* Jim Crossley <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [2003-11-25 16:01]:
> A runoff between the top 2 vote getters listed at
> http://projects.walding.com/powered/
>
> propaganda or feather?
>
> +1 feather
I don't want to respond to anyone in particular (except for the fool
who envoked the halocaust) because I don't want this to turn into
a political discussion. If it does turn into a political
discussion, it will only serve to prove my point. It just seems
obvious to me that the propaganda logo is going to criple this
project, and someone needs to say what is not being said.
The propaganda logo is divisive. It is disingenuous, perhaps
both hostile and ignorant, to say that there is no cause for
alarm to adopt the symbolism of the Soviets.
+1 feather
Gathering support for an open source project is difficult enough
without creating additional barriers.
Yankee sensiblities are one thing. Yes, we are big and tough,
and our squemishness can come across as insecurity, but we are
also a populous nation with many different cultures, religions,
and belief systems in play. We accomodate other people, knowing
that they might have come to use from a Cuban or Vietnamese
boat-lift, or they might have had to leave home because they
said the wrong thing about Ceausescu, perhaps they lost loved
ones in Hungary, Siberia, Afganistan or to the Red Army Faction.
When you brandish policial symbols you have to be prepared to
address these greivences. Greivences addressed to the US, its
corporations, and government agencies are never in short supply.
Why would a US government agency want to invite the rage our
political refugees and veterans feel for the crimes of our
former adversaries?
If this logo were afixed to a teen-ager's skateboard, most
Americans would get the joke. But to place it on a government or
corporate web site is daft. I doubt the British Home Office would
be pleased to have a Stars and Stripes logo on their home page.
For those of you who now conviently see the Cold War as a
charade, it is a pity that we are all Alanticists here. There
are plenty of Asian and Latin American countries still
recovering from the idological wars. It was in these countries
that hosted the killing portion of the Cold War. This logo will
never fly in Taiwan, South Korea, or Hong Kong. You think a
Taipei municipal web site can display the Maven logo?
Basically, you've created an identity that is going to clash,
and clash hard, with the identities of corporations (a Communist
anathma), and government agencies around the world. You have
created a logo that, for some, is going to envoke living
memories of oppression. Now you are surpised that the logo is
meeting resistance.
So what's the Maven logo for? Is it about speading the word
about Maven, building support and community? Or is it about
challenging sensibilities?
Feather or propaganda, take your pick.
--
Alain Javier Guarnieri del Gesu - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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