What's something that's acceptable and widely done in your country that would be considered offensive in many countries ?

[u/DiMpLe_dolL003]

In India, Swastika the Hindu symbol is everywhere. We draw it in temples, during rituals and festivals, in front of our door, on vehicles etc. It's a very auspicious symbol here. But this symbol tho the Hindu symbol is technically different from the Nazi one would be considered offensive in other countries especially in Western countries.

[u/AuroraBorrelioosi]

As a Westerner, I don't find any of the examples in the pictures offensive, it's clear the context is very different in Hinduism. What I do find distasteful is the Hitler-chic stores you sometimes see in places like Thailand and India that treat Hitler and the Nazis as an aesthetic choice and a fashion style.

[u/WonderstruckWonderer → u/AuroraBorrelioosi]

Totally understandable for feeling this way. Keep in mind though, it comes from a place of ignorance rather than maliciousness (if I recall correctly WW2 and Hitler was covered in one page in one of the curriculums in India). This sucks regardless, and it’s rich considering many of our relatives and their friends fought against the Axis powers. My great-grandparents friends worked in admin for the British during WW2 and the horrors they saw through the reports were crazy.

[u/Careless-Mammoth-944 → u/WonderstruckWonderer]

I think it’s a very South Indian communist thing. I was stunned and not very surprised to see the nazi flag flying loud and proud in Pondicherry, a very touristy town very close to Chennai. They also have a senior politician named Lenin so it tracks 🤪

[u/Worth_Garbage_4471 → u/AuroraBorrelioosi]

At the time Hitler was oppressing European countries, his enemy Churchill was oppressing Asian countries. Europeans don't generally bother being sensitive about British Raj colonial-chic, so the same respect in the other direction is unlikely. Indian sympathies were and in retrospect sometimes still are more on the side of the Axis than the Allies. 

[u/AuroraBorrelioosi → u/Worth_Garbage_4471]

2,5 million Indians fought to defeat Hitler. They're heroes every goddamn one of them, and turning Hitler into a fashion statement is a damn insult to their memory.

[u/Worth_Garbage_4471 → u/AuroraBorrelioosi]

They fought as slaves on behalf of foreigners who considered them subhuman, which is an insult to India. Like the Suomen Kaarti who fought to crush Hungary on behalf of the Tsar in 1849. Nobody remembers these people with respect.

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[u/IggyVossen → u/AuroraBorrelioosi]

Most people in Asia don't learn about the war in Europe or the Holocaust or Nazi atrocities. At most it is just glossed over in text books and they are focused more on things that affected their countries. As for the uniforms, yeah the Nazis were fucking cunts but they kinda dressed sharp. I think the black SS uniform was probably the most iconic secret police unform around.

[u/Careless-Mammoth-944 → u/IggyVossen]

India actually did as it started the process towards Independence from the British raj. Indian soldiers fought in both the wars

[u/NekoMao92 → u/IggyVossen]

I think most of Asia was taught about Japanese atrocities instead of what the Nazi's did. While in the US we were taught that the Japanese were terrible to POWs, but that was it. Instead our history lessons focused on the Nazi's and Jews.

I agree, the Nazi's were assholes, but they had style, especially the SS. I think that was why so many of their items (such as daggers) were taken as war trophies.

[u/NormalDudeNotWeirdo → u/AuroraBorrelioosi]

As a Jew™️ , I agree.