Say Anything Blog

What’s messed up is that many people on the left defend Mahmoud Ahmadinejad while pointing their fingers at America and calling us the goose-steppers. Ironically, this doesn’t register with the self proclaimed purveyors of “truth” and “justice”. Jim Quinn describes this situation thusly: liberalism is standing on your head and telling the rest of the world that it is upside down.

Likwid-

I’d actually read about the history of the Goose-step some time ago—before the internet, but most of what I remembered is not on the internet.

As you have observed, the goose-step seems to be emblematic of 20th century totalitarian states.  They learn from from their predecessors and adopt their ways, from the goose-step, to the Secret State Police (whether vCheka, the Geheime StaatsPolizei, the KGB or SAVAK), concentration / death camps (Konzentrations Lager, or KZ, GULAGs, or Lao Gai), Socialists, whether National or Soviet, Arabic or Chinese all are come from the same snake’s den.

An interesting aside:  I ran into this jewel while researching the history of the Goose-step:

“The Bolshevists won the Civil War because they succeeded in creating the political and social-economic preliminary conditions they needed for the seizure and maintenance of power.”

Keep that statement in mind.  It’s easy to miss, but very important.  Watch what the ‘Liberals’ have been doing over the years. Compare their words and actions to the lesser-concealed communists overseas.

Now, on to your Goose-Step:

The above article goes on to allude to German training of Chinese forces in 1928.  I recall, but don’t have the links for, the facts that the Germans trained with the Russians in aviation and tanks between the wars, mostly to circumvent the restrictions against Germany raising an army and air force by the Treaty of Versailles. 

It may have been at this time that Stalin and the Party leadership were impressed by the German precision, and adopted it as their own.  This is old information from long ago, but cannot find links to it.

Early History of the Goosestep (from England no less)

“The Goose Is Roman.” The Fascist leaders were painfully anxious not to lose face with the Germans. “Pay attention to uniforms,” Ciano cued himself for a visit to Germany. “We must be more Prussian than the Prussians.” Mussolini repeatedly lectured Ciano on “the necessity for redeeming Italy’s reputation as a faithless nation. Bismark used to say that you can’t have a policy with Italy when she is faithless both as friend and foe.” Yet no one took a more contemptuous view of the Italian people than Mussolini himself. ...

To turn the army, at least, into a Prussian facsimile, Mussolini introduced the “passo Romano,” a copy of the goose-step. When old soldiers and short-legged King Victor Emmanuel complained, the Duce’s comment was: “People say the goose-step is Prussian. Nonsense. The goose is a Roman animal. ...

Goosestep in Iraq

With its emphasis on modernising Arab society, on socialism and its rejection of colonial interference in Arab affairs the party was rapidly gaining popularity among young Iraqis, who by 1956 were increasingly angry at what they saw as the Iraqi monarchy’s weakness in the Suez crisis when they did not support Gamal Abdel Nasser. Aged 20, Saddam joined the Baath Party.
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This was the Saddam who had studied Stalin‘s quietly forceful ascent, rising before dawn most days and working his way through the Baath Party rivalries and purges to gather all the key offices of state to himself: head of the Revolutionary Command Council, Prime Minister, commander in chief of the armed forces, before grabbing the presidency.
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Saddam did move to modernise some parts of Iraqi society - with his emphasis on education of the young as a national priority and his introduction of a new code giving more equal rights. But in terms of leadership, his efforts at modernity were focused entirely on how to control. So Saddam studied the rise of the National Socialism and how Mao and Stalin had both redefined socialism to bolster them in power.

Lastly, I have a personal anecdote.  As an exchange student in Vienna, Austria, 1979, I walked into the rec room of the youth hostel I was staying at, accompanied by a pretty, if not daft, America coed.  In the room before us was a large crowd of arabic men, hacking and spitting in their native tongue.  If you have even been overseas, you will realize that Americans are instantly recognizable by their mannerisms and dress, and this was no exception.  One of their number approached us and said in heavily accented English.  “We are from the P-L-O, the Palestinian Liberation Organization” and smiled.  My idiot friend smiled back and in her best Valley Girl voice replied, “Oh, you’re from the Middle East?—Well Shalome”

I swear flames shot from his eyes, so I did the best damage control I could muster: “Oh don’t mind her, she’s just a dumb girl”—which in this instance was true.  Luckily, it matched the mentality of the Arabs and he smiled again, offering us a soda and a book.  I kick myself now for not having kept the book.  It looked like a high school year book, but was just a picture book describing Saddam Hussein.  Two things stood out about the book. 

1) The long intro under his picture, Lion of the Desert and “Aryan?” Aryan?  I’d been to Germany and this guy looked like a greasy camel jockey, not an Aryan as I was taught to know them.

2) Another picture has him striding off his personal aircraft, I guess his version of Air Force One, one a green carpet and past an honor guard, replete with sabers in salute.  The odd part of this picture is that they were Nazi uniforms, but obviously Iraqi soldiers wearing them.

Many years later, a Greek lady would be interviewed by TIME or NEWSWEEK, saying that she had been Saddam’s girlfriend, wife, concubine, whatever, and that he would often stand before a mirror, say: “I am Saddam Hussein.  Heil Hitler!” and then snap a Nazi salute.

Birds of a feather, heh?

...for great justice

Hacking and spitting in their native tongue? Extraordinary. Please please please, socialism and communism and Fascism are not the same. National Socialism was a demagogical title, it doesn’t mean it was actually Socialist. It’s like the Democrat party, if you like…