Slap MessageBoards
General Discussion => WHATEVER => Topic started by: happenstance on May 24, 2012, 03:01:12 AM
-
Some of my family members have held somewhat notable places in history for whatever reason. Does anyone else have anything like this?
This is all true based on what I have been told growing up. Believe it or not.
-My grandfather on my Dad's side was Vice Inspector General of the Air Force after WWII. One of his clandestine roles was to lead the dropping of atomic bombs on Russia if the Cold War reached a breaking point. During the Cuban Missile Crisis he actually flew back and forth along the border of the former USSR for a few days with a whole division of planes ready to bring on the Apocolypse more or less. His best friend and immediate superior was also Curtis Lemay (the historical figure who influenced the character of General Turgenson in Dr Strangelove). He was a notorious narcissist and gave my parents a framed picture of himself and his old passport for their wedding gift which I have framed on my wall.
-My great grandfather created the triggering mechanism on the first fully-automatic riffle - the Tommy Gun (the Gatling Gun existed before this but was not 'automatic' in the sense that one had to continue turning a crank for more bullets to come out). Lot of blood on my hands with that one.
-My Grandmother was the bastard child of a Chicago Nightclub/speakeasy singer and some railroad tycoon (I remember McMannis was his last name). The McMannis family kidnapped her. Turns out her mother was "friends" with Al Capone and he had his henchman kidnap her back. She tells me that her first memory she has is as a toddler racing down a dirt road at night in a horse and buggy and it was allegedly this moment.
-
heritage and genealogy...hmm.
Ate psilocybin some years back and over the next few days had an overpowering urge to look up stuff pertaining to this -> https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/index.html
Edit: As it turns out, the greatest genetic diversity occurs in Africa.
-
my great uncle overdosed on weed
-
my great aunt was a munchkin, guess I didn't get those genes
-
I'm first generation American (as in, the first in my immediate family to be born on US soil). The thing about immigrant families is that, some of us come from really shitty countries that have been ravaged by wars and misfortune throughout its entire history so record keeping is something that's very shitty and inconsistant.
I've seen shows like Who Do You Think You Are and do admit to being a bit envious that these people could just go to a fucking library and find out 70% of their history and kinda just go from there.
-
my grandfather was in the Secret Service, and I think he may have even been in charge of the whole southeastern branch at some point. He guarded a bunch of presidents and governors: JFK, Eisenhower, Johnson...he also went undercover with the Mafia to bust counterfieiters, and he arrested Lee Harvey Oswald here in New Orleans some time before the JFK assassination. He died when I was really young, and for some reason my family didn't mention any of this until I found a picture of him with Eisenhower back when I was in college. I think there might be some weirdness there with the JFK assassination.
-
Not nearly as cool as some of you guys, but my great uncle invented the emergency brakes on elevators
-
My grandfather co-founded the first English speaking newspaper in an Arab country and received an honor from the queen for services to journalism.
-
Lt Dan Every Single American War (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9c8Rba5NVE#)
-
My Great Grandad played for England in football (soccer), I have an Uncle who played for Norwich and Portsmouth I suppose only relevant again to people interested in soccer. That's it I think, dam my family are boring, why is everyone's else's so cool, JFK assassination, the mafia, FBI, inventing shit, fuck.
-
my dad shoots birds at the airport.
-
my dad shoots birds at the airport.
HAHA. Perfect.
The Greek side of my family is the only one I know really much about. My Great-grandfather apparently killed a snake when he was a baby laying in a cradle outside. He then became a professional wrestler (the real kind) and opened a candy shop after he retired. My Grandpa used to get drunk a lot and he passed out on my Mom's brand new doll house Christmas day after she had finally finished assembling it. I always imagined it went down like this:
@ :20
Tommy Boy Highlights (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMqu5HkGRfY#ws)
-
Daniel Boone is related to me.
-
One of my first relatives to settle in the states was a crew member on Blackbeard's Ship, Queen Anne's Revenge and apparently bought a house from Blackbeard. It's in Beaufort, SC and it's called Hammock House.
My uncle is a sportscaster for the Kansas City Royals and my aunt used to be an artist for Disney. My wife's great uncle was one of the first people in the FBI. I think that's it.
Pirates buy and sell houses? I would think they just pillage their way into a new home. Strange.
-
I know my grandpa and, I think, my great uncle, were grand high priest freemasons.
