"Nazi" Coca-Cola Robots Condemned

[ism]

A Coca-Cola promotion in Hong Kong met condemnation, when one of the robot figures available was found to have swastikas imprinted on its chest. Rabbi Yakkov Kermaier, of Ohel Leah Synagogue, called them "unacceptable." The plastic Robotcon figures can be bought for £2.60 with the purchase of a 6-pack of Coke. They stand on pedestals with the Coke logo on it. "it's not simply a politically incorrect symbol," Rabbi Kermaier said. "It's an emblem that represents the wholesale slaughter of six million Jews."

He acknowledged the Nazi swastika can easily be confused with Buddhist swastikas that are common in Asia.

full story (http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_775737.html?menu=news.quirkies)

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[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by ism@May 1 2003, 02:57 PM
A Coca-Cola promotion in Hong Kong met condemnation, when one of the robot figures available was found to have swastikas imprinted on its chest. Rabbi Yakkov Kermaier, of Ohel Leah Synagogue, called them "unacceptable." The plastic Robotcon figures can be bought for ?.60 with the purchase of a 6-pack of Coke. They stand on pedestals with the Coke logo on it. "it's not simply a politically incorrect symbol," Rabbi Kermaier said. "It's an emblem that represents the wholesale slaughter of six million Jews."

He acknowledged the Nazi swastika can easily be confused with Buddhist swastikas that are common in Asia.

full story (http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_775737.html?menu=news.quirkies)
actually, both the clock-wise turning and counterclock-wise turning swastikas have been used in buddhist images. but the robot was probably designed not with buddhist intentions. people in HK are just uneducated about german atrocities.

[thaite]

Not only that, but the swastika as an aesthetic element in a lot of Asian art and objects. I really get weary of all the Jewish indigniation. Whatever.

[rakovlam]

http://www.ananova.com/images/web/52505.jpg

http://history1900s.about.com/library/graphics/swastikaflag.gif

There are many other variations that are similar to the Nazi swastika. But the color, shape, and angle clearly shows the Nazi version of the swastika.

[thaite]

So they are similar. So what?

[Emperor_Mike]

It *does* look similiar to the nazi swastika, circle and all. The angle is a bit off, but there's no denying that whoever designed the toy at least obtained some inspiration from the hakenkreuz.

[kuanyin]

geez...this is such a tough one. i always have these discussion with my friends. being buddhist & all. the more open minded ones understand the cultural differences, but some, especially my jewish friends, have a real difficult time with it. but they try. that's the difference. they want to know the difference between the clockwise, counterclockwise versions. usually the buddist symbol isn't angled. that's my feedback. and as for coca cola, that's just the tip of the iceburg for their atrocities, i wish it happened in the U.S. so that a lot more people would boycott them.

[mr. x]

didnt know there were a lot of jews in hong kong

as for the picture, totall DR EVIL!

[MellowDrama]

I don't have a problem with the swastika at all but what was really stupid is

1) It's drawn in the exact same image as the Nazi version. They could have just made them without the slant or angle in the same vein as the nazi one.

2) The colors. Also, exact same ones and the Nazis.

[Faithless]

http://history1900s.about.com/library/graphics/swastikaflag.gif

If this is not offensive, then neither is the Confederate flag. Coca Cola should not better. :frown:

[kitty]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@May 1 2003, 07:21 PM
Originally posted by ism@May 1 2003, 02:57 PM
A Coca-Cola promotion in Hong Kong met condemnation, when one of the robot figures available was found to have swastikas imprinted on its chest. Rabbi Yakkov Kermaier, of Ohel Leah Synagogue, called them "unacceptable." The plastic Robotcon figures can be bought for ?.60 with the purchase of a 6-pack of Coke. They stand on pedestals with the Coke logo on it. "it's not simply a politically incorrect symbol," Rabbi Kermaier said. "It's an emblem that represents the wholesale slaughter of six million Jews."

