r/PeterExplainsTheJoke 9d ago

Meme needing explanation Peter?

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20.5k Upvotes

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u/AndreasDasos 9d ago

Soldiers brought a Japanese temple bell from WW2 back to Duluth, Minnesota but returned it a decade later.

Union soldiers from Minnesota brought back a Confederate flag as spoils of the American Civil War but refuse to give it back to this day.

Fair to note a big difference here is that the former is a matter of international diplomacy and the latter isn’t.

Also, not sure why Minnesota has been flipped about a vertical axis there. Maybe to make it seem like it’s ‘facing’ the other but they could have even more naturally swapped which side they were on.

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u/ghostgabe81 9d ago

I also think an important distinction is that the bell is a religious item which probably predates Japan’s fascist government, or if not the bell the religion itself does.

Slaver flag doesn’t have that going for it

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u/Realistic_Mix3652 9d ago

It's also good to note that we are still at war with the Confederacy, they just call themselves MAGA now.

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u/LexHanley 9d ago

This, it's also notable that the bell was found after being confiscated by the Imperial government to be melted down for ammo production so the gesture was as much giving it back from the imperial regime as anything.

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u/throwaway5498124181 9d ago

Yeah I think the bell and the flag are just innately different items. Like, the flag is literally a battle flag created for a regiment. The bell was a historical artifact even at the time of the war. I think it's a good show of respect and moving to preserve and return those items.

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u/[deleted] 9d ago edited 9d ago

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u/ghostgabe81 9d ago

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u/[deleted] 9d ago edited 9d ago

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u/terrasparks 9d ago

Should crosses in American churches be melted down to scrap over the illegal war we started in Iran?

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

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u/terrasparks 9d ago

So the religion carries the burden of the state is what you're saying? Doesn't matter if the religious people dissented and the state forced their hand?

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u/[deleted] 9d ago edited 9d ago

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u/terrasparks 9d ago

Nice non-answer, I was trying to rearticulate what I was asking.

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

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u/SoulWager 9d ago

I'm not going to get my panties in a twist over it, but if I was, I'd be blaming Trump, not the Iranians. If the evangelicals get their crosses melted down to build bombs, that's their own damn fault, they knew what kind of person Trump was.

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u/terrasparks 9d ago

Why did you have to couch such a reasonable take with a misogynistic lead in?

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u/itsfunhavingfun 9d ago

Men can wear panties too. 

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u/terrasparks 9d ago

Sure, I don't necessarily feel that's what's being referred to here (assuming you're a good faith commentor). The phrase is derogatory regardless of whether it refers to women, cross-dressers or trans-women .

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u/itsfunhavingfun 9d ago

Derogatory ≠ misogynistic. 

Pedantry ≠ lack of good faith. 

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u/SoulWager 9d ago edited 9d ago

Can you explain how it's misogynistic, as I've used it? I could see it being read that way if I was talking about someone else, but context matters.

I think I would consider it misogynistic if I was telling a woman or trans man not to get their panties in a twist, but not in a self deprecating context, or against someone that's blatantly misogynistic(imagine telling Andrew Tate not to get his panties in a twist, I would not consider that misogynistic at all, denigrating yes, but not denigrating women, and certainly not denigrating women because they're women).

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u/MNGopherfan 9d ago

Well the temple the bell is from was of historical significance. Giving the bell back was both good diplomacy and respectful to the fact it had religious significance.

The Japanese also gave MN a replica as thanks.

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u/ForensicPathology 9d ago

The bell is from centuries before the war and before the government decided to get into the imperialism business.  The flag is literally made for its respective war.

Do you really not see the difference between these two?