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Culture War Roundup for the week of June 1, 2026

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He explained that Marines in his unit selected the image because they saw parallels between themselves as a combat unit and the historical military reputation associated with the symbol.

That has a vague shred of plausibility because the Totenkopf did not originate with the SS, at least according to Wikipedia, they adopted it as lineage from Prussian and imperial military:

Use of the Totenkopf in Germany as a military emblem began under Frederick the Great, who formed a regiment of Hussar cavalry in the Prussian army commanded by Colonel von Ruesch, the Husaren-Regiment Nr. 5 (von Ruesch). It adopted a black uniform with a Totenkopf emblazoned on the front of its mirlitons and wore it on the field in the War of Austrian Succession and in the Seven Years' War.

..The skull continued to be used by the Prussian and Brunswick armed forces until 1918, and some of the stormtroopers that led the last German offensives on the Western Front in 1918 used skull badges.

It's still a dumb choice, but it's not "and I picked this solely because it's a Nazi symbol and I'm a Nazi".

That has a vague shred of plausibility because the Totenkopf did not originate with the SS, at least according to Wikipedia, they adopted it as lineage from Prussian and imperial military

"Evil cannot make; it can only mock."