I bet those who were shocked were ignorant of the fact it was a Hindu and Bhuddhist religious symbol, originally.
John Battles said:
Mark George ,
I don't think , either , That the Punks in the UK were wearing swastikas as anything more than a shock tactic , not as a show of support for The British Movement , National Front , or individual creeps like Enoch Powell , BUT , Siouxsie really stepped in it when she said "Too Many Jews for my Liking" , regardless of her intentions. I heard that Lydon once said ' We wear them to show that we're obedient members of the British Empire" . I've certainly seen a lot of photos of the fans wearing swastikas , either period pieces , or just drawn on. Of course , Johnny Thunders wore one , at least briefly , with The Dolls , presumably just for camp value . Ron Asheton , we all know about , but he always denied being pro - Nazi. Steve Priest , from The Sweet , too , appeared on TV in Nazi drag , but , it all looked extreme high camp , and , nothing else. I'm sure it pissed some people off , anyway. They probably did'nt know what to be the most pissed off about !
Mark George Harrison said:Belsen was exactly that John, Lydon was appalled when the rest of the Pistols re-recorded it with Ronnie Biggs. The swastika was worn by 70s punks in England to shock and not as any political statement. A friend of mine wore one, he was on holiday(Spain I think in 79/80) and was wearing it at dinner, a family were eating their food opposite when the Dad of the family made them spit their food out, my mate realised they were Jewish and had been wrongly given pork. He said that he felt sick and never wore it again, he was wearing it purely as a Pistols fan to look like Sid. Siouxsie wore a lot of swastikas at the time as well although, outside of London, I dont think anybody else really took it up. none of the punks i knew wore it, the gay cowboys t-shirt was the big favourite!
John Battles said:Johnny , Good ones. Tho' I get the feeling "Belsen" was written with very dry sarcasm as an anti - Nazi /NF song. When Lydon says "JOIN THE ARMY ! BE A MAN !" , then , you can really hear the venom start to boil. Sid took a songrwriting credit , but , Johnny later claimed he let him have it , because he needed the money. Sid got a little TOO into the Swastika bit (Did he ever take that shirt off?), for which he got his ass beat , for wearing said T- Shirt in a Jewish neighborhood. But , while I think Lydon's politics were complex , Sid did'nt really seem to have any. A recent article in "The Chicago Reader" tried to say "Anarchy in The UK" WAS NOT A POLITICAL SONG......HUHN ?!!!!
BTW I'm really not into politics , just citing an example.
Johnny sic said:"BELSEN WAS A GAS" SeX PisToLs
"HOMOSEXUAl" Angry Samoans