-
On my fathers side my grand dad was a hungarian soldier , wrong side ! , became a POW under american rule . Got shot like 1-3 times during the war . Showed me the bullets holes and some WW2 stuff
On my mothers side . My mothers family hid their jewish neighbours during the war . Always been super proud of this since being found out would prob get both familys killed . My grand mother was bad ass
My mothers dad tried to kill himself about 3 times , third was succesfull . Its part of my weird family traditon of suicide . waaaaay too many in my family
-
my father claims that he invented the question mark
-
Does most of my family being killed in the holocaust count?
My grandfather invented the Cobb salad.
-
Sir Walter Scott is my great, great, great, great uncle.
-
my father claims that he invented the question mark
What!
-
Expand Quote
my father claims that he invented the question mark
[/quote
(http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/sciencenotfiction/files/2010/11/dr-evil.jpg)
-
I have four confirmed relatives who sailed on The Mayflower. Stonewall Jackson is in the family too.
-
Does most of my family being killed in the holocaust count?
My grandfather invented the Cobb salad.
my grandma and anne frank were both in bergen-belsen, both had typhus/thypoid, anne died while my grandma survided the cc. she must have been without consciousness when the brits liberated all the prisonars. the next thing she remembered was a camp in sweden that took care of survivors fromm cc's. sometimes (like right now) I imagine how it would be if the liberation came 5 days later and my grandma could not survive - I would have never been born and alive.
-
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
One of my first relatives to settle in the states was a crew member on Blackbeard's Ship, Queen Anne's Revenge and apparently bought a house from Blackbeard. It's in Beaufort, SC and it's called Hammock House.
My uncle is a sportscaster for the Kansas City Royals and my aunt used to be an artist for Disney. My wife's great uncle was one of the first people in the FBI. I think that's it.
I actually just came here to correct it. I thought it sounded weird too, so I called my sister who is big into genealogy and she corrected me. My ancestor owned the house and Blackbeard stayed there. The ancestor also ended up working on the boat.
im picturing blackbeard being a shitty house guest. not doing any of his dishes, drinking all your beer after the store is closed for teh night, etc
-
I'm a decedent of William Taft, the fatass of a 27th president we had. He's the only person I've ever heard of who got stuck in a bathtub, and it was during his inauguration.
Other than that, by Mom's side of the family had some equestrian enthusiasts way back in the day, and my Dad's side had a gang of horse thieves. There no way the two sides ever met (separated by time and local) but sometimes I like to imagine a romeo and juilet-esque drama of two opposing houses, that came together, and made me.
-
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
One of my first relatives to settle in the states was a crew member on Blackbeard's Ship, Queen Anne's Revenge and apparently bought a house from Blackbeard. It's in Beaufort, SC and it's called Hammock House.
My uncle is a sportscaster for the Kansas City Royals and my aunt used to be an artist for Disney. My wife's great uncle was one of the first people in the FBI. I think that's it.
I actually just came here to correct it. I thought it sounded weird too, so I called my sister who is big into genealogy and she corrected me. My ancestor owned the house and Blackbeard stayed there. The ancestor also ended up working on the boat.
im picturing blackbeard being a shitty house guest. not doing any of his dishes, drinking all your beergrog after the store is closed for teh night, etc
-
my great grandpa invented the street sweeper. also my cousin married the lead singer of the goo goo dolls. he's got crazy game.
-
I'm a decedent of William Taft, the fatass of a 27th president we had. He's the only person I've ever heard of who got stuck in a bathtub, and it was during his inauguration.
Other than that, by Mom's side of the family had some equestrian enthusiasts way back in the day, and my Dad's side had a gang of horse thieves. There no way the two sides ever met (separated by time and local) but sometimes I like to imagine a romeo and juilet-esque drama of two opposing houses, that came together, and made me.
Haha wow. Good heritage right there.
(http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ktdrp1m1bI1qzbemso1_500.jpg)
-
Does most of my family being killed in the holocaust count?
My grandfather invented the Cobb salad.
Curb Your Enthusiasm Theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag1o3koTLWM#)
-
I'm a direct descendant of Rob Roy Macgregor.
(http://i.imgur.com/lqShf.jpg)
-
Expand Quote
I'm a decedent of William Taft, the fatass of a 27th president we had. He's the only person I've ever heard of who got stuck in a bathtub, and it was during his inauguration.
Other than that, by Mom's side of the family had some equestrian enthusiasts way back in the day, and my Dad's side had a gang of horse thieves. There no way the two sides ever met (separated by time and local) but sometimes I like to imagine a romeo and juilet-esque drama of two opposing houses, that came together, and made me.
Haha wow. Good heritage right there.
(http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ktdrp1m1bI1qzbemso1_500.jpg)
"Taft, you old dog"
edit: Blackbeard upper deckered my great grandpa's toilet
-
Expand Quote
Does most of my family being killed in the holocaust count?
