Saturday, September 1, 2018

Neo-Nazis Have Potentially Ruined My Playstation Screen-Name

Innocent number, or hate symbol?
I was born in 1988. I also like to think, to ponder. Therefore, back when I first made a Playstation ID for my PS3 a number of years ago, I decided I would use the screen-name, "Ponder88." I thought it had a nice ring to it, and it wasn't taken like, "Ponder1," or, "Ponder2," etc. It has served me well over the years, so of course Neo-Nazis need to potentially ruin it, as they do all things.

I was reading an article today about a game known as, "SCUM," which is kind of like DayZ-meets-PUBG/Fortnite/Other Battle Royale Games. Apparently, it removed two tattoos that could be put one's characters, the number, "14," as well as, "88," or any combination of them. Why, you may ask? Neo-Nazis use those numbers. 14 stands for a 14-word statement, "“We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children,” and the number eight is equivalent to the eighth letter of the alphabet, which is H. Two eights are, "HH," which can apparently mean, "Heil Hitler," in the weird group-speak of these people. Therefore, to certain people who know about these groups and their stupid code-words it looks like my screen-name could very well be, "Ponder Heil Hitler," as if I'm thinking about how much I want to Heil Hitler. Neo-Nazis therefore have now potentially ruined my screen-name.
One symbol the Nazis took that never recovered.
Considering I was raised Jewish and have older relatives who actually died in the Holocaust heiling Hitler or anyone, frankly, is the last thing I'd ever want to do. Now, the question is if this is such a small trend that it will die-out and my worrying about it is pointless, or if I have a brewing problem on my hands? After all, idiotic movements and their use of innocent numbers and imagery for bad purposes happens all the time. Will this terrible use of 88 burn-out or is it here to stay and grow in popularity? I mean, the Anti-Defamation League notes it is is often used in non-extremist settings, meaning, "Hugs and Kisses," among HAM radio operators, for example. I think as long as these numbers don't become a huge thing I won't worry, but it pisses me off to think even one person might think I'm down with their hateful cause upon seeing those numbers next to my name--and if anyone ever asked me, I'd tell them exactly what I think of Nazis. Worst comes to worst, I can most likely write Sony and explain my predicament, seeing if they'll allow a screen-name change-- although knowing my luck some other harmless combination of words and numbers will end-up meaning something different in another 10-20 years

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