Follow Up on Yesterday's Nazi Fetishism Post
City Pages posted a picture of another recent Nazi-themed party. Well, it was a Historical Re-enactment Society party, but it was a party full of Nazi cosplayers having dinner under a Nazi flag. So, yeah. Kind of a Nazi-themed party.
So, a few hours after proudly declaring that the days of people like Ralph Engelstad are over, and proclaiming "Nazi parties on [this scale] just don't happen here anymore," I find out that Gasthof hosts an annual Christmas party for historical re-enactment enthusiasts that includes hanging Nazi flags, and attracts old Aryan-looking men in Nazi uniforms.
That's here in Minneapolis, by the way.
People who "have a friend who was at the party" are filling up comments sections in response, calling the City Pages a bunch of shameless sensationalists and saying they just posted the picture as linkbait.
Now, I get that the City Pages is one of the city's frequent offenders when it comes to sensationalism and linkbait, but there's only so much you can blame on sensationalism here. I also get that a historical re-enactment society is going to have Nazi costumes on hand, but you can only do so much while purporting to be a historical re-enactment.
When a bunch of old white guys in Nazi uniforms are photographed having an expensive dinner under a Nazi flag, at some point those old white guys just have to admit, regardless of context, they were at a Nazi cosplay dinner.
This was not a historical re-enactment. It wasn't an educational event. It was a private party where they dressed up in their Nazi costumes.
Said one of the Nazi cosplayers, "It's the same as wanting to be the bad guy when you're playing cowboys and Indians. There's an attraction to the bad side."
Said Rob Callahan, "Wait. Did he just call Indians the bad guys? Because it sounded like he did."
So, not only does that guy enjoy Nazi cosplay but he hates Indians too. You know who else loved Nazi cosplay and hated Indians? (No, I'm not going to say "The Nazis.")
Ralph Engelstad did, that's who.
I guess I'm gonna have to withdraw my previous statements to the effect that the days of Ralph Engelstad are over. His spirit appears to be alive and well.