My grandfather invented the Cobb salad.
my grandma and anne frank were both in bergen-belsen, both had typhus/thypoid, anne died while my grandma survided the cc. she must have been without consciousness when the brits liberated all the prisonars. the next thing she remembered was a camp in sweden that took care of survivors fromm cc's. sometimes (like right now) I imagine how it would be if the liberation came 5 days later and my grandma could not survive - I would have never been born and alive.
Crazy shit. My mom was actually born in a displaced person's camp. Breslau, in Poland I'm pretty sure.
And to the Taft relative- other interesting facts:
-Taft was possibly the most progressive president of all time, "busting" more trusts than TR the trustbuster
-He probably would have been reelected, but ego tripping TR ran as a 3rd party during his reelection, and they split the vote between each other
-His fatass invented the 7th inning stretch- Basically he realized he was stuck in his chair around the 5th-6th inning. He was stuck so badly, a repairman had to come and disassemble the chair so he could get out. In order to not embarass him, everybody around him stood up, and the rest of the crowd was told to as well for a new tradition in the middle of the 7th inning.
-According to modern standards, he'd appear a bit overweight, but he was living in different times.
-
My great-great-great (I think 3) grandfather learned about the gold rush before it was a craze, he went back to Croatia to gather other relatives to go back with him so they would end up prosperous. The way they went, they stopped in the Gulf of Mexico and traveled the rest of the way to the West but their boat capsized just outside of Louisiana and they started an oyster business (Eventually moved to Texas).
Some of my ancestors helped gather Croatian limestone to build the White House.
Then their was the war when Croatia was trying to gain it's independence. My parents didn't kill anyone or anything but they know friends of theirs that were killed in battles that were happening around them.
-
-His fatass invented the 7th inning stretch- Basically he realized he was stuck in his chair around the 5th-6th inning. He was stuck so badly, a repairman had to come and disassemble the chair so he could get out. In order to not embarass him, everybody around him stood up, and the rest of the crowd was told to as well for a new tradition in the middle of the 7th inning.
I hope that's true.
-
I've heard it so many times, but my internet search for confirmation has come to actually bust the myth. All the sites basically say its a common urban myth. My bad! I gotta stop telling that one to bored kids.
-
my grandfather played professional baseball. here's a scan of one of his cards.
(http://i45.tinypic.com/2n80vbn.jpg)
-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fellowship_(Christian_organization) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fellowship_(Christian_organization))
The Fellowship, also known as the Family...
Every sitting United States president since President Dwight D. Eisenhower, up to President Barack Obama, has participated in at least one National Prayer Breakfast during his term.,
-
They've all been in places called churches too. Did you guys know a secret coven of 8 Christians controls the whole world? The group consists of the pope, Pat Robertson, Joel Olstein, Rick Warren, Ted Haggard, The Rothschilds, and The Fed. Look at the back of the dollar bill- it says "In God we trust" total christian messaging.
-
^^^^
(http://i619.photobucket.com/albums/tt271/neuralstate/interwebs/get_out_of_my_head_charles.jpg)
-
My wifes dad apparently wrote some songs for Lynyrd Skynyrd.
-
my grandpa is really good at driving his tractor.
-
They've all been in places called churches too. Did you guys know a secret coven of 8 Christians controls the whole world? The group consists of the pope, Pat Robertson, Joel Olstein, Rick Warren, Ted Haggard, The Rothschilds, and The Fed. Look at the back of the dollar bill- it says "In God we trust" total christian messaging.
I thought it was 7 jew bankers below the earth's crust that controlled the world's money supply. They have horns too.
-
my ancestors were german pirates that crashed into england. so its safe to say they sucked at being pirates.
-
My family were slaves for a good couple hundred years. I don't know much about the white side of the family.
-
Expand Quote
They've all been in places called churches too. Did you guys know a secret coven of 8 Christians controls the whole world? The group consists of the pope, Pat Robertson, Joel Olstein, Rick Warren, Ted Haggard, The Rothschilds, and The Fed. Look at the back of the dollar bill- it says "In God we trust" total christian messaging.
As soon as you can find presidents having as many public meetings as they do with members of the christian cult as any other organization, then you can claim it. The Christian cult dominates the presidency
-
Yeah, but every one knows that it's the liberal jew run media that dominates the world. I'll take world domination of U.S. domination any day.
-
My mom was picked to be one of the girls on Little House on the Prairie, but her parents changed their minds at the last minute. They didn't want to lose her to Hollywood.
On my German side, there was royalty. Also some German ancestor was a Chemist, spoke 7 languages and was headed towards Argentina but some how ended up in America.
