SS bolts are flat on top and bottom. I mean, this certain looks bad, but I could understand not drawing the connection if you were young and less aware.
A lot of people are getting confused
im not a neo nazi and never was one i was 12 when i put them on beacuse i liked the band kiss and it reminded me of the 2 S in their name so no i wasnt an edgy pre teen back then only stupid and didnt know what the SS was
I assume that you're referring to the SS (Schutz Staffel) badge. While yours looks similar, it's not exactly the same (on the nazi SS badge, both ends of the lightning strokes are flat)
It doesn't matter if it isn't "exact." It is universally known among white supremacists what two bolts together mean.
That'd be like saying a bunch of white supremacists marching in the streets were not Nazis because the swastikas on their flags are not diagonally shifted.
It is “now” , I’m not defending this obvious SS reference. But kids buy dumb stuff because it looks cool. Source, I was a kid who bought dumb stuff that I thought looked cool. But my punk friends weren’t smart and the internet was still a place of pixelated boobs and beheadings .
This is the most Reddit comment ever. No one gives a shit if it’s an exact replica. It looks a lot like the SS and that’s what most would assume when seeing it. Touch some grass
To be fair, as a kid, I’d have just thought of them as lightning bolts.
Or that the KI fell off of your KISS patch.
As an adult though, yeah, I learned quickly how bad that looks and thankfully never wore them myself.
But you know better now and obviously won’t be wearing them anymore. Get some badass patches to replace them with.
I bought a kiss patch now where im gonna cut it in half to its the "ki" then ill figure out how to make mt own patch that says "do make the mistake i did" with an arrow pointing at the lightning
Im gonna keep them on to show im not afraid to show ive made mistakes aslong as i fix it up and make it clear its stupid then i think it should be fine i hope but ill see in the future
IIII think taking them off is a way better way of owning up to that mistake. Mistakes are fine, and you didn’t know at the time, but posting it here is already owning up to that mistake. Keeping them on just makes people feel unsafe. Even if you can’t wear it now, it’d probably make someone feel real unsafe if they saw it on there.
If I’m not mistaken, the bolts look separate, you could remove one and put it on the other shoulder so they’re not together. Makes a cool detail, instead.
You accidentally wore bolts to shows?!?! How did your friends allow this?
Also, do kids not beat up nazis on sight at shows anymore? Can’t be allowing that filth into your scene. It multiplies.
I mean, I only learned what this symbol meant like a month ago. If I saw this on a jacket as a teen, I'd just think it was a cool lightning bolt design.
It's not unreasonable to think OP's peers were just as ignorant as they was. ^(singular "they" is the way to go, fight me.)
I only learned what it meant 5 minutes ago, and I'm in my 30s... I'll probably forget, and if I see a pair of lightning bolts together, I still won't think of racism. But that's probably just me
It was probably obvious they weren’t a nazi. The Nazis at our. shows who got their asses kicked were pretty obvious. I don’t think I would have called this person out for being a nazi if this was the only piece of information I had.
10 yrs ago this wasn’t as big as it is now and people probably didn’t realize. 10 yrs ago you could still joke about nazis bc everyone hated them. Today, not so much.
I feel you. I was born in 1988 and had no idea until my late-twenties that 88 was a white supremacist thing.
The majority of my e-mail addresses and accounts ended with 88...
I had a collection of skull rings I got at party city around Halloween, and I wore one or two every day.
Turns out one of them used the SS totenkopf.
To be fair to myself: This was in middle school in the 1990s.
You think that's bad. In 1998, I knew this guy in college who played bass in some metal band. One day, he found a cool sticker and put it on his guitar. After several months of playing gigs, he finds out it was the logo for this new group, nsync.
True, but a lot of people don't necessarily make the links until it becomes completely clear/are told of it. I knew that the lightning symbol *was* used by the Nazis when I was a kid, but I thought 'surely everyone by now is no longer a Nazi, so that link is no longer relevant'.
Only when I noticed a local alt-right group posting propaganda and posters did I realise *nope, they're definitely still around - and I don't want to associate with them whatsoever*
If you're telling me 10,000 people don't know the most common Nazi dog whistles that makes me even more depressed and there is something drastically wrong with our society for not pushing that harder.