He acknowledged the Nazi swastika can easily be confused with Buddhist swastikas that are common in Asia.

full story (http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_775737.html?menu=news.quirkies)
actually, both the clock-wise turning and counterclock-wise turning swastikas have been used in buddhist images. but the robot was probably designed not with buddhist intentions. people in HK are just uneducated about german atrocities.
?? I think they are aware of the use of the swastika in WWII. But I think they don't care since it was first and foremost an Asian symbol and is not used in conjunction with Naziism. And I think American critics need to chill out - this symbol has nothing to do with hitler.

[Emperor_Mike]

Originally posted by kittygirl@May 3 2003, 09:02 PM
Originally posted by SunWuKung@May 1 2003, 07:21 PM
Originally posted by ism@May 1 2003, 02:57 PM
A Coca-Cola promotion in Hong Kong met condemnation, when one of the robot figures available was found to have swastikas imprinted on its chest. Rabbi Yakkov Kermaier, of Ohel Leah Synagogue, called them "unacceptable." The plastic Robotcon figures can be bought for ?.60 with the purchase of a 6-pack of Coke. They stand on pedestals with the Coke logo on it. "it's not simply a politically incorrect symbol," Rabbi Kermaier said. "It's an emblem that represents the wholesale slaughter of six million Jews."

He acknowledged the Nazi swastika can easily be confused with Buddhist swastikas that are common in Asia.

full story (http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_775737.html?menu=news.quirkies)
actually, both the clock-wise turning and counterclock-wise turning swastikas have been used in buddhist images. but the robot was probably designed not with buddhist intentions. people in HK are just uneducated about german atrocities.
?? I think they are aware of the use of the swastika in WWII. But I think they don't care since it was first and foremost an Asian symbol and is not used in conjunction with Naziism. And I think American critics need to chill out - this symbol has nothing to do with hitler.
The symbol actually has a lot to do with Hitler and the National Socialist party. It's sad that the religious meanings behind the Swastika have been overshadowed by the evil done by the Nazis under the emblem. "Sturmabteilung" brownshirts (and later Schutzstaffel SS) treated the hakenkreuz as an occult symbol along with other such things as runes. Himmler in particular was obsessed with the occult and so was Hitler, which was probably one of the contributing factors to swastika being adopted as the Nazi Party's official logo.

It'll take a lot of time to teach people that the swastika has other meanings due to the sheer amount perversity the symbol has been put through.

[Faithless]

Originally posted by Emperor_Mike@May 3 2003, 09:31 PM
Originally posted by kittygirl@May 3 2003, 09:02 PM
Originally posted by SunWuKung@May 1 2003, 07:21 PM
Originally posted by ism@May 1 2003, 02:57 PM
A Coca-Cola promotion in Hong Kong met condemnation, when one of the robot figures available was found to have swastikas imprinted on its chest. Rabbi Yakkov Kermaier, of Ohel Leah Synagogue, called them "unacceptable." The plastic Robotcon figures can be bought for ?.60 with the purchase of a 6-pack of Coke. They stand on pedestals with the Coke logo on it. "it's not simply a politically incorrect symbol," Rabbi Kermaier said. "It's an emblem that represents the wholesale slaughter of six million Jews."

He acknowledged the Nazi swastika can easily be confused with Buddhist swastikas that are common in Asia.

full story (http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_775737.html?menu=news.quirkies)
actually, both the clock-wise turning and counterclock-wise turning swastikas have been used in buddhist images. but the robot was probably designed not with buddhist intentions. people in HK are just uneducated about german atrocities.
?? I think they are aware of the use of the swastika in WWII. But I think they don't care since it was first and foremost an Asian symbol and is not used in conjunction with Naziism. And I think American critics need to chill out - this symbol has nothing to do with hitler.
The symbol actually has a lot to do with Hitler and the National Socialist party. It's sad that the religious meanings behind the Swastika have been overshadowed by the evil done by the Nazis under the emblem. "Sturmabteilung" brownshirts (and later Schutzstaffel SS) treated the hakenkreuz as an occult symbol along with other such things as runes. Himmler in particular was obsessed with the occult and so was Hitler, which was probably one of the contributing factors to swastika being adopted as the Nazi Party's official logo.

