I believe if everyone who was against the current oligarchy started placing guillotine stickers everywhere, like you might for a favorite band, people would feel less isolated in their distaste for the current system.
And in an ideal world those who the guillotines are for might realize just how much they are in the minority.
Politely asking for brown shirts to stop abducting families will never work.
Sure, the guillotine in practice wasn’t used the way it would be/is used as a symbol. But as a symbol it current represents the working class revolting against the rich. That sentiment isn’t a bad one, it’s desperately needed at this time.
They’ve given no room for peaceful resolution. The next step is the natural result.
Only to those who are ignorant of its history. And you know what they say about people who are ignorant of history.
I disagree. You can be knowledgeable about its history while still recognizing its new found symbolic meaning.
Just like language, symbols change over time. If I say “goodbye”, I am not telling you " God be with you" as per the original meaning.
Being stubborn about using the original meaning of things isn’t helpful, it’s ignorant of the current meaning.
Don’t forget the history of the first time the brownshirts were defeated. It wasn’t through peaceful means.
OK. In this context, what does the guillotine symbolize if not the mass execution of political opponents?
But a guillotine is not a weapon of war. It’s not even something that the powerless can use against the powerful. Quite the opposite, actually.
Which makes the guillotine is a terrible symbol for a revolution. Not only is the symbolism ahistorical, but the actual history directly contradicts the supposed symbolism. The modern people who invoke the guillotine as a symbol of revolution are making the exact same mistake that the French Revolutionaries made.