Explanation: "We should bring back the guillotine" or similar is a common internet quip in response to billionaires doing billionaire things, when in reality the guillotine was invented to provide equal and humane deaths to people of all classes, and from there it was always a tool of the state rather than the people. Not the best euphemism for "we should depose the bourgeoisie." In fact plenty of Revolutionary justice folks were themselves offed by the guillotine during the Terror.
The idea comes from when it was used against the French royalty.
I mean, the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror are still massive examples of what happens when a lower class is pushed too far, and Madam Guillotine's show of equality is exactly why it's a sign of class warfare. No one escapes equality in the National Razor's basket, whether crowned or common.
How was the French revolution not a class war?
Too high brow. Most don’t care about nuance. People want stark visuals— which rolling heads of the aristocracy satisfy nicely. And it’s literally the only thing most people remember about the French Revolution.
I mean you’re absolutely not wrong in your observation, but it’s been adopted very successfully for its purpose. Certainly the noose, electric chair or lethal injection wouldn’t work nearly as well. Perhaps some pitchforks and torches, but then we’d just be degraded to a mere mob.
My personal favorite symbol is Orcas. My patron saints of climate and class justice. “Eat the rich(‘s wealth/yachts)!” Just out there protecting their families and leveling the playing field. And having fun while they’re at it.
The Pirate flag, also known as the Jolly Roger today was the ensign flown by a pirate ship preceding or during an attack, during the early 18th century (the latter part of the Golden Age of Piracy). The vast majority of such flags flew the motif of a human skull, or “Death's Head”, often accompanied by other elements, on a black field, sometimes called the "Death's Head flag" or just the "black flag". The skull and crossbones symbol on a black flag – was used during the 1710s by a number of pirate captains, including Samuel Bellamy, Edward England, and John Taylor. It became the most commonly used pirate flag during the 1720s, although other designs were also in use.
The early development team of the Apple Macintosh used a pirate flag to portray a "rebellious" spirit. Before changing to a stylized "P", Sweden's Pirate Party used the Jolly Roger as its symbol, which is still used extensively in the Pirate movement.
Not the best euphemism for "rebellious" spirit, and to reform laws regarding copyright and patents since computers have many components that don't do well in water.
Yeah... Symbols change its meaning over time depending on historic events.
Wasn't Marie Antoinette guillotined? You know, the spoiled rich royalty that was so out of touch she was famously quoted as saying "Let them eat cake" when told the common people don't even have bread?
This meme is spreading misinformation https://theconversation.com/the-french-revolution-executed-royals-and-nobles-yes-but-most-people-killed-were-commoners-200455
A toothbrush is used for brushing your teeth, but you can also use it for other purposes.
It was also pretty symbolically used to chop the head off of dear old Louis XVI and his wife (the royals), and end the Royal order in France. (Not that what came after was that much better, but the symbolism stands more if u look at it that way).
I'd argue that it was involved in the class war between the ruling feudalist classes and the bourgeoisie; class struggle/war is a tale far older than capitalism or feudalism.
Guillotine memes are fun but here's an interesting read https://crimethinc.com/2019/04/08/against-the-logic-of-the-guillotine-why-the-paris-commune-burned-the-guillotine-and-we-should-too
Why give the bourgeois all the ceremony the nobility got if a good ol' firin' squad will do? /j
I believe people are referencing the executions of Louis and Marie during the revolution.
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