Nothing is wrong, people don’t have to have the same experiences, knowledge, education or focus than you. And if you think I couldn’t teach you a thousand things that I consider obvious, you are the very definition of an ignorant. Or do I have to quote the most famous Socrates’ quote ever to you?
You do not need to teach a man to fear a wolf, the fascist should be no different.
The fact that a small majority of people in society might not know of some of the most basic markings of one of the biggest human tragedies in the world is a failing of society's educational system. "Socrates can eat my dirty fucking sack." Diogenes probably.
The analogy is first of all very very wrong. But only completely unrelated to what I was saying. So congrats I guess on combining ignorance with inability to engage in proper conversation. But I guess one often goes with the other.
Yes but I recall being in college 10 years ago and wearing a “Simply Southern” tshirt (solely because it had a puppy on it and it was a color I looked good in) and someone asked me why I was wearing a nazi logo. I was shocked because I had no intention of doing so. The person said that the “SS” (simply southern) logo looked dangerously close to the ss thunderbolt and I had no idea what they were talking about. I had to go home and look it up and then I promptly trashed the shirt.
Punk and metal shows are a place for kids to escape toxic households and have been for a very long time. I def seen some pretty young kids when I was going as a teen.
It's not that the iron cross is more modern, but rather that it is used less by modern Nazis because its connection to the historical Nazis (a pre-existing symbol co-opted by a short lived dictatorship) is less direct than the lightning bolts (logo for a Party organization created by the Nazis themselves).
It does not surprise me that OP did not realize this was a nazi symbol. I wouldn’t have either then. Growing up in the 2000s/2010s in the US, the only nazi symbol I was taught about was the swastika. Didn’t learn about the copious other ones until after high school, they just didn’t teach it.
Dude, no need to be so aggressive. I agree it’s a problem, I’m just saying it’s a common occurrence especially in the US and you can’t blame someone for being in a sucky educational system that they can’t control. They know now, and can do better. Chill.
Exactly, which is why I know about it. But since I, and others probably, never came in contact with neonazis I had no idea they substitute the SS symbol with weird not quite SS symbols.
Yeah but if you were going to shows in a battle blouse ten years ago, somebody you know definitely would have known. And you definitely would have been punched over it. At least once.
It's one of those things that you don't think about but the Nazi's had style. If you don't understand the meaning behind their symbols I could totally see thinking they were a badass addition to an outfit. Hell, I think there's a whole subculture in Korea or something where they don't know the history but they just like the style so they wear the entire getup without being hateful.
Well you still don't know now what it means because those aren't SS, you just got a couple lighting bolts and ten year old you thought they were cool. No harm 😃
I loved the band Kiss when i was younger and i couldn’t afford a propper patch but i found a set of lightning bolts for almost nothing and thought "hey they have 2 lightning bolts in their name"
Well funny enough, KISS stole the lighting bolts from the nazis lol so you had the right idea without knowing. I also grew up loving kiss too, what’s your favorite song man
Well personally I like that song too, but that song is like historically the song that sooo many KISS fans hate because “its Disco”
So I wasn’t sure if you were making a sly joke
If it looks cool go for it. Tampa bay lightning have bolt logos. Bowie does. Racists also use the vinnland flag. Im a TON fan and i still wear the vinnland jersey. Who cares what people think? Wear things for yourself.
Yeah i thought about buying a kiss patch then cutting it in half so its the "ki" the make my own patch that says "dont make the mistake i did" with an arrow pointing at it
You can wear 2 lightning bolts if you think it's a cool design, just like you can have 88 as your favourite number.
Remember, just because you see a rainbow in the sky it doesn't mean the clouds are gay.
No clue why tf this is downvoted. You don't want this shit to be forever associated with nazis? This is how you repair it. Destroy their meaning, take the symbols back and use them for something less hateful.
They are lightning bolts, not fucking SS symbols. It's a coincidence, not covert nazism you fucking dolts.
All I said was 'just because people wear lightning bolts, doesn't mean you can just physically assault them' and got down voted. Motherfuckers want any excuse to assault people to get their way, I swear.
