the march of Georgian feet down the highway and razor blades in the gate

There's some SL Universe-based kerfluffle about SS fashions ongoing--fourteen pages and still going--and I'm still reeling over what the creator of the "Hitler youth" hairstyle sent to one of the contributors:

[16:12] Sheikra Bakhtar: Hi, I'm sorry if that offended you but I will surely not change the name. That's the actual name of the hairstyle that most most modern fashionable people are acquainted to. If you don't believe me then google image search it yourself and you will surely find many results. And also all those ads are named after hairstyles that I found from fashion magazines. And in case you didn't know, the Hitler Youth program is completely separate from Hitler himself, it was a temporary experiment among german kids that Hitler held. The name of that hairstyle is derived because all the kids in the program had that similar hairstyle. Anyways, I'm sorry if that offended you....but I repeat I will not change the name. Also, it has been two weeks since I have been selling that hair and I haven't had a problem so far.
[16:17] Sheikra Bakhtar: and also I have received few complaints that you are trying to influence others on not purchasing my items just because of a simple ad that says "hitler youth" which has nothing really to do with hitler himself, since the hitler youth program was a failur
[16:17] Sheikra Bakhtar: e
[16:17] Sheikra Bakhtar: I hope you guys know that what you are doing is just simply wrong

Hmm. The Hitler Youth program had nothing to do with Hitler?

Hitler Youth songs also contained anti-Semitic lyrics including one song that said: "Yes, when the Jewish blood splashes from the knives, things will go twice as well."

I think someone doesn't know her history as well as she thinks. More to the point, if it was a "temporary experiment", as Miss Bakhtar seems to think, it was temporary only in that Hitler lost the war. Had he won, he would have made the Hitlerjugend permanent, and compulsory. Those boys that were inducted as Hitler Youth graduated as Hitler SS officers, and remained among the most violent, aggressive, feral, and fearless soldiers in WWII, on any side, and any battlefield.

The "Hitler Youth program [was] completely separate from Hitler himself"? Really? Since when? And where is she getting her facts from?

From later in that same conversation:

[16:24] Sheikra Bakhtar: if you keep preaching to about negative things about the past to others like this.....it causes Hate
[16:24] Chandra Masala: Honestly, all that's needed to be done is to say, "what is the name of this object?" and people respond negatively.
[16:25] Sheikra Bakhtar: So far that hair has been my best selling hair
[16:25] Chandra Masala: No, hate in Hitler's name caused atrocities to occur.
[16:26] Sheikra Bakhtar: yes because people like you who bring about the negative aspects about the past make the word 'Hitler' seem bad
[16:26] Sheikra Bakhtar: I mean if I named the hair Adolf Hitler Cut....you truly do have a point
[16:26] Sheikra Bakhtar: and I would be a very bad person
[16:26] Sheikra Bakhtar: I agree with that
[16:26] Chandra Masala: But youre making a clear reference to the Hitler of WWII
[16:26] Sheikra Bakhtar: omg
[16:26] Sheikra Bakhtar: HITLER YOUTH
[16:26] Sheikra Bakhtar: HITLER YOUTH

Yeah...so here's the thing. The Hitlerjugend movement was a movement based on an earlier get-back-to-nature youth group. The original group had nothing to do with Hitler or the SS in any way, but it existed when Hitler rose to power. In fact, one of the main operating centers of this national youth group was one of the few places Hitler was allowed to speak publically after his release from prison. Hitler was inspired by this group, and decided to remake it into his unofficial--then later, very official--training camp for new officers.

What the Hitler Youth program was, what it made German children into, can best be described in light of the Soldier film from 1998. Or let's describe it in Adolf Hitler's own words:

"My program for educating youth is hard. Weakness must be hammered away. In my castles of the Teutonic Order a youth will grow up before which the world will tremble. I want a brutal, domineering, fearless, cruel youth. Youth must be all that. It must bear pain. There must be nothing weak and gentle about it. The free, splendid beast of prey must once again flash from its eyes...That is how I will eradicate thousands of years of human domestication...That is how I will create the New Order."

He said that in 1933. He meant every word of it. He raised those boys, separated from everything except each other and their instructors, through a grueling program of physical training, strict strengthening exercises, and constant, never-ending indoctrination that to be strong meant power, and to be weak meant death, and nothing would ever come of being weak but death (and, later on in the program, beatings, attempted murder and rapes as endurance exercises happened in the training facilities).