On my Mexican side, a family member was a well known lucha libre
-
So that chemist...heading from Germany on his way to Argentina...why exactly was he leaving Germany for Argentina? I've heard a lot of stories about professional types with government jobs moving from Germany to Argentina en masse in the '40's....
-
On my mom's side I am descended from the Scottish inventor/mechanical engineer James Watt who played a pretty big role in kicking off the industrial revolution with his work on the steam engine. He also came up with the concept of horsepower and the measurement for "watt" was coined after him.
On my dad's side I found out that I am tied back to the Wagner family and famous composer.
Interestingly there is a good mix of musicians and engineers in each respective side and I tend to have a mix of interests in both.
-
Your dad's side goes back to a famous anti-semite.
-
Most of the world's heritage could probably be traced back to an anti semite. You included. Give it a rest.
-
my great uncle(still alive) killed his first wife and her parents and fled poland, still has never been tried for his crimes and lives a free man.
also i lived at an otherwise empty hostel in costa rica for 2 weeks. just my travelling companion and I, and a middle aged costa rican stoner running the place. neither of us spoke eachothers languages.it was like living in a sitcom.thats how i want to be remembered. also i made up the first one
-
Your dad's side goes back to a famous anti-semite.
Didn't realize that was the case.
It's my understanding from what's been passed down that the German side of my family bailed to US to get away from the Nazi regime. My grandpa on the German side was an golden glove boxer who used to hang out at predominately black jazz clubs so at least I know he broke the mold a little. The other half of my dads side were from Russia and one of his uncles was on a B17 bomber crew and the other survived the Bataan Death march and survived two years in a Japanese POW camp. I like to think my name is clear in terms of which side they were on in World War II.
-
Expand Quote
Does most of my family being killed in the holocaust count?
My grandfather invented the Cobb salad.
my grandma and anne frank were both in bergen-belsen, both had typhus/thypoid, anne died while my grandma survided the cc. she must have been without consciousness when the brits liberated all the prisonars. the next thing she remembered was a camp in sweden that took care of survivors fromm cc's. sometimes (like right now) I imagine how it would be if the liberation came 5 days later and my grandma could not survive - I would have never been born and alive.
My great grandfather and grandfather were both in the Warsaw Ghetto at the same time (obviously father-son). My father's side was the holocaust side and My great grandfather died in Buchenwald and my grandfather survived and then hauled ass to America as soon as he could, which is why a majority of my family is Zionist Orthodox Jews, all the way up to my generation exlcuding me and maybe 2 cousins. Seeing the number brands when I was little on his arm scared the shit out of me. He always wore long sleeves so he didn't have to see them all day.
-
Expand Quote
Your dad's side goes back to a famous anti-semite.
Didn't realize that was the case.
It's my understanding from what's been passed down that the German side of my family bailed to US to get away from the Nazi regime. My grandpa on the German side was an golden glove boxer who used to hang out at predominately black jazz clubs so at least I know he broke the mold a little. The other half of my dads side were from Russia and one of his uncles was on a B17 bomber crew and the other survived the Bataan Death march and survived two years in a Japanese POW camp. I like to think my name is clear in terms of which side they were on in World War II.
It doesn't really matter, though its actually part of the plot of the "bald asshole" episode of curb your enthusiasm. At the end he wakes up the guy who tells him that with an orchestra playing Wagner outside his window. It's pretty epic. Our perspectives aren't guaranteed from generation to generation and person to person in the same family.
-
^I was gonna post the video before you brought it up.
-
So that chemist...heading from Germany on his way to Argentina...why exactly was he leaving Germany for Argentina? I've heard a lot of stories about professional types with government jobs moving from Germany to Argentina en masse in the '40's....
No, this was way back in the 1800's. Not sure Argentina was a country back then, but he was headed in that general region.
My grandpa was one of the top realtors in California, either back in the 80's or early 90's
I forget which side, but a aunt or great grandma from way back was an opera singer.
-
i wonder if any of us will be remembered in 200 years time... "my great great great grandfather was the gipper on slap"
-
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
Does most of my family being killed in the holocaust count?