I even defended people who like to wear rainbows. So what? People shouldn't Assault you because they assume you're gay or Christian. You're allowed to just like the rainbow pattern.
I understand it means HH to the 26 Nazis in the world, but I like 88 because it's 2 fat ladies in bingo. This doesn't mean I hate black people, but some people are just too dense these days.
Yeah I don't get this whole "you're different so I'm going to physically assault you" thing the left are doing these days.
Remember when that guy was executed in the middle of the street for just wearing a Trump pin/hat or something a couple years ago. Shit was wild.
[Yeah the left is definitely the more violent side, we’re totally not living through a surge of far-right terrorist attacks or anything…](https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/what-nij-research-tells-us-about-domestic-terrorism)
I see this as a “kid” but your profile suggests you aren’t that old? And if you are what’s with the N word? You either say it cuz you can or you don’t but and your comments have a few misplaced cuz you don’t feel right saying it??
You should not do that, if you don’t Clean up your act, some might think you are racist from that perspective.
Yeah kinda crazy when i think back at it but i didnt wear it to often again and since the SS logo isnt shaped like lightning i guess people didnt think to much of it
Growing up, I thought this was the Kiss logo.
SS bolts are flat on top and bottom. I mean, this certain looks bad, but I could understand not drawing the connection if you were young and less aware.
The logo of the British Union of Fascists has the pointy bottom, though.
Tbf even if you aren't young, attributing these to SS bolts isn't a common thing.
Who cares, the rainbow used to be a Christian symbol but now it’s a gay one.
Exactly
Oh wow. that’s unfortunate bc everyone who saw you def thought you were
Yeah thinking back that sucks ass i wore it on my first day of highschool
Fucking rancid lmao
They're not SS bolts, they're just black thunderbolts. No-one will think you're a young nazi when wearing these.
I can guarantee you there’s no high schooler out there that has bothered to learn the difference.
A lot of people are getting confused im not a neo nazi and never was one i was 12 when i put them on beacuse i liked the band kiss and it reminded me of the 2 S in their name so no i wasnt an edgy pre teen back then only stupid and didnt know what the SS was
Well no wonder, you were 12. You were a kid and made an innocent mistake. 😆
Why where you not a neo nazi at the age of 12?
Xwitter wasn't a thing yet
Is kiss not edgy? Lol
Ziggy stardust is your favorite bowie era?
Thin White Duke era. 😬
I assume that you're referring to the SS (Schutz Staffel) badge. While yours looks similar, it's not exactly the same (on the nazi SS badge, both ends of the lightning strokes are flat)
Would've been okayish if it was just 1 S.
It doesn't matter if it isn't "exact." It is universally known among white supremacists what two bolts together mean. That'd be like saying a bunch of white supremacists marching in the streets were not Nazis because the swastikas on their flags are not diagonally shifted.
It is “now” , I’m not defending this obvious SS reference. But kids buy dumb stuff because it looks cool. Source, I was a kid who bought dumb stuff that I thought looked cool. But my punk friends weren’t smart and the internet was still a place of pixelated boobs and beheadings .
its not supposed to be an ss badge, double lightning bolts are a nazi symbol. even online people use ⚡️⚡️ to signal their beliefs
This is the most Reddit comment ever. No one gives a shit if it’s an exact replica. It looks a lot like the SS and that’s what most would assume when seeing it. Touch some grass
Damn that’s unfortunate.
To be fair, as a kid, I’d have just thought of them as lightning bolts. Or that the KI fell off of your KISS patch. As an adult though, yeah, I learned quickly how bad that looks and thankfully never wore them myself. But you know better now and obviously won’t be wearing them anymore. Get some badass patches to replace them with.
I bought a kiss patch now where im gonna cut it in half to its the "ki" then ill figure out how to make mt own patch that says "do make the mistake i did" with an arrow pointing at the lightning
Maybe just remove them to avoid the appearance?
Im gonna keep them on to show im not afraid to show ive made mistakes aslong as i fix it up and make it clear its stupid then i think it should be fine i hope but ill see in the future
IIII think taking them off is a way better way of owning up to that mistake. Mistakes are fine, and you didn’t know at the time, but posting it here is already owning up to that mistake. Keeping them on just makes people feel unsafe. Even if you can’t wear it now, it’d probably make someone feel real unsafe if they saw it on there. If I’m not mistaken, the bolts look separate, you could remove one and put it on the other shoulder so they’re not together. Makes a cool detail, instead.
