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addicted2it -> RE: What is a Saxophone and what is a Mandolin? (5/10/2007 5:34:46 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: damia
quote:
ORIGINAL: addicted2it
Assuming that "mandolin" equates with "masochist" and "saxophone" equates to "sadist" really hurts my head, because it is way too vague. I would like to hear from and old guard sadist or masochist on this subject before I can personally accept the premise that the first letter of these two words, or any words, necessarily define the meaning.
From what i've read about Old Guard (not much, i admit, but some...), vagueness was very important. i mean, we're talking end of World War II...S/m was a lot more taboo and vilified in the '40s and '50s. Being gay alone was considered evidence of mental illness, and being into S/m was widely considered to be evidence of being even more mentally ill.
So they came up with a system of codes that would be recognized by others of their group. Examples are white t-shirts for boys/slaves, black t-shirts for Daddies/Masters; and armband on the left for Top/Dom/Master/Daddy, armband on the right for bottom/sub/slave/boy.
Yes, gender preference and S/M was misunderstood and a very taboo subject during WWII, as well as in subsequent wars and military actions prior to the Gulf War, but it is none the less interesting how this coding method got started. B-29 and B-36 bombing raids during over cities in Japan and Germany up until 1945 had a very low survival rate. And it is difficult to imagine what a crew member on any given bombing raid was thinking...or maybe just reacting to...the fog of war. But it is none the less fascinating to imagine how a crew member of a bomber group would initiate a conversation with another crew member by saying, "Are you a saxophone player or a mandolin player?" when they are at 40,000 feet and and experiencing a Japanese onslaught of Zeros, and all the time freezing due to lack of a pressurized and heated cabin.
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