Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

California High School Water Polo Team Performs Nazi Salute And Song At Awards Ceremony

There are many who still doubt that extremist political rhetoric being spread by far right conservatives in the United States is having a tangible impact on our culture.

But every day, disturbing hate-fueled incidents seem to be cropping up at an alarming frequency.


In Garden Grove, California, for instance, video of a high school water polo team at an awards ceremony has caused widespread controversy.

In the clip, the team can be seen giving a Nazi salute while singing an obscure Nazi anthem.

According to The Daily Beast, this is the second incident of this nature to be recorded in the area over the past year.

The video was found online after one of the athletes involved posted it to Instagram along with the lyrics to the Nazi anthem in his bio.

It doesn't seem the athlete was very ashamed of his actions.

The players all attended Pacifica High School, part of the Garden Grove Unified School district in Southern California. A spokesperson for the district said that school authorities were made aware of the footage four months later, but did not mention whether any of the athletes were disciplined.

The spokesperson issued a statement saying:

"While the district cannot comment on student discipline, the school did address this situation with all involved students and families. The district adheres to strong policies about harassment and cultural sensitivity, and we condemn all acts of anti-Semitism and hate in all forms."
"We remain focused on educating students about cultural sensitivity and are committed to holding students accountable, educating them on the consequences of their choices, and the impact these actions have on our schools and community at large."

A parent of an uninvolved student from Pacific, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation from the school's officials, expressed concerns, however, that the school never addressed the community about the video.

Current students echoed this sentiment and were uncertain as to whether any of the students involved faced any disciplinary action.

The director of the Anti Defamation League's Orange County chapter, Rabbi Peter Levi, had this to say about the school's handling of the incident:

"Generally speaking, especially when something like this involves a group, we would think a more meaningful approach would be to use this as a learning opportunity, as an opportunity community-wide to state what our values are..."
"This requires investigation and conversation… We'd like to see a more systematic response."


The song being sung by the water polo players, written by Nazi Herms Niel and sung to inspire German troops from 1935 until 1945, is so obscure that Chapman University professor of extremism Peter Simi was concerned about how the athletes may have found it.

"It's not something you'd expect somebody to accidentally know about. There's some means by which they acquired knowledge about the song and associated Nazi issues."
"Are they on websites or web forums or other social media platforms where they're engaging with others informed on these issues?"



Beth Kean, CEO of the Los Angeles Holocaust Museum, said she would be eager to teach any of the students involved about the horrors Naziism led to.

"I would definitely love to reach out to the principal of [Pacifica High School] and see if we can do the same thing we did with the Newport Harbor students. Once you see those artifacts, you realize what these symbols like the German nationalist song really represent."
"That is really the best way to learn and make sure we can move forward and prevent these types of incidents from happening."

The Nazis were not the allies of the United States nor the good guys in WWII. The documentary Nuremberg: Tyranny on Trial is available here to help people learn why.

--------

Listen to the first episode of George Takei's podcast, 'Oh Myyy Pod!', where we explore the racially charged videos that have taken the internet by storm.

Be sure to subscribe here and never miss an episode.

More from Trending

Sarah Jessica Parker
Marc Piasecki/WireImage

Sarah Jessica Parker Claps Back At Conservative Critics Who Want Her To 'Shut Up' About Politics And 'Act'

Nothing seems to get conservatives' goats quite like celebrities having political opinions—well, liberal and leftist celebrities, anyway.

They seem to love it when weird right-wing celebs like Kevin Sorbo get on the internet and say bizarre, usually counterfactual nonsense, or when JK Rowling does her darnedest to make her legacy not about Harry Potter but about her weird obsession with trans people.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ann Coulter
Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

Ann Coulter Faces Fierce Backlash After Saying 'We Didn't Kill Enough Indians' In Deleted Post

Far-right provocateur Ann Coulter is facing fierce criticism after she made a genocidal remark in a now-deleted post on X in response to University of Minnesota professor and Navajo Nation member Melanie Yazzie's speech about colonization.

Yazzie, in a speech at last year's annual Socialism Conference, said "decolonization is the only thing that is going to save us as a species" during a panel hosted by Red Nation, a Native American nonprofit that advocates for Palestinian and Native American rights. She also said that the United States is the "greatest predator empire that has ever existed" and said it should be dismantled.

Keep ReadingShow less
James Gunn
Matt Winkelmeyer/WireImage

James Gunn Bluntly Fires Back At 'Jerks' Who Criticize Superman's Pro-Immigrant Themes

Superman director James Gunn issued a response to the "jerks" who criticize the political themes inherent to the superhero's story, expressing his hope that seeing the movie will "make people a little nicer."

Speaking with The Times of London, Gunn stressed that the story of Superman is more relevant than ever considering the ongoing political turmoil in the United States largely centered around the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

Keep ReadingShow less

Things People Do In Relationships That Seem Sweet But Are Actually Toxic

Content Warning: Controlling and Toxic Relationship Behaviors

We've all either been involved in or witnessed a relationship where we saw something that we thought was cute or sweet at first, but we eventually found the behavior to be troubling or "too much."

Keep ReadingShow less
A piggy bank surrounded by loose change.
coin bank

'Poor Person Habits' People Won't Give Up No Matter How Rich They Get

When money is tight, we look for every possible way to avoid spending it.

As much as we might find ourselves missing out on some of the nicer things life has to offer, we find ourselves contented by the fact that we will always have enough money in our bank accounts to pay our bills on time.

Keep ReadingShow less