[16:27] Sheikra Bakhtar: omg you're not understanding
[16:27] Sheikra Bakhtar: this HAIRSTYLE
[16:27] Sheikra Bakhtar: WAS
[16:27] Sheikra Bakhtar: TAKEN
[16:27] Sheikra Bakhtar: FROM THE KIDS
[16:28] Sheikra Bakhtar: IN THE HITLER YOUTH PROGRAM
[16:28] Sheikra Bakhtar: that is why
[16:28] Sheikra Bakhtar: IT IS CALLED THE HITLER YOUTH CUT

I get it, yes, I think we all get what you're trying to say, Miss Bakhtar. What you don't seem to understand is that labeling something as the "Hitler youth cut" just might...just saying maybe, here, might tend towards...causing controversy for people.

Surely you understand that, right?

[16:30] Sheikra Bakhtar: basically it's styles from the past that are coming back
[16:30] Sheikra Bakhtar: it's crictical people like you that get in the way of fashion and just overthink and complain about it
[16:30] Chandra Masala: There arent' "comebacks" if people refuse to follow them though.
[16:31] Sheikra Bakhtar: well to this day....there are many young people who do follow the hairstyle in case you didnt know
[16:31] Chandra Masala: Youcould have called it anything else and it wouldn't offend
[16:31] Sheikra Bakhtar: but there really is no other proper name for that hairstyle
[16:31] Chandra Masala: Im sure you could be original and think one up

Maybe not. Or maybe she did...because apparently, enough people are now complaining to Miss Bakhtar that she has actually renamed the hairstyle Hans. I'd say a jump from "Hitler youth SS" to "Hans" is a statement all on its own, really.

Still, there's no excuse for stupid:

[04:54 PM] Coyote Momiji: It's actually very simple, here, let me explain it to you. The Hitler Youth were the recruiting and indoctrination group for groups like the Schutzstaffel, whose symbol you have also included on your advertisement. They were the most fanatic of Hitler's followers and usually became full-fledged Nazis as soon as they could.
[04:54 PM] Coyote Momiji: Your argument that they weren't Hitler, they were just his "biggest fans", is rank idiocy and apologetics.
[04:55 PM] Sheikra Bakhtar: I know what the Hitler Youth was....I've taken an entire class on WWI and WWII

So...she's doing it intentionally. Way to go, Sheikra.

[05:03 PM] Coyote Momiji: This is pointless, it's like watching a hamster on its wheel.

I'm kind of on board with Coyote, because seriously...I can't believe she's actually defending naming it originally the "Hitler youth cut". At all.

But all was not well in Miss Bakhtar's universe...Maggie Linden came and returned the hair.

[05:03 PM] Sheikra Bakhtar: well I hope your happy...a Linden returned my stuff

I guess that's why it's been renamed "Hans" now. With new box art. That doesn't have the freaking SS symbol on it. Why? Because hate speech is specifically against the Linden ToS. Costumes, sure, they're made, they're bought, they're worn. It sucks, but they're out there. But if they're called "Hitler youth" hair cuts? If they use SS or Nazi symbolism?

Yeah. When they're found, they'll be yanked. Because of the ToS for Linden Labs. Duh.

So, in thinking about the Facebook integration from last post--I've visited these waters before, but I ran down a couple things in the last few minutes.

First, there's a Facebook group on how to delete your Facebook profile. This seems counterintuitive, so instead of tossing up that link, I'm going to toss up the information from that link:

Once again time for some further clarification regarding the deletion process.

Based on many success-stories, I know for a fact that it works. The crucial step is to not use your Facebook account for 14 days after you've requested deletion. Only the slightest interaction with Facebook and the deletion is cancelled!

So, I've updated the information regarding this, which now reads:

Your account will be deactivated for two weeks, and if you DO NOT USE FACEBOOK IN ANY WAY during that period, your account is permanently deleted.

I REPEAT: Your profile isn't deleted right away! You must NOT log in to, or interact in any other way with Facebook for at least two weeks, as it will cancel the deletion request. That includes NOT logging in to Facebook using any client (like the iPhone app or IM:s like Pidgin), NOT clicking embedded Like-buttons on other websites, NOT logging in to other services using Facebook Connect (like Digg) etc etc.

Hey, while your're at it, delete all your browsing/forms history and cookies as well, to minimize the risk of accidentally using your account!

If you want out - stay out, mmmkay? ;)

Now, if this is accurate--and I'm not going to check--this means I don't have a Facebook account anymore. Because this is pretty much what I did--I erased all the information, hit "deactivate" under their options, and then stayed out of Facebook. If this is accurate, then when I hit that two weeks, my account was permanently deleted.

Yay. Yay either way, because I'm not going back on Facebook. (And, since I was only originally on LinkedIn for Octoberville news, I've closed my LinkedIn account as well.)

How'ver, there's also this list from 2010, on ten good reasons why we should delete Facebook accounts. I particularly like points ten, nine, eight, and four.