Ebay morals

[guest7]

I tried listing a WWII German air warden (Luftschutz) helmet on Ebay. I've had it and a Brit helmet for 35 years, a gift from a family friend.

This morning I got a message from Ebay saying:
"eBay prohibits the sale of de-Nazified items on the site. eBay prohibits the sale of all items associated with the Nazi party. This includes, but is not limited to items described as Hitler Youth, HJ, NSDAP, NSKK, Nazi, RZM, SS, or Third Reich. Such items will be removed regardless of whether that item is intact as the day it was minted or if the item was de-Nazified either to allow German World War II veterans to wear their medals or for the items to be allowed on eBay.
"

My helmet did indeed have the swastika scratched out (apparently the image was banned in Germany post war and that's common), but that's not enough to get it past the censors.

I sort of agree with Ebay's policy, to a point, but it seems a bit of a broad brush, banning any item that can be associated with the third reich.

GC

[guest18]

Ebays policies are mainly laughable imho, they are awash with neo-nazi stuff, and as for the genuinely historical stuff, why try to re-write history? It exists, learn about it and learn from it...

A very quick search finds these items:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NAZI-GERMANY-100-REICHSMARK-W-LARGE-SWASTIKA-WWII-WW2_W0QQitemZ230142592671QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Collectables_Militaria_LE?hash=item230142592671&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1684%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/m70-2-East-Berlin-Red-Army-soldier-smashes-swastika_W0QQitemZ270393209621QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Collectables_Militaria_LE?hash=item270393209621&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1684%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CHELSEA-NO-SURRENDER-LOYALIST-BADGE-SKINHEAD-FOOTBALL_W0QQitemZ250418730584QQihZ015QQcategoryZ60605QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m184QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DCRX%26its%3DI%252BC%252BS%252BIA%26itu%3DSN%252BUCC%252BIC%252BUCI%252BSI%252BLM%252BLA%26otn%3D4%26ps%3D58

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LARGE-POSTER-ART-recruiting-for-Kriegsmarine-U-Boats_W0QQitemZ300108423608QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Collectables_Militaria_LE?hash=item300108423608&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1684%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A2%7C294%3A50

Which of these are offensive? If any? Does it depend on their subsequent usage or are they inanimate objects with no independent capacity to offend or upset?

Ebay also lists many many scam adverts for exotic diving equipment, to the extent that a diving forum I sometimes visit has a fora devoted exclusively to identifying the scams...

Ebay also refuse to list legal air rifles, along with many freead type papers, despite the fact that these are perfectly legal and have valid uses.

They are trying to remain "pc"  (and failing miserably)

It reminds me of the situation a few years back when MCN shouted about how dreadful bike theft was and how they would no longer accept adverts for "frame and logbook", so we checked teh next week and it was full of adverts for frames whose prices were (on average) 50% higher than a genuine new frame from the factory... guess what the extra cost bought you!!
About the same time one of the major insurers was making massive price hikes due to "the cost of bike theft" whilst still selling write offs for way, way more than they were worth.
But I'm going to have to post in the rants section if I continue so I'll shut up now! 

[bullet350]

 so now a bunch of jumped up geeks are allowed to censor history?

 this is typical of the modern PC brigade. WW2 happened, it wasn't nice and millions died needlessly. surely these items need to be 'out there' so as to allow people to remember the darkest era of history.

 maybe one or two youngsters might actually ask what it was all about?

 these items are a piece of history, as long as they are not gloryfying Nazi history they should be allowed to be traded.

 Whilst i'm having a pop at FleaBay has anyone else noticed how many track bikes have no frame or engine numbers?
 they can't all be write-offs?.

As long as FleaBay takes the moral high-ground for us it'll all be okay.
I am totally fed up with having to make my own decisions and use my judgement.

 bullet350

[Mark]

Maybe WWII never happened, if what I've heard is correct Muslims believe the Holocaust never happened and that they take offence to being taught about it in schools so it is to be pulled from the syllabus.

[guest18]

That's not a muslim claim, that's a select few nutters of various or no religion.
Afaik there is no suggestion of pulling the teaching of it from any UK curriculum (although if anyone has any hard evidence I'd be very interested to see it), it is however a good rumour from the point of view of the more extreme nationalists.... lots of "them" and "us" potential 

[guest7]

I certainly don't hold with the idea that we can never question the details of the holocaust, I suspect some spin was put on the events after the war, but to deny the deaths of millions in the camps is obscene. Unfortunately if one fact about the camps turns out to be unreliable then the nutters run away with the idea that it's all some Jewish plot and in fact most Jews were happy knitting socks for the boys on the Eastern Front in delightful camps that resembled holiday camps.

As someone said, history happened and to lump a German air warden's helmet in the same category as an original set of SS insignia is plain daft. In fact it borders on blind fascism.

GC