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I was talking about this with my friend and she was like, "I heard it's just a Roman Salute." Be ready to be surprised at how many people will defend this crap.
everybody calls it a fascist salute, except for fascists who call it a roman salute
That's what I told her. I let her know that anyone trying to correct her with that is trying to play games.
It really is sad how many things that little fuck nugget has ruined. In this particular instance I mean Hitler.
Swastika? Neat, simple little geometric shape. Independently created by a few different cultures. Ruined.
"Roman salute"? Kinda neat looking, again simple. And again probably independently invented in a few places, but definitely Roman. Ruined
The charlie Chaplin mustache? More widely adopted after WWI as a style that would fit under a gas mask. Ruined
I'm not trying to campaign to rehab any of these things or apologize for musk. Just kinda sad how all this cool shit got tainted.
So I think this is a fascinating odd corner of history.
The "Roman" salute is definitely not Roman, and it's not of fascist invention either. It's an urban legend among the classical studies people: a made-up non-fact that circulated around the fringes of classical scholarship for a couple hundred years.
"I hear it's actually just a toothbrush moustache"
"It's actually just like summer camp, just less... voluntary."