A Fantastical Journey Into My Mind

ALWAYS!

Nazis weren’t just the soldiers with guns at the entrances to death camps. They weren’t just the guys who ushered people into the gas chambers. They weren’t just the politicians signing the orders to invade other countries, or the generals ordering their troops to execute civilians.

Nazis were also the people who joined the party because it was the social thing to do. They were the people who looked the other way when their Jewish neighbors were hauled off. They were the actors who put their careers above the lives of others in order to take roles in propaganda films. They were the civilians who asked “But what do we do about the Jewish problem???” and expected a legitimate answer. They were the people who registered, and put their names on a list so they could have a little bit of social fortune while it was still popular to do so.

ASEAN Community Malong, Philippines

The malong is a traditional Filipino “tube skirt” or “tube dress” made of handwoven or machine-made multi-colored cotton cloth, bearing a variety of geometric or okir designs. The malong is akin to the sarong worn by peoples in Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia, except the difference between the two is that the malong is more larger in length and it is stitched together at both ends to make a “tube”. The malong is traditionally used as a garment by numerous groups in the Southern Philippines and the Sulu Archipelago as well as in the Visaya’s and parts of Luzon. People usually wear this kind of clothing for warmth, fashion, or traditional celebrations. The malong can function as a skirt for both men and women, a dress, a blanket, a sunshade, a bedsheet, a “dressing room”, a hammock, a prayer mat, and other purposes. There are also numerous ways in which to wear a malong. A newborn is wrapped in a malong, and as he grows this piece of cloth becomes a part of his daily life. When he dies, he is once again wrapped in a malong. Even in areas where people wear Western-style clothing during the day, the malong is commonly used as sleepwear.

A traditional dance, called Kappa Malong Malong demonstrates the various ways of wearing a malong and its uses.