Having read early in the book that there is no agreed-upon definition of "fascism" I thought it might be interesting to see what came up under "images" when I searched the word.
That image search took a surprising detour which was too funny not to share.
As I work on uploading images, I find I am the last mom in the free world to learn about this. If you have heard it all before, just humor me.
Searching "fascism", I came upon an Amazon review of some Playmobil Toys, and popped right in todiscover the connection between fascism and our beloved Playmobil.
Here is what I found:
(And I am sorry the photo is so very small.)
First, the toy in question is the Playmobil Security Checkpoint.
It's an adorable little setup of an airport security check. Lots of fun for the kids!
But what's fun for the parents is the reviews that were posted with this toy on Amazon.....here are only a wee tiny taste of what's available for your entertainment here at Amazon:
"Thank you Playmobil for allowing me to teach my 5-year old the importance of recognizing what a failing bureaucracy in a ever growing fascist state looks like. Sometimes it's a hard lesson for kids to learn because not all pigs carry billy clubs and wear body armor. I applaud the people who created this toy for finally being hip to our changing times. Little children need to be aware that not all smiling faces and uniforms are friendly. I noticed that my child is now more interested in current events. Just the other day he asked me why we had to forfeit so much of our liberties and personal freedoms and I had to answer "well, it's because the terrorists have already won". Yes, they have won. I also highly recommend the Playmobil "farm fencing" so you can take your escorted airline passenger away and fence him behind bars as if he were in Guantanamo Bay." This from a toy purchaser named "Zampamo"
and also:
"I was a little disappointed when I first bought this item, because the functionality is limited. My 5 year old son pointed out that the passenger's shoes cannot be removed. Then, we placed a deadly fingernail file underneath the passenger's scarf, and neither the detector doorway nor the security wand picked it up. My son said "that's the worst security ever!". But it turned out to be okay, because when the passenger got on the Playmobil B757 and tried to hijack it, she was mobbed by a couple of other heroic passengers, who only sustained minor injuries in the scuffle, which were treated at the Playmobil Hospital. The best thing about this product is that it teaches kids about the realities of living in a high-surveillence society. My son said he wants the Playmobil Neighborhood Surveillence System set for Christmas. I've heard that the CC TV cameras on that thing are pretty worthless in terms of quality and motion detection, so I think I'll get him the Playmobil Abu-Ghraib Interogation Set instead (it comes with a cute little memo from George Bush). " This review written, not surprisingly, by "Loosenut"
I'm sorry to have put the angry guy first here, but often that's how it goes, isn't it?
I have not even begun talking about the Goldberg book.
But this little post does give a tiny taste of how we just like to slap that label "facsim" on any old thing we think is objectionable.
2 comments:
That is great. the first review seems a little too agressive, in that the author takes so much offence at the idea that their super-protected kids are now subject to reality (*gasp* NO!) The second review was very good, as it neither attacked or defended the toy or the way it relates to a childs view of lifes realities. I think that when parents start to get concerned that the toys THEY are buying for their children are going to give them the correct vision of what's going on, it indicates that they want to over-shelter their kids, and are not propperly educating them in current afairs. a five year old can understand that terrorists are dangerous, and that the world can change dramaticly when they act in real force. so why get upset when one toy makes such a small suggestion towards it. it's not like playmobile has a school-bombing set, or osama bin-ladens lair, or (thank heaven) Abu-Ghraib and guantanamo. in the real, non-protected world, children are subject to real violence (not depictions of police at an airport) and we should be thankful that our kids are NOT being shot at or watching people die. The first review seems to be denying that sin exists, or indicating that the author wants to defend his/her child from the sin of the world, not realizing that the threat comes not from playmobile toys, but the in-born sinfulness of mans nature.
Thank you for sharing that. I loved the second one.
Wow David....that's quite a comment.....
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