It'll take a lot of time to teach people that the swastika has other meanings due to the sheer amount perversity the symbol has been put through.
It'll take a long time for wounds to heal.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by kittygirl@May 4 2003, 01:02 AM
Originally posted by SunWuKung@May 1 2003, 07:21 PM
Originally posted by ism@May 1 2003, 02:57 PM
A Coca-Cola promotion in Hong Kong met condemnation, when one of the robot figures available was found to have swastikas imprinted on its chest.?Rabbi Yakkov Kermaier, of Ohel Leah Synagogue, called them "unacceptable."?The plastic Robotcon figures can be bought for ?.60 with the purchase of a 6-pack of Coke.?They stand on pedestals with the Coke logo on it.?"it's not simply a politically incorrect symbol," Rabbi Kermaier said. "It's an emblem that represents the wholesale slaughter of six million Jews."

He acknowledged the Nazi swastika can easily be confused with Buddhist swastikas that are common in Asia.

full story (http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_775737.html?menu=news.quirkies)
actually, both the clock-wise turning and counterclock-wise turning swastikas have been used in buddhist images. but the robot was probably designed not with buddhist intentions. people in HK are just uneducated about german atrocities.
?? I think they are aware of the use of the swastika in WWII. But I think they don't care since it was first and foremost an Asian symbol and is not used in conjunction with Naziism. And I think American critics need to chill out - this symbol has nothing to do with hitler.
now, i'm speaking as someone who is actually from HK and probably have a better understanding of how people in HK are... assuming that the designer of the robot is a local HKer, i think that he really did mean to put the nazi symbol on the robot, instead of the buddhist symbol. the same way that people in the US are lacking in education about what happened in asia during WW2, people in HK are lacking in education about what happened in europe during WW2. this designer probably has not clue 1 about what the nazi symbol really means. the most he probably knows is that it's associated with war. the robot looks like it was designed to look mean - thus he put the nazi symbol there. plain ignorance on the designer's part. i don't think this is the first time that i've seen the nazi symbol being thrown around like a fashion statement in HK. people there are just uneducated about nazi atrocities. it's pretty sad and ignorant.

i really like how the jewish community there handled the situation though.

[Xishi]

This is ridiculous....

It is beyond my comprehension of why one would even think of doing something like that...
What raging stupidity...
Regardless of what their intentions were...
Did they actually think that even if they meant no harm...people would let things like that slip without a controversy at least..?

Uhh...!!!

[Xishi]

Had I been of Jewish descent...I probably would not be offended by this symbol as it is likely not intended to be used in that context...

However...from an objective view...this was so completely..and easily avoidable that...though I sympathize this promotion firm...this was clearly not a wise marketing move to say the least...

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by Xishi@May 4 2003, 06:58 AM
Had I been of Jewish descent...I probably would not be offended by this symbol as it is likely not intended to be used in that context...

However...from an objective view...this was so completely..and easily avoidable that...though I sympathize this promotion firm...this was clearly not a wise marketing move to say the least...
yeah it's really dumb that nobody at their HK office was educated enough to realise that it was an offensive symbol.

[YuheiCarreau]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@May 4 2003, 01:58 AM
now, i'm speaking as someone who is actually from HK and probably have a better understanding of how people in HK are... assuming that the designer of the robot is a local HKer, i think that he really did mean to put the nazi symbol on the robot, instead of the buddhist symbol. the same way that people in the US are lacking in education about what happened in asia during WW2, people in HK are lacking in education about what happened in europe during WW2. this designer probably has not clue 1 about what the nazi symbol really means. the most he probably knows is that it's associated with war. the robot looks like it was designed to look mean - thus he put the nazi symbol there. plain ignorance on the designer's part. i don't think this is the first time that i've seen the nazi symbol being thrown around like a fashion statement in HK. people there are just uneducated about nazi atrocities. it's pretty sad and ignorant.

i really like how the jewish community there handled the situation though.
That's very true. That's like how in America, Hiroshima and Nagasaki are the names of alcoholic drinks, and Beirut, which my Syrian friend described to me as 'the most beautiful city in the middle east' is remembered as a variation of the drinking game beer-pong.

