ocondesign

I do! I consider it an offense to people’s intelligence and I am personally SICK of hearing such biased and unfounded critics to Obama’s every little move. Plus, what the hell does his new health care plan and its logo have to do with Nazism?

Funny thing is that the Nazi’s believed & practiced Capitalism and was all about it. The whole idea of Obama’s plan is to give health care to all. If his logo looks like a Nazi symbol than you have to consider the medical logo with the snakes on a cane, doesn’t that look like the Nazi logo to the right?

Furniture…

so⋅cial⋅ism
  /ˈsoʊʃəˌlɪzəm/
–noun
1. a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.

— from dictionary.com

Nazi = German acronym for National Socialism.

—from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Socialism

Kiren…

“Among the key elements of Nazism were… opposition to economic liberalism and political liberalism.”

“the Nazis sought a Third Way managed economy that was neither capitalism nor communism.”

–from the bowels of the liberal publication, wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazism

“On 22 June 1934, Dr. Ferdinand Porsche agreed to create the “People’s Car” for Hitler’s mother.”

“The prefix “Volks” (“People’s”) was not just applied to cars, but also to other products in Europe; the “Volksempfänger” radio receiver for instance”

—http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen

The giving of health care to those less fortunate at the expense of others or without their permission is, in my eyes, stealing. Personally, I have no insurance, and I choose to keep it that way. However, I don’t want some farcical excuse of government involvement in my medical and financial affairs.

To paraphrase Walter E. Williams, from a guest spot on the Limbaugh show, it doesn’t say in the bible, “Thou shalt not steal, unless of course, you have a majority vote in Congress.” Smart man.

And Mario, Limbaugh is taken too seriously. His sarcasm goes over the tops of most people. Sarcasm is not meant to be taken literally. However, in this, he may actually be right.

The Nazi symbol you used actually helps me point out the fact that the O with the caduceus attached is a perfect analogy to the swastika with the aquila (the name of the golden eagle standard used by the Romans).

I have said my piece. Good luck to all of youze.

This is easy. Let’s cut the political mumbo-jumbo and get back to the design: subjective and objective.
We, as designers, cannot control the subjective. That power lies with the viewer and their shared experiences. Objectively, we know how to balance shapes and colors to produce designs that culturally produce relatively assumable reactions. Again, this is cultural. (a cross or a star of David, a swatstika, a hammer and sickle, for instance, will produce different emotions depending on one’s cultural background.)
With additional research, one can come up with alternatives besides the caduceus. What other glyphs reflect caring? Of course the ubiquitous “RED CROSS” symbol is just one. What about a reverse of same? How about color? Should we be stuck with simply red, white and blue? How does this execution work within the current identity system of the government? What are other similar designs?
More research is essential.
From my perspective, the Obama design is problematic for a long term graphic solution.
1. It is too dependent on the “Obama” persona. The fields of “HOPE” are intrinsically connected to his candidacy and, whether you support the president’s healthcare direction or not, would affect how this symbol is perceived. What happens AFTER Obama? On that point alone it should be discarded as a contender. It’s potentially “good” for either 4 or 8 years. After that, it’s a liability.
2. It cannot, in this representation, be reduced to a single color. How about a negative of same?
3. When you blow it up for a billboard, how does it work? When you shrink it down to a sign-off, does it still convey the essence of the original intent?
4. Does it work in all media? Presentations? TV? High def? Internet?
5. How does it work as an emboss (threadcount) or deboss… a line drawing… or a silo?
5. Can it be a universal symbol? Do we want it to be?

This is not about “Liberal vs. Conservative.” It should be about how we as designers address an objective established by our client.
Oh, and I think Limbaugh has succeeded. His intent is to create an emotional response by comparing this symbol to a stanchion the Nazis would use in their emotional parades is an extremely strong shared visual. He has succeeded in having you attach it to Obama-care. His is not trivializing Naziism or the Holocaust, simply tugging on our emotions to get a reaction.
C’mon, we’re smarter than that!

I think they look very similar. My thought is, why couldn’t Obama’s designer come up with a logo that does not resemble his own? Why not something new?

Been a while since I checked this thread, I was *very* drunk when I wrote this.