My grandfather invented the Cobb salad.
my grandma and anne frank were both in bergen-belsen, both had typhus/thypoid, anne died while my grandma survided the cc. she must have been without consciousness when the brits liberated all the prisonars. the next thing she remembered was a camp in sweden that took care of survivors fromm cc's. sometimes (like right now) I imagine how it would be if the liberation came 5 days later and my grandma could not survive - I would have never been born and alive.
these kind of stories make me pretty sad. I don't think any of us can imagine how hard it was to "live" in such circumstances.
both of my grandma's were in concentration camps without being jewish - one was forced to work for a nazi (she was polish) and got only send to a cc because she gave a cc prisoner something to eat. my german grandpa was in the hitler-jugend and a heavy anti-semite (who lived most of his life as a german in communist poland with his wife beeing a german cc prisoner). the ironic part of the story is that my dad thinks that this part of the family was originally jewish and just pretended to be christian at some point - that's some nazi-jew thing,
-
im a descendant of E. A. Poe. kinda makes me worry about my depression and preference to opiates over other drugs. on the bright side, I'm pretty sure thats what won over my lady in the early stages of our relationship.
-
my grandparent's great great great great grandparents(i think) were good friends with William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania. My grandparents sold some of his stuff a few years back and made like 100k
-
My ancestors were anthropophagi.
-
Canadian Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent was my great-great uncle.
Gretzky is my cousin.
My friend's great grandfather invented basketball.
-
im a descendant of E. A. Poe. kinda makes me worry about my depression and preference to opiates over other drugs. on the bright side, I'm pretty sure thats what won over my lady in the early stages of our relationship.
you are a faggot
-
Expand Quote
my great grandpa invented the street sweeper. also my cousin married the lead singer of the goo goo dolls. he's got crazy game.
Street sweeper the gun, or the actually vehicle that cleans streets?
Before you answer, just remember we could turn your great grandpa into a vigilante of Paul Kersey proportions. Either is dope though.
Is she still married to that dude?
the vehicle! still got the original blue prints at my uncles. i don't think it's worth anything though. wish frisco would see this thread he's got some really rad relatives that have everything to do with the invention of the delorean to steven segal movies.
and as far as i know, they're still married. i don't really talk to them. his band sucks so bad that it's awesome.
-
Expand Quote
im a descendant of E. A. Poe. kinda makes me worry about my depression and preference to opiates over other drugs. on the bright side, I'm pretty sure thats what won over my lady in the early stages of our relationship.
you are a faggot
You're a Poe, not a Hemingway god damnit.
-
Expand Quote
im a descendant of E. A. Poe. kinda makes me worry about my depression and preference to opiates over other drugs. on the bright side, I'm pretty sure thats what won over my dude in the early stages of our relationship.
you are a faggot
now i am
-
My great grandfather worked to prepare proper (winter) clothing for the Nazis when they began their offence on Soviet Union in ww2.
-
Its odd how many descendents of Nazis there are here. Its a shame really. I hoped they would have been killed off and prevented from reproducing.
-
I hoped they would have been killed off and prevented from reproducing.
Sounds familiar.
-
haha
-
Expand Quote
I hoped they would have been killed off and prevented from reproducing.
Sounds familiar.
Fuck you, you piece of shit Nazi sympathizer.
Yeah, a genocidal army and an ethnic group are pretty much the same thing, except one is united by the killing of millions of people without reason and the other is united by a common bloodline.
Let's not pretend like Nazis were "born like that." They made the decision to take part in a genocide. Like any serial killer, the idea that many just lived their lives out after doing such horrible things, doing things like raising kids and seeing them grow up fucking disgusts me. His grandfather should have at a minimum lived his life out in a jail cell, not raising a family. He lost that right when he took part in tearing apart families and then murdering them. That's not some minor historical event, its genocide, and its the reason "I was just following orders" is NOT a valid defense.
They made the conscious decision to take part in a genocide that killed most of my family, and I have no problem saying every single one of them deserved a fate worse than the fate of my family. Most of my family didn't have the chance to have children, or if they did, they were murdered by his grandfather, but his family line goes on, and brags about their murderous scum family. Fuck that, I have no problem saying I would have hoped stupid ignorant fucks who bought into government bullshit and were willing to be so obedient that they murdered 11 million people deserve nothing but misery and the end of their family line.
Call me reactionary if you want to, but I have a TON of family I would have met if it weren't for his grandpa, and that's not a fucking joke to me.
-
My great grandfather worked to prepare proper (winter) clothing for the Nazis when they began their offence on Soviet Union in ww2.
Oh, and your great grandfather was a failure fuck up idiot. They froze to death out there and got their asses kicked.
-
How do you know that his great grand father didn't make those clothes in a Nazi work camp? Just because someone works and makes a product that someone else uses, it doesn't make them a member of that someone else's evil little club. Not every German was a nazi.
-
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
I hoped they would have been killed off and prevented from reproducing.
Sounds familiar.
Fuck you, you piece of shit Nazi sympathizer.
