Seeding of the public mindset:
Remember these folks? Remember how cool their name logo
looked?
They weren't the first to use it.
Lately we're seeing more and more of another symbol
Be mindful of the poison you are being fed subconsciously.
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6 comments:
Seeding is a valid concern and something to be wary of from the propogandists, but the examples shown are not relevant. The "SS" in "KISS" is not a Nazi symbol, and enough familiarity with the band members, their music, and the band direction will verify this. Kiss was not founded nor funded by Big Brother. The cross represented (I forget the technical name) is not being used or presented by the Administration or major Corporations either, although I will grant you that many who purchace these items are probably supremecist to some degree at least in their outlooks: though they were also probably supremecist before the symbol was commercialized. The cross on the medieval knight (from some movie?) is definetely not an example of seeding. Study history. The cross, particularly the one depicted, was insanely popular in various medieval areas for knights and heraldry. It is also important to note that these symbols - the lightning bolt of the "SS" and the equilateral cross - were inexistence LONG, LONG before the Nazis ever existed. The Nazis stole and debased these old symbols, along with the most commonly known Nazi insignia, the flyfot (spelling?) cross, which is a perversion (the arms are reversed) of an ancient Indian symbol representing a burning wheel: a symbol representing good fortune. Your final note is true and valid, "Be mindful of the poison you are being fed subconsciously", but level accusations accurately, fairly, and with some justification, please. I am on your side, but lets be reasonable and fair, and not just flail mindlessly at anything out there.
I invite you to visit your local Wal-mart and count how many "West Coast Choppers" emblems you see. The people behind this in spirit are not selling motorcycles OR the lessons taught by Jesus Christ. Don't second-guess your hunches.
I went to my local Wal-Mart, and did not see any West Coast Choppers insignias (I’ll admit that I was surprised). That probably has to do with marketing demographics. But that is not really relevant to the argument. The cross emblem in question is not a uniquely fascist symbol, nor a uniquely Nazi symbol, nor even uniquely a Christian symbol. In fact, neither is the cavalry cross. People have used images of crosses of all kinds pretty much since people have been drawing symbols (it is one of the basic and most simple of symbols). West Coast Choppers is a motorcycle company, and they have mass marketed their insignia, which the pop culture latched onto. Now, it is quite possible that WCC has undercurrents of supremacist ideals, but I do not know. Their web site does not have anything that is specifically supremacist, nor any links to anything supremacist or fascist. I am not defending anything except the symbol in question, and I do not say that it cannot possess negative connotations. What I am saying is that I do not believe that this mass marketing of a company logo is subliminal programming by our fascist-leaning Administration, and while it MAY mean to some, most, or all of the WCC people something supremacist, Nazi, or fascist, I do not even believe that their intent in putting the logo on products is anything but an attempt to make as much money as possible while grandstanding their corporation (consumer stupidity = “oh, I recognize that logo, so this must be quality goods”). They’re trying to make a buck (which is not NECESSARRILY bad).
The argument is too general, for if it applies here it applies to any and all similar instances. Is the corporation “Nike” promoting the worship of an ancient deity (Nike) by their saturation of the market with their goods and logo? Is the preponderance of Christian-related items (crosses, crucifix, t-shirts with various Christian imagery, etc.) an attempt to subliminally influence everyone, to seed one view, one opinion as right (even dollar stores carry Christian-themed symbols)? Come on. I stand by my statements in the first response. The WCC emblem is not ‘everywhere’, as the original writer claims: it is a corporation doing what all the (expletive deleted) corporations do, and that is prey upon the consumers by repeated exposure to a company logo (though that may be an unfair assessment of WCC, which is a relatively small company still – the info on them I found lists their employees at about 50… very tiny for a corporation). This is basic marketing and advertising strategy. The average consumer sees a logo they recognize and believe then that the item is worth buying. And we Americans (at the least) have been well trained that if it does not have a logo it is not fashionable and/or not quality (I do not own anything with any major company logo – not even (gasp!) Levis … except my car… I can’t do anything about that… though it is not a Levi).
I did not mean to imply that the WCC cross was meant in any way to be a religious symbol. As far as I can tell it is not. My reference to religion was applied solely to the image of the knight (from an as yet unidentified movie). The movie-still appears to be from something either set historically or based on a historical setting (as most fantasy settings are), and in a historical context such a cross is common on livery (the knight shown is, at my best guess, based on either a medieval English or medieval French livery pattern). And his shield bears a cavalry cross. Historically, knights were Christian, and so the cross on the shield is certainly intended to represent the “Cross of Christ”. Is that an example of Christian seeding? And as to “selling Jesus”: I think that Jesus would be appalled at the thought of anything involving him being marketed and sold: Jesus was not in love with money (render unto Caesar… money is the root of all evil… the incident at the Temple with the moneychangers, etc.). But, as I already said, even the cavalry cross is not the sole ‘property’ of the Christian religion, and many instances of its use can be found throughout history used in non-Christian functions, and it saw symbolic use long before Christianity ever existed.
The seeding of this administration is primarily, if not exclusively, in their rhetoric and printed (word) propaganda. Note the repeated and continual use since the beginning of this administration of various slogans, which are never defined in a specific and clear manner, and are regularly used as ultimate answers (though the use of the slogans answer nothing). “Freedom”, “Liberty”, “Safe(r)”, as a few examples, are all used liberally and constantly by the administration, but never defined, as if the definition that they are operating under is self evident. Or how about the memos issued to early troops in Iraq (it may have been the first rotation, but I am not certain), where they HAD to sign a pledge to King Bush (“king” added by me, not in the memo), and were told to “pray for President Bush in this hard time.” The troops on the front line in a new invasion are being told to pray for the commander who is halfway across the world sleeping in an oversized bed, taking frequent vacations, and eating at banquets regularly? THAT is heavy propaganda (aimed at influencing the troops opinions: a fascist regime has to have devoted and loyal troops (preferably fanatics to the leader, if not the cause) to effectively suppress the masses). This administration has, as far as I can tell, avoided using a symbol – probably because of the obvious negative stigma associated with a regime using a symbol. And, besides, people this day (especially Americans) don’t rally behind a symbol very well – but the people will rally behind rhetoric and slogans. Shallow and stupid, but that is group mentality.
And Wal-Mart itself is a great, if not prime, example of corporate fascism. Stay out of Wal-Mart.
Don't be alarmed it is only the begining of the new INQUISITION !
Have you seen those t-shirts with the cross shown here, filled in with the American Flag yet? I have. What do you think the message is in that symbol?
Umm, American's don't rally behind a symbol? Then what do yu call all those flags? Flags on bumper stickers, flags on T-shirts, flags flapping from the car windows after 9/11. Americans do have symbols they rally behind and they have been used effectively to mobilize in the past. The fact that this administration hasn't OVERTLY used a symbol doesn't mean it isn't a factor. They use symbols all the time—did you SEE all the flags behind "monkey boy" during his speech the other night. And they did the same thing with Reagan. He ALWAYS had a flag behind him when he stood at the podium. BRILLIANT MARKETING is what it is, but definitely capitalizing on every single american person's identification with the primary symbol of their country, their patriotism, the American flag.
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