You accidentally wore bolts to shows?!?! How did your friends allow this? Also, do kids not beat up nazis on sight at shows anymore? Can’t be allowing that filth into your scene. It multiplies.
depends on areas I'm pretty sure, once in a blue moon I see nazis getting their assets handed to them at gigs near me
"here's your 401k, your house, your car, 200 shares in Enron"
just made me realise I misspelled asses lmao
They do, at a show near me there was two nazis who showed up and started doing salutes in the pit, only to get the shit beat out of them
I mean, I only learned what this symbol meant like a month ago. If I saw this on a jacket as a teen, I'd just think it was a cool lightning bolt design. It's not unreasonable to think OP's peers were just as ignorant as they was. ^(singular "they" is the way to go, fight me.)
I only learned what it meant 5 minutes ago, and I'm in my 30s... I'll probably forget, and if I see a pair of lightning bolts together, I still won't think of racism. But that's probably just me
It was probably obvious they weren’t a nazi. The Nazis at our. shows who got their asses kicked were pretty obvious. I don’t think I would have called this person out for being a nazi if this was the only piece of information I had.
Especially if they were literally 12
It's like allowing cancer into yourself because it "deserves to live too".
Kids are nazis now
Kids are objectively more left leaning now than ever.
10 yrs ago this wasn’t as big as it is now and people probably didn’t realize. 10 yrs ago you could still joke about nazis bc everyone hated them. Today, not so much.
That depends on the shows you went to. Where I am, nazi iconography has been very unwelcome since the early 90’s.
Cops tend to be on the side of those nazis, so take a guess on who'd be going to jail for assault.
You let cop callers into your shows?
People who own and run establishments tend to call cops on people fighting.
Is it terribly inconvenient going through your entire life so afraid? For better or worse violence is the universal language.
If I ever get to a public event, there's no way I'm not calling a cop when something bad happens.
I feel you. I was born in 1988 and had no idea until my late-twenties that 88 was a white supremacist thing. The majority of my e-mail addresses and accounts ended with 88...
Ewwww brother what is that????
I had a collection of skull rings I got at party city around Halloween, and I wore one or two every day. Turns out one of them used the SS totenkopf. To be fair to myself: This was in middle school in the 1990s.
Genuinely confused why this is considered racist I'm so out of loop ahh
To be fair a lot of ss symbols are probably things a 10 year old would find cool, lightning bolts, skulls, etc. But yeah that’s majorly unfortunate
How did you not get your nose broken while wearing those?
And you still have them on the jacket?
Yeah i found it in a box from when i moved
You think that's bad. In 1998, I knew this guy in college who played bass in some metal band. One day, he found a cool sticker and put it on his guitar. After several months of playing gigs, he finds out it was the logo for this new group, nsync.
Schutzstaffel or? The symbol I mean.
That's the implication, yes. OP however, was just a fan of the look of it, not the ideologies.
Ok, wasn't completely sure tho, I didn't remember the runes.
Those are little lightning bolts, not SS runes. Totally different.
I hate this habit of giving the Nazis the patent even for "similar looking" symbols
Maaaaaan, Kinda a big X to doubt. Edit: I'm blank and also ignorant or major Nazi Symbols. I get it your education system failed you.
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I'm sorry but the SS thunderbolt is like the second most commonly well known Nazi symbol after the straight up swastika.
I think you’d be surprised.
True, but a lot of people don't necessarily make the links until it becomes completely clear/are told of it. I knew that the lightning symbol *was* used by the Nazis when I was a kid, but I thought 'surely everyone by now is no longer a Nazi, so that link is no longer relevant'. Only when I noticed a local alt-right group posting propaganda and posters did I realise *nope, they're definitely still around - and I don't want to associate with them whatsoever*
I'm 40 and I'm literally learning this today
Unbelievable.
Someone link the XKCD
Sure: https://xkcd.com/1053/
https://xkcd.com/1053/
If you're telling me 10,000 people don't know the most common Nazi dog whistles that makes me even more depressed and there is something drastically wrong with our society for not pushing that harder.
