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An Ohio Republican congressional candidate says his decision to dress in a Nazi uniform as part of a historical reenactment was not wrong or insensitive.
Rich Iott (second from right in above photo) wore the costume, he says, as part of historical reenactments he undertook with his son to educate the public:
"I don't see anything wrong about educating the public about events that happened. And that's the whole purpose of historical re-enacting," Iott told the Associated Press.
Iott is pushing his luck on this one. While I can understand the need for actors in a movie to put on the horrible Nazi uniform, I'm not sure an individual needs to wear one for a reenactment.
With New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino being accused of making racist and homophobic remarks, the Tea Party and Republicans are now being associated with prejudice. Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida cited Iott as an example of GOP candidates with extreme views.
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She said Iott was part of a "a disturbing trend in the corrupt and pretty despicable recruiting job they've done."
"Those are their top-tier candidates that are in their Young Guns program," Wasserman Schultz added. "If that's the choice that Republicans are offering, then I think Democrats are going to be successful because they'll be represented by people that they know."
"My first reaction was shock, my second reaction was dismay, my third reaction is disgust, from what I've seen," said Marcy Kaptur, the incumbent Democratic lawmaker who Iott is challenging.
Even Republicans are distancing themselves from this one.
"You know good and well that I don't support anything like that," said Eric Cantor, the House Republicans' No. 2 leader, who is Jewish.
The AP writes:
Iott said he has been involved in re-enactments on and off for roughly 35 years. He said he has dressed as an American soldier for World War I and World War II re-enactments, as well as a soldier from each side of the Civil War. Iott said he could not recall when he and his son joined the Wiking group but that he was no longer involved.
"Never, in any of my re-enacting of military history, have I meant any disrespect to anyone who served in our military or anyone who has been affected by the tragedy of war, especially the Jewish Community," Iott said in a statement Saturday. Actually, people are disgusted with politicians who try to sweep inexcusable actions under the table.
Then maybe he shouldn't have put the uniform on.
There are better ways to educate young people about the horrors of the Holocaust than to put on a Nazi uniform. The volume of films, books and educational materials about that awful event are too numerous to list. That's where kids should be pointed to if they want to learn about what happened and how to prevent it from happening again.
My teachers didn't come to school with white hoods and flaming crosses to teach me about the KKK. No one needs to be whipped or forced to pick cotton to learn about the atrocities of slavery.
And this just reinforces some of the comments and attitudes coming from Tea Party events. A lot of the criticism of President Barack Obama also seems based on race-baiting and xenophobia: Obama is a Muslim, his ideas are based on those of his radical Kenyan father, health care reform is just more welfare for blacks.
People who participate in perpetuating these hateful ideas need to be called out.
"His failure to apologize is particularly shameful and desecrates the memory of all victims of the Nazis, Jew and non-Jew," Elan Steinberg, vice president of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants, said in a written statement.
Iott even pulled the old "my best friend is Jewish" trick to try and prove that dressing as a Nazi means nothing and accused Cantor of political grandstanding:
"What Cantor did is exactly the illustration of why people are disgusted with politicians," Iott said. "He made comments and took a position that was good for him at the time, regardless of whether it was good for anyone else or good for the voters."
Comments: (15)
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By: Mark on 10/12/2010 3:08PM
It's RE-ENACTING! He dressed as a Civil War soldier from the South also...Should we be angry about that, considering that they supported slavery at one time?? What if he dressed as a Roman soldier? A Viet-Cong soldier? Re-enacting happen's at the Alamo often, should American's be angry at those dressed as Santa Anna and his soldiers?? Get a f#cking grip.
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By: tired of POOR ME attitude on 10/12/2010 4:19PM
You are right on point. If your kids play war and one side is German does that mean you are raising them to be NAZI? Talk about grabbing at straws. What, slow news day. Desperation.
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By: Tom Truth on 10/12/2010 7:08PM
Oh come on, the author isn't that stupid, but his black audience on this website is. The whole point of this article is to incite blacks to get out and vote Democratic. And they are stupid enough to fall for it.
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By: westfall on 10/12/2010 7:58PM
Let me explain something to you tom...if you don't like what's offered on this BLACK influenced web site you can alway take your whining azz to trailertrash.com. Typical arrogant, self aggrandizing prick white boy. How would you people live if you could not be righteously indignant, and outraged by the way blacks feel about certain issues? Time you learned that WE are not you, don't want to be, and see things as they are, not like you people think you get away with.
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By: Mark on 10/13/2010 10:36AM
westfall; Let me explain something to you....This article is on AOL's main page. When you click to read the article, it takes you to Black Voices, simple as that. People fought for years to get de-segregation and all i keep hearing is that this sight is for one color only. THAT is arrogant and self-aggrandizing.
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By: Deborah on 10/13/2010 7:59PM
Let get one thing straight. This is a black influenced board. It is called BLACK VOICES! Take your nazi, loving, racist, bigoted attitude over to STORMFRONT where you can express your racist, prejucical ideas with people who think just as you do. It is insensitive to everyone who is a lover of humanity to re-enact a nazi soldier! How stupid an insensitive can you be?? Nazi and the SS soldiers were some of the performed and perpetuated some of the worst atrocities against Jewish people, World War II soldiers and other people who did not follow their despicable ideology!!! To put on that uniform is a slap in the face to the 6 million Jews and WW II soldiers who died in the war! To defend this man only means that you agree with him! There is no way in hell is he teaching his son about the strocities of the war. BS!!! He can go to the Holacaust museum in NYC, read books, and talk to the many, many Jewish people right here in NYC who had relatives and friends gassed in Aushwitz and Bergen Belson! He will never be the same again after he hears the many, many stories that I heard first hand about what the Jewish people suffered and endured! He is a first class idiot, and an insensitive one to boot!
White people are always talking about moving on and not talking about the past but then we have this man, is here "re-enacting a part of history." Why didn't he put on a WW II uniform on and show his son how brave our soldiers were during WW II?
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By: Hey Begonia! on 10/14/2010 5:30PM
One might validate such flippancy and insensitivity as opined above here if in fact the man's motivations were innocent and he claims they aren't.
Iott's own recent words in defense of his suiting up were that he ADMIRES the Nazi's and is has awe of their 'tiny nation' for being so astute and skilled at conquering so much of Europe.
Then of course there's the last 24-hours of his speaking on the issue:
Rich Iott's latest argument ...
"Rich Iott doesn't have an anti-Semitic bone in his body," said [Iott spokesman] Parker, who sought to distinguish between a Nazi uniform and an SS uniform, which he said is what Iott is wearing in the now-famous image.
It wasn't a Nazi uniform. It was a uniform of the SS Paramilitary. So all is well!
Next. It was a concentration camp, not a death camp?
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By: Little Dickie Dydoe on 10/12/2010 4:39PM
This article proves that Jeff Mays is a closedminded racist who hates White people. If that was the purpose of the story,then you suceeded.
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By: Tom Truth on 10/12/2010 5:05PM
Not only do blacks hate white people, they are TERRIFIED of them. Put a cut-out white cone hat on a child, or a Nazi uniform on a white guy, and blacks go ballistic with fear!
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By: bestausweh on 10/13/2010 12:13AM
Whys is it okay for whites to "re-enact' their history but we are told to forget about slavery, our great grandfathers who as part of our families were born in slavery and "move on"?
Such hypocrites!
Whenever we talk about our history (black history of slavery) it is called "dredging up things from the past", whining and complaining.
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