Yeah, a genocidal army and an ethnic group are pretty much the same thing, except one is united by the killing of millions of people without reason and the other is united by a common bloodline.
Let's not pretend like Nazis were "born like that." They made the decision to take part in a genocide. Like any serial killer, the idea that many just lived their lives out after doing such horrible things, doing things like raising kids and seeing them grow up fucking disgusts me. His grandfather should have at a minimum lived his life out in a jail cell, not raising a family. He lost that right when he took part in tearing apart families and then murdering them. That's not some minor historical event, its genocide, and its the reason "I was just following orders" is NOT a valid defense.
They made the conscious decision to take part in a genocide that killed most of my family, and I have no problem saying every single one of them deserved a fate worse than the fate of my family. Most of my family didn't have the chance to have children, or if they did, they were murdered by his grandfather, but his family line goes on, and brags about their murderous scum family. Fuck that, I have no problem saying I would have hoped stupid ignorant fucks who bought into government bullshit and were willing to be so obedient that they murdered 11 million people deserve nothing but misery and the end of their family line.
Call me reactionary if you want to, but I have a TON of family I would have met if it weren't for his grandpa, and that's not a fucking joke to me.
That's right. All they had to do was say "I don't really feel like killing jews today"...
And because of the sins of their fathers these children shouldn't exist, or at least must be held responsible for the actions they had nothing to do with, right?
-
In all fairness, I don't think every single person who was a Nazi wanted to be. In any totalitarian state, all members of society will be integrated into the state in some form, especially in a time of war. You couldn't just not join the military. Most conscientious objectors were sent to concentration camps. Deserters were obviously executed. Would the righteous path be to choose your own death? I suppose, but our innate instinct as humans is self-preservation.
Not every German was a nazi.
Technically speaking, they all were. In Hitler's Germany - as it also was in Mussolini's Italy - all members of society were integrated into the state through different organizations. Either in the military, by trade, as students, etc. I guess the question is what is it to 'be a Nazi'? Does this mean you were in the military? Worked within a state-run (and therefore party-run, as the party was synonymous, if not paramount to the state) organization? Is everyone equally as guilty for their collaboration? These are valid questions that deserve exploration and have had their share of exploration. Sure, the ones who single-handedly carried out the most horrible atrocities should have probably taken the risk of execution through desertion if they took issue with their assignment. Again, they were also human and had families. A question they might have asked themselves would be the fate of their family if they deserted. I think it is a little short sighted to paint every single German man of fighting age as evil. To start labeling the ones who made their clothes as inherently evil is even more over the top.
-
No, technically speaking to be a "nazi" you had to join the nazi party. Not everyone in Germany did. Not even every German soldier was a nazi. Technically speaking.
-
Damn, do I sound that much like an asshole?
You are right that not all were in the party in the strictest sense. One party states generally reserve actual membership for the more elite. You still were integrated into state and had to pledge your allegiance to the party. Again, what is it to 'be a Nazi'? Surely some within the party were less guilty than some who were not.
Anyway, this is why I stopped talking politics and history on slap a while ago. I say something and then someone points out how my use of language makes me sound like a dick (e.g. your double use of 'technically speaking'). I was the biggest politics and history nerd in school and still am. Being a nerd makes you write like an asshole I suppose. I am going to go back to just silently judging people's opinions now.
-
My grandmother on my dad's side is/was friends with some pretty cool people. Like Francis Bay, the old lady in the Karate Kid and Blue Velvet, and Happy's grandmother in Happy Gilmore. When my dad was growing up, she was dating Pat Frank for a long time until he died. My dad still has a bunch of letters that he wrote my grandmother and signed first editions of his books, which is kinda cool.
My mom was one of the heads of research in developing the HPV vaccine several years ago, and got to be in commercials and a bunch of talk shows and stuff for it, it was kinda weird.
Her dad was one of the original financial backers of HBO and ESPN respectively, way back when.
Fuck, these are kinda lame compared to a lotta you guys. Off topic a bit, but isn't jon fitzgerald distantly related to wyatt earp or something?
-
but isn't jon fitzgerald distantly related to wyatt earp or something?
Yes, and Tony Hawk is related to Hudson Hawk and Donny Barley was related to the guy who wrote Monster Mash.
-
Expand Quote
but isn't jon fitzgerald distantly related to wyatt earp or something?
Yes, and Tony Hawk is related to Hudson Hawk and Donny Barley was related to the guy who wrote Monster Mash.
Wasn't Riley's name orginally Hudson, but the show came out at the same time so he started going by Riley instead or something like that?
And its true that the sins of the father shouldn't be put on the son. Still not a fan of Nazis.