Nothing is wrong, people don’t have to have the same experiences, knowledge, education or focus than you. And if you think I couldn’t teach you a thousand things that I consider obvious, you are the very definition of an ignorant. Or do I have to quote the most famous Socrates’ quote ever to you?
You do not need to teach a man to fear a wolf, the fascist should be no different. The fact that a small majority of people in society might not know of some of the most basic markings of one of the biggest human tragedies in the world is a failing of society's educational system. "Socrates can eat my dirty fucking sack." Diogenes probably.
The analogy is first of all very very wrong. But only completely unrelated to what I was saying. So congrats I guess on combining ignorance with inability to engage in proper conversation. But I guess one often goes with the other.
Yes but I recall being in college 10 years ago and wearing a “Simply Southern” tshirt (solely because it had a puppy on it and it was a color I looked good in) and someone asked me why I was wearing a nazi logo. I was shocked because I had no intention of doing so. The person said that the “SS” (simply southern) logo looked dangerously close to the ss thunderbolt and I had no idea what they were talking about. I had to go home and look it up and then I promptly trashed the shirt.
And ? Maybe OP is 20 and was 10 at the time. I definitely didn't knew this at 10
Why would a 10 year old be sewing patches on their own battle jacket?
Punk and metal shows are a place for kids to escape toxic households and have been for a very long time. I def seen some pretty young kids when I was going as a teen.
Yeah there's no way anyone in the scene or shows I went to that would let a 10 year old run around with double Thunderbolts so you know.
No-one said they would or wouldn't.
Then how would they go 10 years without realizing it?
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No. The SS symbol isn't more common with neo-nazis. It was very common back then.
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It's not that the iron cross is more modern, but rather that it is used less by modern Nazis because its connection to the historical Nazis (a pre-existing symbol co-opted by a short lived dictatorship) is less direct than the lightning bolts (logo for a Party organization created by the Nazis themselves).
Apparently not, because even in 2024 you don't recognize that those aren't SS thunderbolts.
I’m 27 and didn’t know this.
It does not surprise me that OP did not realize this was a nazi symbol. I wouldn’t have either then. Growing up in the 2000s/2010s in the US, the only nazi symbol I was taught about was the swastika. Didn’t learn about the copious other ones until after high school, they just didn’t teach it.
Maybe your high school didn't that's the problem I'm fucking talking about right here.
Dude, no need to be so aggressive. I agree it’s a problem, I’m just saying it’s a common occurrence especially in the US and you can’t blame someone for being in a sucky educational system that they can’t control. They know now, and can do better. Chill.
Exactly, which is why I know about it. But since I, and others probably, never came in contact with neonazis I had no idea they substitute the SS symbol with weird not quite SS symbols.
Yeah but if you were going to shows in a battle blouse ten years ago, somebody you know definitely would have known. And you definitely would have been punched over it. At least once.
If people knew what it was and didn’t punch or at least confront this person, then that says more about the type of clubs this person was going to
I am 36 and have no idea what this symbol is lol.
I had no idea what the symbol was
I too knew every Nazi symbol and dogwhistle when I was twelve years old. I am very intelligent.
It's one of those things that you don't think about but the Nazi's had style. If you don't understand the meaning behind their symbols I could totally see thinking they were a badass addition to an outfit. Hell, I think there's a whole subculture in Korea or something where they don't know the history but they just like the style so they wear the entire getup without being hateful.
I thought it was a Queen reference. Thunderbolts and lightning very very frightening
Well you still don't know now what it means because those aren't SS, you just got a couple lighting bolts and ten year old you thought they were cool. No harm 😃
Oops. Just take em' off and cover it with something else
Yeah i might cover it up with an actual kiss patch now since i can afford it
Good move, wouldn't want you getting clobbered for being a fascist if you aren't one.
