Australian Army Flys Nazi Flag in Afghanistan. WTF Australia?

[The Anti-Targ]

https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/104729952/australian-troops-criticised-for-flying-nazi-flag-while-on-patrol-in-afghanistan

What the hell man?

People like to throw stones at the USA for it's racism, and toture, and extraordinary rendition, and, and, and... but this is a low that I would never imagine the US military would commit. I have Australian friends who are totally not racist. But I also have Australian extended family who embarrass me with the brazenness of their racism.

Quote

The Defence Department said the flag was "briefly raised" above an army vehicle and a commander acted immediately to have the flag taken down. The troops involved were cautioned and subsequently counselled.

Neil James, executive director of the Australian Defence Association, a security policy think tank, said the flag was more likely a joke than a demonstration of ideology.

Seems like weak arsed responses to me. Is there really any situation where a Nazi flag can be raised and it can be flippantly dismissed as a joke? Aside from an actual comedy show/movie, which normally makes the Nazis the butt of any jokes, then the flag would be a joke.

This is interesting

Quote

But Ben Wadham, a Flinders University expert on militarism and a former military investigator, said the Australian military had had to deal with soldiers who were "Nazi sympathisers" in the past.

Though the article doesn't say when in the past. If it was around WWII then I think there were probably Nazi sympathisers in most or all allied countries, and likely a few in allied forces.

But as Taika Waititi says (and I tend to agree), New Zealand is racist as fuck as well. So I'm not going to suggest we as a nation can be holier than thou, I would like to think none of our military would fly a Nazi flag though.

[Yukle]

This is an utter shame on all of us and it has been completely mishandled. The soldiers responsible should have been immediately in a martial court once it was found out. Instead, it was brushed off as, "A poor joke, and only for a few minutes."

Absolutely and completely disgusting, there's no way that you arrange to have such a flag without being a despicable racist. I want them dishonourably discharged.

[Week]

35 minutes ago, Yukle said:

This is an utter shame on all of us and it has been completely mishandled. The soldiers responsible should have been immediately in a martial court once it was found out. Instead, it was brushed off as, "A poor joke, and only for a few minutes."

And how long had he kept it with him? Or where did they find it in ... Afghanistan? (probably our fault if it's the latter...)

[karaddin]

The excuse is absurd, and the context makes no sense for it to be a joke. Nor does the preparation required to do it jive with it being a joke. For all we like to shade the US for being racist, Australia is fucking terrible. There's another thing today with students at Charles Sturt University dressing as Klanners with someone in blackface as well for a "Political Incorrectness party" which seems about as plausible to dismiss as a joke as the flag (ie not at all). If you think through the logic of such a party, along with who is going to be attending it, its very clear that its expressing their genuine disgusting feelings.

There is a lot of heat on the US for the tent city camps that Trump is going to be throwing children into, the sad fact is that Aus has been pulling this shit for years now and is a large part of demonstrating how a western nation can get away with doing exactly that. It's barbaric and so are we for allowing it.

[Yukle]

14 minutes ago, karaddin said:

There is a lot of heat on the US for the tent city camps that Trump is going to be throwing children into, the sad fact is that Aus has been pulling this shit for years now and is a large part of demonstrating how a western nation can get away with doing exactly that. It's barbaric and so are we for allowing it.

I put it to people like this: Australia incarcerates children. Bad enough on its own, but its done without trial and without breaking a law.

[The Anti-Targ]

The Australian Govt wouldn't put assylum seekers in internment camps if they didn't have the support of the majority of the people.

I sympathise to an extent the plight Australia faces with boat people coming in without going through the verified assylum seeker process. But that's no reason to subject people to years of inhuman treatment. We're fortunate that we are too far away for the rickety boats asylum seekers use to get here, so it's just easier for these boats to aim straight for Aus. I hate to say it, but if we had boat people hitting our shores in similar numbers I think our govt would react pretty much as unhumanely as Aus.

Am I right to assume that the Aus military is among the whitest militaries in the world outside of continental Europe? I'm guessing UK, Canda and US have a decent proportion of people of African descent. Our military has a pretty decent proportion of Maori and we have a tradition of Maori in the military at least since WWII. So there's pretty substantial Maori cultural influence in our military.

[The Marquis de Leech]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-14/photo-shows-nazi-flag-flown-over-australian-army-vehicle/9859618

The guy didn't just run across a Nazi flag locally and decided to make a bad joke. He took the flag with him to Afghanistan. That's a whole other level of creepy.

[Yukle]

19 minutes ago, The Anti-Targ said:

The Australian Govt wouldn't put assylum seekers in internment camps if they didn't have the support of the majority of the people.

I sympathise to an extent the plight Australia faces with boat people coming in without going through the verified assylum seeker process. But that's no reason to subject people to years of inhuman treatment.

The thing is, it wasn't always the case. Australia had huge refugee programs in the wake of the Vietnam war led by the Fraser government.

One of the biggest shames on Australia is how racism now tars the discussion. John Howard made it a wedge issue after Tampa, and even fabricated a "children overboard" scandal. Incredibly, after this was proven false, Australians just didn't care. Refugees don't break Australian law to arrive, which is why they can't be simply deported. Also, the prisons they keep people in are essentially POW camps, with very little attention paid to health and safety. 

It makes me furious at how depraved it is.

[The Marquis de Leech]

4 hours ago, The Anti-Targ said:

But as Taika Waititi says (and I tend to agree), New Zealand is racist as fuck as well. So I'm not going to suggest we as a nation can be holier than thou, I would like to think none of our military would fly a Nazi flag though.

Winston Peters vs Pauline Hanson...

[Yukle]

2 minutes ago, The Marquis de Leech said:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-14/photo-shows-nazi-flag-flown-over-australian-army-vehicle/9859618

The guy didn't just run across a Nazi flag locally and decided to make a bad joke. He took the flag with him to Afghanistan. That's a whole other level of creepy.

Says a lot about Australia.  And none of it very good. Not only did he do that, but nobody seems to have disciplined him well. Or at all.

[Yukle]

Just to add more to this: Australian forces are also being investigated for the discovery of war crimes.

[The Marquis de Leech]

Had a chat with a friend of mine, who formerly served in the New Zealand military. His conclusion:

• "Soldiers are [young] idiots."
• "The Australian military is racist as fuck."*

*Locals in East Timor much prefer New Zealand peace-keepers over Australian, for this reason.

So Australia may well have got themselves a 19 year-old skinhead, and didn't notice until it was too late.

[Paxter]

I'm not a fan of many of the policy positions that Australia takes at a domestic or international level. Personally I'd not put this particular incident at the forefront of my outrage, though I agree that it confirms deep cultural problems within the ADF.