In terms of rebelling, its true that it took a lot of courage and had huge consequences, but the fact is, desertion was the morally right thing to do. Sometimes I think back on that in comparison to the idea of dissenting in current times- first it reminds me that government and social forces may overwhelmingly push immoral ideas on people in the name of nationalism, and second, I don't want to be one of the people who supported evil, and know that when our government does something immoral (like invade Iraq or dehumanize undocumented immigrants) that it is the duty of the people to resist, and that in our situation the consequences are so much lighter, making it more inexcusable not to stand up for the right thing. Its actually a pretty common perspective, its why there were so many jews who took part in the freedom summer of '64
-
Expand Quote
My great grandfather worked to prepare proper (winter) clothing for the Nazis when they began their offence on Soviet Union in ww2.
Yeah, I thought that was pretty funny...not the people dying but the total fucking up of winter clothing.
I never met my great grandfather. He was finnish though, so I dont know how Nazi he could have been. But from what I understand, he did support the Nazis.
I understand your feelings, but I dont really know what I could say to you to make you feel better.
-
You realized how many civil rights activists were murdered, eh? Because activism in both times could result in you disappearing.
-
^Gip, totally deleted the comment you were responding to because I didn't realize you mentioned that in your other response. For everyone's FYI I said desertion in Nazi Germany and activism in the 60s had different consequences. But to respond to your new comment, yes they did have different consequences! Sure, some fishy things happened to some activists in the 60s but this was reserved for the most powerful voices. In Nazi Germany they were quite diligent in purging dissenters - it was a guarantee.
It is easy say it was the morally right thing to do when you are not in the position to worry about your own life or the lives of your family.
A side note that is a little unrelated, but I think it touches on the coercion that your average foot soldier faces to fight. In WWI the Christmas Truce was an example of soldiers putting aside their differences precisely because the threat of coercion to fight was absent. I only read the synopsis of the Wiki article, and it didn't touch on the fact that the truce happened because the officers left the battlefield. Because of these events, new rules were instated in the British military that officers always had to remain present in battle (not sure if similar changes were made in the German military).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce)
-
The Russians were just as bad.
-
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
My great grandfather worked to prepare proper (winter) clothing for the Nazis when they began their offence on Soviet Union in ww2.
I never met my great grandfather. He was finnish though, so I dont know how Nazi he could have been. But from what I understand, he did support the Nazis.
The Finns hated the Russians at the time due to the fact that the soviet union had illegally invaded their country at the beginning of the war. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Winter_War (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Winter_War)
People in Hungary, former Yugoslavia, Rumania etc. joined the Wehrmacht for similar kinds of reasons ("the enemy of my enemy is my friend"), despite many of them not being ideological Nazis. Just another example of how history isn't always black and white (ahem, talking to you gipper).
-
^Gip, totally deleted the comment you were responding to because I didn't realize you mentioned that in your other response. For everyone's FYI I said desertion in Nazi Germany and activism in the 60s had different consequences. But to respond to your new comment, yes they did have different consequences! Sure, some fishy things happened to some activists in the 60s but this was reserved for the most powerful voices. In Nazi Germany they were quite diligent in purging dissenters - it was a guarantee.
It is easy say it was the morally right thing to do when you are not in the position to worry about your own life or the lives of your family.
A side note that is a little unrelated, but I think it touches on the coercion that your average foot soldier faces to fight. In WWI the Christmas Truce was an example of soldiers putting aside their differences precisely because the threat of coercion to fight was absent. I only read the synopsis of the Wiki article, and it didn't touch on the fact that the truce happened because the officers left the battlefield. Because of these events, new rules were instated in the British military that officers always had to remain present in battle (not sure if similar changes were made in the German military).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce)
No, it wasn't just a few, and no it wasn't just the ones on top. Were those 4 little girls in the birmingham church top leaders of the civil rights movement? No. Were the buses that never completed the freedom rides because the passengers disappeared and the buses were lit on fire leaders? no. The fact was, if you were in the south acting up, you were risking your life. Everybody down there knew that too. The police would attack you if you were lucky enough to face them before the klan made you vanish, and nobody would ever be convicted of the murders.
Here's the fucked up fact of it, despite the rules and all that shit, most Germans did support the Nazis. The economy was getting better and Germany was gaining back power in the world, so they didn't care what was happening to the minority populations. Fuck, when the economy improved a lot of people bought into the nazi ideology more.
Also, I wouldn't consider a death camp the same thing as the battle field.
edit: Besides, didn't somebody in this thread say that a relative of theirs fed a concentration camp prisoner here?
