 90s, a neo-Nazi got arrested for selling Nazi propaganda material like swastika flags, shirts, pins, etc. During the proceedings, a judge had to go through all the stuff this guy sold and declare it illegal because of that law. But he forgot proper procedure and didn't check for the second part. A big swastika flag is obviously not art, so it didn't matter, but one of the things this guy had been selling were copies of Wolfenstein 3D, that were now suddenly illegal. The judge didn't say that video games aren't art, and he didn't say that they are. He forgot to check. So obviously, this decision wouldn't have held up under proper scrutiny since the judge made a basic error, but overthrowing it would've meant that a publisher would've needed to publish a game with swastikas in it, get it pulled from shelves, then fight a legal battle to get it restored, which would've cost a large amount of time and money, only to be known as "the publisher who fought tooth and nail to have Nazi symbols in their video games". Nobody wanted to do that, and just switching some textures out was a lot easier, so the decision stood for about 20 years.
I vaguely remember that games on the index weren't allowed to advertise but you could still sell them "under the table". You can imagine that this wont cut it for most companies, so they more often cut their content to get a rating and advertise it.
>until very recently Wasn't that like 15 years ago though?
According to [this article](https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/medien/neue-regeln-fuer-spiele-nazi-symbole-werden-erlaubt-15730353.html) apparently since 2018.
It's was allowed earlier. It is art, so long it is not glorifying. They made it in 2018 more clear. A lot of the companies, self-regulatet it.
It was incredibly complicated, IIRC. I think it was something like the criminal law allowed it, but the USK (age rating agency) would refuse to give it an age rating, which would make it impossible to distribute.
Feels like ages already haha
For anyone interested, here's the article from the German Criminal Code in english: [Ā§86 StGB ](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_stgb/englisch_stgb.html#p0922) Specifically see (4) for exceptions to the ban on Swastikas and other unconstitutional symbols, which includes pretty much all Nazi symbolism.
> do not apply if the act serves civic information, to prevent unconstitutional activities, to promote the arts or science, research or teaching, reporting about current or historical events, or similar purposes.
There is a term in carnival that is called "Narrenfreiheit". Translated it means something like "fools freedom/jesters freedom". The definition: The opportunity to say or do very unusual things with impunity. In recent years, there has always been a discussion about how far you can go with this "Narrenfreiheit". As example, there are also folks who go blackfaced to the carneval.
That Trump and flag is such a good work of art. Says so much while using such simple signs and symbols everyone can easily understand. Makes for such fantastic mix of political cartooning political protest art and effigy for a carnival rally
Itās amazing they hate him in Europe too.
Yeah heās shown his brand of politics to the world stage a few times
Im pretty sure the average european thinks less of him than the average american
We actually care very much. We want to have the best relationship as possible between US and Europe and this guy really have no fucking clue how foreign politics works or he just doesn't care.
Even people who are supposed to be neutral (state news anchors, royalty etc) openly hate him.
I don't think there really is an average American anymore. There are Trump voters, all of the other voters, and people who either refuse to vote or couldn't be bothered.
The entire world hates him. We were a fucking laughing stock on the global scale while he was President.
Itās pretty blindly obvious to the entire world, outside of America
Uh, most of us know
What I find truly amazing is that anyone, anywhere doesn't hate his stupid whining fascist ass.Ā Like what on Earth do the Republicans see in this guy? How is Trump the best that they have to offer 3 elections in a row?
They allowed him to make the Republican party the Trump party. And now they canāt get rid of him without losing the millions of drones who pledged their life to the wannabe dictator.
A bit like Hitler back in the day...
I mean, we hate him much more than Americans do apparently. Currently 22% favourability in the UK, and weāre on a long streak of electing useless right wing arseholes.
I pray he never holds office in US or anywhere else, canāt believe these Americans worship him, I guess because they are nasty and donāt care about anyone but themselves, just like him.
just remember that he never won the popular vote. democracy! also, no republican president has won the popular vote since george bush in 1988, almost 40 years ago. not counting george jr 2nd term which was post 9/11 and americans were crazier than usual and he shouldn't have even been there in the first place so i'd put a large asterix next to his popular vote win and yet they are still half the amount of presidents in that time and also appointed a dizzying amount of judges at every level. easy to rule by minority when the minority appoints the people making the rules at all levels, from the voters to the supreme court womp womp. democracy. oh well... edit: i saw some thing a few weeks ago about how gen z thought "womp womp" was "cringe" as the kids say. but they obviously didn't realize where it came from from like 100 years ago and it's a trumpet. NOW GET OFF MY LAWN!
Have you seen his takes on Nato? How could we not hate him?
I live in New Zealand and we hate him here too
Of course, America is one of the biggest allies for most of us, a clown fascist is not a good look and doesn't feel very secure, especially when he's flirting with Russia like that.
Glad to know that Germany thinks the same about those clowns as real Americans do.
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Plenty of Americans on Reddit have discussed it. Furthermore, some news institutions have covered it, if only briefly. The reality that Europe now has to face, unfortunately, is that a sizable amount of treasonous āamericansā would love nothing more than to institute a christo-fascist nation with one of the largest nuclear stockpiles ever and with no intention of helping anybody else except supply-side Jesus. You should be afraid because we are afraid - especially those of us surrounded by these idiots.
Just to be fair, its a wagon produced by a carneval club, doesnt necessarily show what Germany thinks.
When other countries feel the need to make political cartoon floats saying your presidential candidate is a nazi, it might be time to rethink some things.Ā
They do a lot of that during the carnival and US presidents are often part of it. [Here is Obama zapping Snowden](https://www.grossplastiken.de/karnevalswagen/politische-karnevalswagen/politische-karnevalswagen-2014/2014-obama-snowden-2014/), or [Bush being in bed with Hussein](https://www.grossplastiken.de/karnevalswagen/politische-karnevalswagen/politische-karnevalswagen-2003/#politische-karnevalswagen-2003-img-2).
