Blogs Apr 24, 2013 at 12:15 pm

Comments

2
The French didn't colonize Thailand/Siam -- nobody did -- and aside from the border skirmishes the Thais didn't hold any particularly deeply seated opposition to French (or British, Spanish, Dutch or American) colonialism. The Thais did what they had done throughout history: wisely negotiated in the face of a hostile power that was taking over the region (Japan, in this case, which overran every Southeast Asian colony during WWII), and gave up some autonomy (allowing, for example, the Japanese military to station troops there) in order to retain sovereignty. The Thais were also hostile to the Chinese, making a pact with the Japanese more appealing.
3
@1 The world's only one I imagine. Next to the book shop selling books about great British lovers.
4
The "Holiday" shirt is taken from an old National Lampoon article about Hitler in exile in a tropical paradise. Not quite sure about the heart hitler, though.
6
@ 2 and 4. Nobody said France colonized Thailand. But the French were colonialists and Siam wasn't pleased with their behavior. From the link:

"In 1940, most of France was occupied by Nazi Germany, and Phibun immediately set out to avenge Siam's humiliations by France in 1893 and 1904, when the French had used force to redraw the borders of Siam with Laos and Cambodia, requiring the Thais to sign a series of unequal treaties. To accomplish that, the Thai government needed Japanese assistance against France..."
7
Looks like Stranger cover submissions to me.
8
not a bad ass. i'd hate fuck it at least. load him up good.
9
@6 Sure, but perhaps "neighboring colonists" would have been clearer. And I shouldn't have to tell you that citing Wikipedia as authoritative is problematic; look at the passage you cited and see if it doesn't seem like the Thais needed the Japanese in order to sign a series of unequal treaties. Although it would be unwise to overestimate the ability of the Thais to forget a 40-50-year-old border skirmish, the skirmishes with the Chinese were current, making a deal with the Japanese more appealing. Both the French and the British (and others) actively did mutually beneficial business in Siam and Thailand up until the outbreak of World War II.
11
@5,

There were plenty of anti-Semitic, Nazi-sympathizing Finns during World War II.
12
Isn't the real question here whether the SLOG Poll should presume you received one as a gift and under what conditions you'd wear it, or under what conditions you would buy the Holiday for Hitler shirt?
13
I found a totally mindblowing photo years back of a Thai soldier in full SS gear, gunning down Vietnamese. A thai roomate I had in college explained the pathological hatred a lot of his county had for their neighbors.
14
There were pro-Bin Laden shirts around the tourist night markets in Thailand after 9/11, also.
15
"...and Germany" I love the "The Producers".
16
@11:

There were plenty of anti-Semitic, Nazi-sympathizing Finns during World War II.


You can pretty much wildcard Finns in the above sentence. There were plenty of Americans that would fit that characterization.

Finland was drawn into WWII when it was invaded by Russia, not through an affinity with Germany or with nazi ideology.
17
Hitler never said this "baby."


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