-
Expand Quote
^Gip, totally deleted the comment you were responding to because I didn't realize you mentioned that in your other response. For everyone's FYI I said desertion in Nazi Germany and activism in the 60s had different consequences. But to respond to your new comment, yes they did have different consequences! Sure, some fishy things happened to some activists in the 60s but this was reserved for the most powerful voices. In Nazi Germany they were quite diligent in purging dissenters - it was a guarantee.
It is easy say it was the morally right thing to do when you are not in the position to worry about your own life or the lives of your family.
A side note that is a little unrelated, but I think it touches on the coercion that your average foot soldier faces to fight. In WWI the Christmas Truce was an example of soldiers putting aside their differences precisely because the threat of coercion to fight was absent. I only read the synopsis of the Wiki article, and it didn't touch on the fact that the truce happened because the officers left the battlefield. Because of these events, new rules were instated in the British military that officers always had to remain present in battle (not sure if similar changes were made in the German military).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce)
Here's the fucked up fact of it, despite the rules and all that shit, most Germans did support the Nazis. The economy was getting better and Germany was gaining back power in the world, so they didn't care what was happening to the minority populations. Fuck, when the economy improved a lot of people bought into the nazi ideology more.
Also, I wouldn't consider a death camp the same thing as the battle field.
edit: Besides, didn't somebody in this thread say that a relative of theirs fed a concentration camp prisoner here?
Alright, fair points. When you said 'disappearing', I was thinking more about ideas that people like Malcom X and MLK were assassinated by the CIA. That is why I said there were 'fishy things' happening because, of course, such ideas can never be proven. Didn't really consider the lower level daily harassment and terrorism... Brain fart. Kind of talking out of my ass here I guess. And also I am aware that a large population of Germans supported Hitler because of his ability to overcome hyper-inflation. It still doesn't mean every German was culpable for major atrocities. Not to mention that his popularity wasn't as solid as it was in the early to late 30s through the end of the war. Anywho, white flag raised. Carry on Gip.
Edit: Also was sort of playing devil's advocate right now and now I feel like I have been soft on Nazi's. My Senate career is so over. No one can run on a soft on Nazi's platform.
-
nah, you just gotta spin to so people think you are open to listening to a diversity of opinions before making up your mind
-
My great uncle was Dean of Campbell College here in NC, the law school in Raleigh is named after him. My mom's cousin was the pitching coach for the Chicago White Sox's.
My grandfather was a paratrooper during WWII, jumped out during Normandy, landed, started digging a fox hole and got ran over by a French Tank, he lived. Apparently my great aunt said he was full of shit and that never happened, still believe him. Before he died, my grandmother got a call from a German man claiming to be his son, pretty crazy I could have a German Uncle.
-
my second cousin is a big famous aussie rules player here in australia, jonathan brown
(http://resources0.news.com.au/images/2011/04/01/1226031/706448-jonathan-brown.jpg)
he's a fucking person.
-
my second cousin is a big famous aussie rules player here in australia, jonathan brown
(http://resources0.news.com.au/images/2011/04/01/1226031/706448-jonathan-brown.jpg)
he's a fucking person.
Brownie!! The lions suck
-
yep, i hate em. my team isn't doing much better though :(
-
his head looks like a bean. Pretty rad that he's your cousin.
-
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
my great grandpa invented the street sweeper. also my cousin married the lead singer of the goo goo dolls. he's got crazy game.
Street sweeper the gun, or the actually vehicle that cleans streets?
Before you answer, just remember we could turn your great grandpa into a vigilante of Paul Kersey proportions. Either is dope though.
Is she still married to that dude?
the vehicle! still got the original blue prints at my uncles. i don't think it's worth anything though. wish frisco would see this thread he's got some really rad relatives that have everything to do with the invention of the delorean to steven segal movies.
Just found it
My Grandfather has so many stories, he was one of the pioneer investors in the delorean and I have a framed photo of the first one ever produced. He went on to fund the building of the Air Canada Center in Toronto. Plays golf with Gretzky, one of his best friends is Frank Mahavolich a famous retired hockey player
My Uncle started as a writer in Toronto and went on to LA and then was back and forth between Vancouver and there directing and writing TV shows and features. He wrote for Due South and Stargate SG-1 for years. His childhood best friend is Best Director Oscar winner Paul Haggis (Crash). He's done features with Steven Segal and Steve Austin, TV shows with Tia Carrera, Tiffani Thiessen and Olivia Wilde, and now is the Showrunner for a USA network show called "White Collar"
-
Yo--hook a brother up with Olivia Wilde.
-
Christopher Columbus is my great grandfather.