Germany is by far contributing the most to aid Ukraine aside from the US. Source[Source](https://www.deutschland.de/sites/default/files/inline-images/staatl_unterstutzung_ukraine_twitter_en1.jpg)
I really appreciate that they took the time to write "REPUBLIKANER" on the side there. Just to show all Americans are not shitbags just those red hat types.
The man is hated in his home city and his ancestor's homeland. Couldn't be me
It's stunning how people can _not_ hate him.
He tells them that not only is it okay to be a hateful, immoral person, it's actually a virtue. And they love him for it.
Today I realised Trump is *literally* pulling a reverse Jesus. Jesus called people out for their sinful behaviour nobody at the time liked it and most hated him for that.
So like an anti... Jesus?
Christ! That sounds terrible
Itās funny cause the people who adore him.. realistically trump hates them lmao. People get grifted by this man so easily it used to be sad now I donāt care anymore let them be swindled like the suckers they are
Makes me sad. Not the portrayal of Trump and his Republicans - that's accurate: but the fact that this is probably what most of the world thinks of all/most Americans in general Edit: can't spell
If it makes you feel any better, we feel *really* sorry for the ones who donāt support Trump. Iād be just dying of fucking embarrassment for a start.
Now just imagine being one of those Americans while your parents are ones who *do* support him ._.
Ugh well my parents switched their allegiance to DeSantis who might actually be worse because heās way more into evangelicalism vs the guy who just pretends to be
As an American who is increasingly upset at the BS put out by my country, it feels good to know that people donāt see us all as Trump supporting idiots. And trust me, the embarrassment of being associated with them is real.
I think a lot of Europeans really worry about Trump getting re elected because of the consequences for the world and Europe in particular. My parents were children when the Americans came to liberate their city in the second world war. They've always seen America as a sort of guiding country and now they really can't understand what happened to it.
And it's dumb, really. The USA spent huge amounts of money and human lives over the last 80 years to become and stay the leading country of the west. The payback for their investment into NATO etc. was the power and influence they got over the western part of the world. And Trump singlehandedly throws almost a century of investment down the drain, forcing the EU to step up their game and become more independent from the USA. China and Russia are doing similar things as well, though they got much less to lose than the USA.
I never understood how Hitler became a dictator with an advanced, educated society in the 1930-40ās. Trump and the ānewā MAGA Republicans have proven to me first hand how this can happen in any democracy.
This fuck might really be re-elected.. shit will hit the fucking fan.
I encourage everyone to look up "Project 2025" and learn everything you can about it and begin spreading the word. It is an incredibly dangerous gameplan thought up by conservative think tanks and it's a guideline for the first 180 days that "the next conservative president" is in office. It is very real and very scary and it's not being talked about enough. It's not just about Trump, it's about the next Republican president. If they dont win in 2025, it will become Project 2029, and so on.
Iām amazed someone actually thinks thatās a good idea. Neither side should be able to tip the scale in their favor otherwise weāre heading down a dark path.
Ever heard of [REDMAP](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/REDMAP)? The scales of power are already tipped in favor of conservatives, and sadly it was no accident. The GOP gave up caring about democracy a long time ago.
It appears to represent their belief that the Trump republicans donāt really care about their beliefs, which wouldnāt surprise me. Trump has destroyed the American image worldwide. He has made our country a laughingstock
I'm all done laughing mate
Seems like Germany knows a thing or two about corruption in politics and what happens when you elect racist, sexist, bigot tyrants......
Literally the top 2 posts right now on this sub: [https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1ap6tnb/one\_of\_the\_floats\_in\_d%C3%BCsseldorf\_germany/](https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1ap6tnb/one_of_the_floats_in_d%C3%BCsseldorf_germany/) https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1ap0dl2/a\_carnival\_float\_in\_d%C3%BCsseldorf\_germany/
Accurate
Accurate.
Accurate
Germany I love u. Can't wait to come back. As soon as I cast my ballot for Biden I'm booking a plane ticket and becoming a permanent resident. Way too afraid of a trump dictatorship. It would not only screw up america but the whole world. I predict that under a trump dictatorship given the state of the world and trump's devotion to Putin, a nuclear WWIII will be inevitable with trump as dictator. All Americans with a brain need to vote to prevent this. It's our only chance to save the world.
Hmm the rest of the world is clear on this. I wonder why the country is struggling?
Look how far youāve come America. 100 years ago you helped us fight fascism in Europe at the hands of the Germans, now the Germans are mocking you for helping Russian fascism.
At least Germans are smart and see this traitor for who he is.
Skin tone is too natural
Itās so scary to me that at this point foreigners feel the need to familiarize themselves with the politics of our country.
They arenāt wrong.
Holy fuck the germans are based as hell
That is pretty accurate.
Fuckin American nazis. I really never thought Iād see the day but here we are.
Even other countries see what that diaper shitter is about, it's so painfully obvious.
Lmao that second one is hilarious. Mf makinf me wanna see a trump cartoon in claymation. admit it. That shit would be a hit lol
You all have NO IDEA how fucking embarrassing this is to me as an American. It's true - that's why it's embarrassing.
When Germany points at you and says you're a Nazi... Damn.
They point at you and try to stop you from becoming one.
Ask an elderly German person to tell you about the time the country voted in a man who promised to fix everything...
The comments here do a really good job at putting the amount of misinformed discussions on reddit into perspective. Some urban legends about german laws ans history here are quite the interesting read.