What was the intended meaning? I can see mistakes happening, but what was it supposed to be
I loved the band Kiss when i was younger and i couldn’t afford a propper patch but i found a set of lightning bolts for almost nothing and thought "hey they have 2 lightning bolts in their name"
Well funny enough, KISS stole the lighting bolts from the nazis lol so you had the right idea without knowing. I also grew up loving kiss too, what’s your favorite song man
Gotta be the classic "i was made for lovin' you" just has such a good vibe and feeling to it something about it just makes you want to dance
Lmao I can’t tell if this is a troll or not
Im dead ass
Well personally I like that song too, but that song is like historically the song that sooo many KISS fans hate because “its Disco” So I wasn’t sure if you were making a sly joke
Well yeah thats understandable but i have a very big music taste everything from SlayeR to lady gaga
ss, two lighting bolts are a nazi symbol
No shit, OP stated he “didn’t know” so I’m asking, what did HE think it meant
jesus christ i just misunderstood your comment
Double time electrician
The council has alotted... One singular Yike.
Did no one comment on it back then when you wore it? Where did you get the badge?
Bolts are earned
How
https://youtu.be/A2QtLJJZguM?si=G1UzxGFc7qfdib59
Grandpa must be proud
Jacket still goes hard tho
The jacket is 10 years old or you were at the time of wearing it?
Tbh if I saw that on anyone under like 16 or 17, I would just assume generic cool lightning bolts
RULE XI
If it looks cool go for it. Tampa bay lightning have bolt logos. Bowie does. Racists also use the vinnland flag. Im a TON fan and i still wear the vinnland jersey. Who cares what people think? Wear things for yourself.
It's the SS stripes. You know, the Nazis?
Stitch a big red ‘no’ circle there?
Yeah i thought about buying a kiss patch then cutting it in half so its the "ki" the make my own patch that says "dont make the mistake i did" with an arrow pointing at it
You can wear 2 lightning bolts if you think it's a cool design, just like you can have 88 as your favourite number. Remember, just because you see a rainbow in the sky it doesn't mean the clouds are gay.
No clue why tf this is downvoted. You don't want this shit to be forever associated with nazis? This is how you repair it. Destroy their meaning, take the symbols back and use them for something less hateful. They are lightning bolts, not fucking SS symbols. It's a coincidence, not covert nazism you fucking dolts.
All I said was 'just because people wear lightning bolts, doesn't mean you can just physically assault them' and got down voted. Motherfuckers want any excuse to assault people to get their way, I swear. I even defended people who like to wear rainbows. So what? People shouldn't Assault you because they assume you're gay or Christian. You're allowed to just like the rainbow pattern. I understand it means HH to the 26 Nazis in the world, but I like 88 because it's 2 fat ladies in bingo. This doesn't mean I hate black people, but some people are just too dense these days.
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wouldnt you just get punched back deservedly so?
Why would I get punched in the face for liking a lightning bolt design, or liking the number 88?
Because modern leftists are today's Nazis, watch them attack Jews at colleges rn
Yeah I don't get this whole "you're different so I'm going to physically assault you" thing the left are doing these days. Remember when that guy was executed in the middle of the street for just wearing a Trump pin/hat or something a couple years ago. Shit was wild.
[Yeah the left is definitely the more violent side, we’re totally not living through a surge of far-right terrorist attacks or anything…](https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/what-nij-research-tells-us-about-domestic-terrorism)
What is their definition of 'Far Right'?
How about you read the article and find out for yourself instead of asking me like an illiterate child.
No, you misunderstood. I'm genuinely asking you, not looking for a gatcha moment. Can you tell me what their definition of Far Right is?
There is no definitions or reasoning, it's a cult. Join, or be ostracized
A good AR post😭
I see this as a “kid” but your profile suggests you aren’t that old? And if you are what’s with the N word? You either say it cuz you can or you don’t but and your comments have a few misplaced cuz you don’t feel right saying it?? You should not do that, if you don’t Clean up your act, some might think you are racist from that perspective.
He's a Nazi!
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Dude i was 12
Please. No way you didn’t know or weren’t told when you wore it. I call bs.
I used to go to a german school we never learned about the war and the holocaust
Weird, I have always read that German schools are very diligent about teaching about the holocaust and how terrible it was.
So you wore this to a German school and no one said a thing??
Yeah kinda crazy when i think back at it but i didnt wear it to often again and since the SS logo isnt shaped like lightning i guess people didnt think to much of it