Discussion:
Greetings and a great missive from Jyri
'Hunter Gray' hunterbadbear@hunterbear.org [marxist]
2014-05-23 12:48:58 UTC
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Subject: Greetings


Morning Hunter,

We hope this you well and that Eldri is feeling better.

I just stumbled on the following in the sports section of a local paper on the Net. Leading German football (i.e. the real football...) club Borussia (Latin for Prussia) of Dortmund made the following public-service television spot to give its message about Neo-Nazis among football supporters. Skinheads and associated Neo-Nazi elements have been involved in the football culture for decades. Borussia says let them play the game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Z3-VCkdsvQk

Someone might say it’s childish, but maybe a bit of humour can sometimes go further than pontification. Besides, it’s a public service thing from a football club, not a statement from some dedicated political movement, and football has an immense following in Germany, just as in Britain. It really is part of the mass culture, more than in the Nordic countries.
At any rate, the eternal schoolboy in me reacted positively to the bit where the banner with the text “Arisch” (Aryan) in Gothic font is perforated by a football to read “Arsch” (no translation needed). The closing texts remind viewers that “Football and Nazis simply don’t go together” and “Borussia unites people. Together against racism”.

Of course, the real Neo-Nazis have table manners and don’t look a bit like that and they don’t hang around football stadiums in bomber jackets.

Still on sports, Finland beat Canada 3-2 last night in the quarter-finals of the Ice Hockey World Championships in Minsk, Belarus – after playing dismally throughout the early games. Having nothing to lose, they sent your northern neighbours home. The semi-final game against the Czechs on Saturday may be a different story.

Best wishes,

Jyri

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