Bomberman, Cake, & The Nazis That Need Protecting
What could possibly threaten the delicate Nazi population of Germany more than this poster of Bomberman carrying a piece of cake beneath text that translates, roughly, to "No cakewalk for Nazis"? What, I ask you?
Other translations for the term Kein Zuckerschlecken include "no picnic" and "no walk in the park," so on the surface it appears to be a relatively harmless phrase.
But Martin Budich, the former politician who used (but didn't design) the poster at an anti-Nazi demonstration in Germany last October, has been charged with invoking violent acts against Nazis.
The government argues that the poster does not portray a harmless video game character holding a piece of festive cake with a candle - rather, Bomberman holds a bomb with a fuse. A bomb with a fuse that allegedly sparked violent acts by anti-fascists and stoked the aggressive atmosphere at the anti-Nazi event.
Budich has been at the center of controversy before, and has in fact been convicted in a similar case involving a poster of a "comic character with a slingshot," which was also seen a call for violence.
Do our German and Germanophile readers care to shed some light on this situation? I think it's safe to say most of the Western world hasn't spent too much time thinking about how to protect Nazis, although this incident seems to be more about the principle of never inciting violence than any desire to make life easier for Nazis. (Hopefully.)
German Ex-Politician Charged For Showing Bomberman On Poster [Negative Gamer]
tiny dancer
Posted to Hot Stuff, Miscellany on 15 May 2009
· Comments (6)
Other stuff like this: bomberman, cake, germany, martin budich, nazis
Eh, two big issues here.
1) Germans are afraid of violence. Or being seen as violent. Or of supporting something violent. Or as being seen as not damning something violent. It's a pretty strong idea here in europe (that violence is as bad as sex in the US), but it's particularly strong here in Germany. (A major nation-wide department store stopped carrying 18+ games after the last school shooting.)
2) Germans believe (as do Americans) in equal protection under the law. Basically he's being tried because the images could be construed as inciting people to act violently against other people. Imagine if, instead of Nazis, it were the KKK. Pretty much the same situation. Well, except for the fact that Germans almost collectively abhor violence of any type, publicly, at least.
And in case anyone is wondering, I live in Frankfurt am Main.
I live in germany and haven´t herad of this, but as blackboy stated above everyone is equaly protected by law and thus stupid neo-nazis are proteected aswell. i don´t see the picture as something that would provoke violence, but there are enough idiots who love to attack everything that comes their way.
concerning the violence or fear of violence in germany: we aren´t afraid of violence... we are afraid of being percieved as nazis by non-germans. it´s always the same. every country has rightwing extremists and extrem nationalist parties and extremly violent idiots..but when they are in germany everyone fears that we are one step away from a new third reich. it´s something we have to live with since every country keeps reminding us constantly of our past...
So nazis can plan to bash gay people, black people, imigrants among other stuff and a poster is a threat? I´ll be a bit harsh and I´m sorry but I wish loads of terrible things to nazis/right wing people... being a S.H.A.R.P. skinhead, I just want to smash their heads with ma boots... they talk bad about democracy, but they use the same democracy and the laws within it to do their thing...
@silentspartan
you want to smash their heads...?! if thats the case then you are no better than those nazis...
@ thief-of-time:
You got a point: maybe those guys in the war that filled their nazi bodies with bullets, uhmm, maybe they´re not better than those nazis I suppose.
oh..so you consider yourself being at war? and killing is okay if it is a nazi? interesting..