[Emperor_Mike]

There was also a Nazi/Hitler inspired bar in Seoul, South Korea a while back. It had pictures of the Fuhrer, Nazi party flags, sundry Wehrmacht and Party replica war memorabilia and the waiters dressed in SS uniforms.

There was outrage, yes.

[Emperor_Mike]

Actually, here is a link to the article:

Nazi Bar (http://www.kamsa.com/racism/nazibar.html)


Note the barkeep's comments about his knowledge of Hitler having "killed some Jews." Can't blame the poor fellow for his ignorance though.

[ShortNBitter]

people [in HK] are just uneducated about nazi atrocities. it's pretty sad and ignorant

you cant generalize ALL HK peeps. its always the most radical that represent the nation- and that's ignorant if u ask me...
i do agree, however, that it was ignorant for them to sport a swastica on a toy robot. but then again, contravesy catches peoples' attention - the obvious reason that alot of people do stupid things. they want to be noticed so they do something contraversial. its not the first time that somebody has done something that appalling JUST for attention...

hell, how many people burned dollar bills ? or better yet, eminem's rap industry is a billion dollar corporation, and he became famous for his "rude" lyrics about gay bashing & woman beating! contraversy is just another marketting tactic like sex-appeal and bandwagon...

[Emperor_Mike]

Originally posted by ShortNBitter@May 4 2003, 11:29 AM

you cant generalize ALL HK peeps. its always the most radical that represent the nation- and that's ignorant if u ask me...
i do agree, however, that it was ignorant for them to sport a swastica on a toy robot. but then again, contravesy catches peoples' attention - the obvious reason that alot of people do stupid things. they want to be noticed so they do something contraversial. its not the first time that somebody has done something that appalling JUST for attention...

hell, how many people burned dollar bills ? or better yet, eminem's rap industry is a billion dollar corporation, and he became famous for his "rude" lyrics about gay bashing & woman beating! contraversy is just another marketting tactic like sex-appeal and bandwagon...
I would hardly term the people who created the robot as "radical." They're simply ignorant, that's all. As for shock value, I don't think Coca Cola would appreciate the sentiment, being a multibillion dollar global corporation (i.e. it would hurt sales.) The fact that the robot was manufactured with Swastikas and displayed in public says a lot about the designer. Either he/she is grossly ignorant of the symbol and its war-time association with the Holocaust or, like you said, it was done for shock. And I say the shock theory doesn't hold any weight.

What I do agree with, however, is that this sort of "negligence" doesn't necessarily provide a clear insight into the HK mentality as it pertains to the swastika and the Holocaust. However, many Asians *are* ignorant of the European horrors of 1936-1945 (Jewish deportations started before the war) much like many Europeans are not keenly aware of Imperial Japan's transgressions in the East. As YuheiCarreau pointed out a few posts above, it is this general lack of information that leads to outrageous things like our little robotic Nazi fellow.

So there is rampant ignorance on both sides when it comes to the war crimes committed on both sides of the world during the Second World War. The people who are perpetrating the shocking lack of knowledge by way of products, sayings (or establishments) cannot be blamed though. Perhaps the education systems in Asian countries should be held responsible for not teaching its students something that *really* should be known, as the Holocaust and the actions of the Japanese Imperial Army in East Asia during the Second World War deserve to live on as lessons and reminders.