At the time of Rush’s comments and comparison of Obama’s administration, I was just listening because there was nothing better to listen to in the woods on AM radio. His comments were actually just in response to Pelosi’s comments on the “teabagger” group being, what was it? A bunch of Nazi’s? Something like that, I’m too lazy to cite.

The comparison, tongue-in-cheek, and taken out of context, caused a ridiculous, defensive uproar, that were it to describe our past President would have been applauded by the same audience. Deservedly so, in my opinion, on both cases. But Hitler did take advantage of the over-socialization of his country, especially after he got hooked on meth and went paranoid/malevolently insane/whatever. The power given unto the government by socialization is what gave him the power to do what he did. That and the combination of gullibility and weakness of an impoverished nation.

Now, admittedly, I have since become a listener of Rush’s, though not necessarily cogent with all his policies. I do, however, believe the Republican party has lost its way, and alas, *true* conservatism it seems is only representative in the tragically underlooked Libertarian party. But I digress.

Peronally, though, I disapprove of the use of personal symbolism, from campaign, as presidency, etc. in a program to be voted upon for the “benefit” of the constituency, especially a constituency that only 52 or 52% actually voted in his favor. (Of course, I am referring to the not-so-subtle use of his famous “O,” as Adam above states.) It’s like a marketing campaign for a shitty government program. Why does the health care legislation need to be sold? If people don’t want it, they don’t want it.

Speaking of over-marketing our president, did anybody see the ridiculous commercials with him during the Thanksgiving football games (Texas vs. A&M and Dallas vs. Oakland)? The guy couldn’t even make it 60 feet over the plate from the pitcher’s mound, why should he be marketed as some kind of generational athletic figurehead? He’s our President, not a promotional prostitute. But I digress.

The fact that the legislation has been passed in the house with “bipartisan” effort only terrifies me all the more, but that is strictly from my own ideological standpoint. I simply don’t want to have to wait 15 weeks for an MRI when my back hurts from too much squalor and debauchery. And I would much rather put my money in the hands of the people who want to keep me alive for some more cash in their hands in the future rather than be some crappy blog statistic that nobody will read or care about because they are too busy patting themselves on the back for all the charity they contributed to from the rest of the nation’s wallets. I know the argument is so cliche, but let’s face it, the government and the programs it controls are just that, a bloated, tax-sucking, ridiculously inefficient cliche.

I simply wanted to simply point out that the connection between socialism and fascism is not completely unwarranted, although often misused in the social commentary of the day for scare tactics. But you’ve got to fight fire with fire, as the saying goes.

Once again drunk, I must away to the pisser to make the one-eyed weasel cry.

I have reservations about the Healthcare Plan. Can it have dehabilitating reprocussions on my parents life? How do the positives outweigh the bad aspects?

I am against the health care plan. It being government operated will be not be efficient, similar to any government run system. Not to mention that my tax dollars will be paying for someone who is not working(s) health care.(unemployed would imply they actually tried for a job).

Essentially the health care system would resemble that of Germany. Very low cost, low tech, and long waits for critical procedures.

As a 19 year old collage student i can see the appeal of not having to pay for health insurance… directly. I do however believe that any Government big enough to give us these things can take everything away.(Thomas Jefferson)
Health care aside, i will keep my right to display my religion, carry a gun, and my money. You guys can keep your change.

Does Obama’s Health Care Logo Resemble A Nazi Swastika Symbol?

If the caduceus was chosen it was a interesting choice,though and unfortunate one since it is the symbol of Hermes, and commerce; and more importantly, associated with balancing conflict. The staff of aesculpelius (sp?) was deemed an appropriate symbol of medicine and pharmacy.

one word: bullsh*t

Rush Limbaugh knows how to lick. He’s a good licker

Great blog, credit for sharing this post

Obama is something else – obama will bring the world war 3 upon the world.
His hate is well hiding behind many symbols.
Those who understand the symbols know it all!
Many of you think he does it all for the “nation “….but you are wrong!

Yes, I agree with you 100%. This goes far beyond unfounded.

great post thread! thanks!
Cheese McDonahue–LOL! keep drinking