What this ultimately boils down to is lack of knowledge. If the robot's designer and the barkeep of the "Third Reich" establishment in Seoul did their research then they wouldn't have committed such errors. The same goes for the Western world where crimes against humanity such as the Rape of Nanking is more or less a foot note in history. The more we learn of these things the less chance we have of committing thoughtless and insensitive actions like opening bars that have portraits of Hitler hanging everywhere.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by Emperor_Mike@May 4 2003, 04:02 PM
Originally posted by ShortNBitter@May 4 2003, 11:29 AM

you cant generalize ALL HK peeps. its always the most radical that represent the nation- and that's ignorant if u ask me...
i do agree, however, that it was ignorant for them to sport a swastica on a toy robot. but then again, contravesy catches peoples' attention - the obvious reason that alot of people do stupid things. they want to be noticed so they do something contraversial. its not the first time that somebody has done something that appalling JUST for attention...

hell, how many people burned dollar bills ? or better yet, eminem's rap industry is a billion dollar corporation, and he became famous for his "rude" lyrics about gay bashing & woman beating! contraversy is just another marketting tactic like sex-appeal and bandwagon...
I would hardly term the people who created the robot as "radical." They're simply ignorant, that's all. As for shock value, I don't think Coca Cola would appreciate the sentiment, being a multibillion dollar global corporation (i.e. it would hurt sales.) The fact that the robot was manufactured with Swastikas and displayed in public says a lot about the designer. Either he/she is grossly ignorant of the symbol and its war-time association with the Holocaust or, like you said, it was done for shock. And I say the shock theory doesn't hold any weight.

What I do agree with, however, is that this sort of "negligence" doesn't necessarily provide a clear insight into the HK mentality as it pertains to the swastika and the Holocaust. However, many Asians *are* ignorant of the European horrors of 1936-1945 (Jewish deportations started before the war) much like many Europeans are not keenly aware of Imperial Japan's transgressions in the East. As YuheiCarreau pointed out a few posts above, it is this general lack of information that leads to outrageous things like our little robotic Nazi fellow.

So there is rampant ignorance on both sides when it comes to the war crimes committed on both sides of the world during the Second World War. The people who are perpetrating the shocking lack of knowledge by way of products, sayings (or establishments) cannot be blamed though. Perhaps the education systems in Asian countries should be held responsible for not teaching its students something that *really* should be known, as the Holocaust and the actions of the Japanese Imperial Army in East Asia during the Second World War deserve to live on as lessons and reminders.

What this ultimately boils down to is lack of knowledge. If the robot's designer and the barkeep of the "Third Reich" establishment in Seoul did their research then they wouldn't have committed such errors. The same goes for the Western world where crimes against humanity such as the Rape of Nanking is more or less a foot note in history. The more we learn of these things the less chance we have of committing thoughtless and insensitive actions like opening bars that have portraits of Hitler hanging everywhere.
yeah. what he said. :)

and yes it's a generalisation. a true but blanket statement of how the average HKer is.

[Hanuman]

Hmmm, you think these people are really that ignorant? Wonder how many people actually went out to buy a 6 pack just to get one of these robots before they were yanked off the shelves. Someone may be really ignorant and/or insensitive, or they may have one hell of a knack for marketing.

[ShortNBitter]

even if people are ignorant of atrocities on other sides of the world, i find it kind of hard to believe that they would sport the swastica JUST out of the blue.
they dint choose the swastica at random. the swastica is one of the most prominently noticed symbols. its one of the only actual symbols of evil. like i said, its pretty hard to accept ignorance of the very symbol that brought the deaths of millions of jews. its just too big to be a coincidence...

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by ShortNBitter@May 6 2003, 07:42 PM
even if people are ignorant of atrocities on other sides of the world, i find it kind of hard to believe that they would sport the swastica JUST out of the blue.
they dint choose the swastica at random. the swastica is one of the most prominently noticed symbols. its one of the only actual symbols of evil. like i said, its pretty hard to accept ignorance of the very symbol that brought the deaths of millions of jews. its just too big to be a coincidence...
no, actually, some people don't know what a prominent symbol it is.

[ChinaLama]

damn hong kongers. they can proly name every big 80s hit by michael jackson but they don't know nazis suck. :P

[ShortNBitter]

sigh... people are dumb