Smithsonian used to be a very prestigious brand of science.
Too bad that’s now been ruined.
I’d really hoped they’d stand up to the fascism, but apparently no. That was too much to ask.
this post was submitted on 10 Jan 2026
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Nearly a century later, people still bring up how Hugo Boss designed the SS uniform, Fanta was made by coke to sell to the Nazis and Volkswagen was founded by Nazis and used slave labour to build military jeeps and prison transports.
Now, I'm not saying this is directly equivalent to those instances, but a lot of these American organisations think people are going to forget their capitulations quickly.
People don't forget, but also those are three successful brands that don't seem to be suffering from their history.
You’re right. Back in the day, brands could endure. Nowadays, we can see through them, and people aren’t brand-loyal like we used to be.
If corporations want to be people, we can treat them as people. And when they show us their cowardice in the face of fascism, we can ostracise them just like we do that intolerable uncle.
People are extremely brand loyal nowadays and I'd even argue it's the worst it's been in recent history. Just look how addicted people are to the MAGA cult identity and Elon Musk's products and branding.
Your comment prompted me to look this up and, yeah, people aren’t really brand loyal anymore.
Perhaps it’s an age thing? When I was younger, nearly everything we used was tied tightly to a brand, and I can’t tell you how many jingles I’ll never forget. Now there are a few very strong brands, but otherwise people shop around more and are swayed more by reviews and influencers than because ‘it’s the best part of waking up’.
This is a Forbes contributor article. You've functionally linked to a blog post.
Unrelated side note.....why is it always the uncle thats used as the personification of the asshole in the family???
I'm an uncle. I don't get drunk and ruin thanksgiving. I don't molest my niece. I don't berate people into listening to alex jones podcasts.
But it's always the uncle used in those descriptions. Maybe we should start admitting that sisters, and brothers, and moms, and dads, and even cats can be the asshole of the family! Not saying uncles can't be....just why is it ALWAYS uncles???
Have you considered you might be able to get away with a bit of dastardliness given the stereotype?
Knick an extra slice of pie at Thanksgiving; get your niece an exciting gift that outshines all the rest; start your own podcast about the different bowling alley oiling techniques and berate your family to be on an episode!
Embrace your inner uncle - in moderation.
Uncles: Close enough to be an obligation invite, distant enough that they aren't around and doing that stuff all the time. Perfect scapegoat.
Mainly because people hear something that tickles them and they mindlessly repeat it.
Boss didn't design any Nazi uniform. His company was one of thousands to at some point hold a contract to manufacture clothing for the military. The Boss contract wasn’t even that large, a few tens of thousands of units. The SS uniforms were designed in-house , most notably by SS-Oberführer Karl Diebitsch and Walter Heck. Neither of them has the celebrity value however.
Meanwhile, people quickly forgot that the dispatch system for railway transportation in the Holocaust was supplied by IBM.
Hugo Boss didn't design shit, as he wasn't a designer and his company wasn't in fashion design until after his death.
Read up on Ford and Hitler... People forgot about that one quick enough! BUILT FORD TOUGH!
Eh, IBM did just fine
Sometimes I like to think these types of things are being implemented by people that expect to revert them if there's ever a next administration, with the underlying intent being that this act of capitulation will prevent the current administration from taking aim at their entire organization.
If I were asked to make a decision between making this change or having the Smithsonian's very existence threatened, I would grit my teeth, make the change, and put the correct plaque in storage ready for the next inauguration day.
I'm not saying this is the case here, or that it's ever happened, only that this thin thread of optimism helps retain my sanity.
Sometimes I like to think these types of things are being implemented by people that expect to revert them if there’s ever a next administration,
Well the thing about that is that is not how history is supposed to fucking work. If history seriously is just whatever politician thinks it was then the whole enterprise is worthless.
The victor's have always written history, or at least influenced the details of how it was remembered. There are museums in the south today that don't paint a clear picture as to which side won the American Civil War.
If the decision were yours to make, would you hold to your principles and have the Smithsonian disregard the executive order from last year and risk being disbanded entirely? Or would you alter a plaque to omit some details in order to save the rest of what the museum has?
As a followup question, if you choose your principles, do you feel regret if the jackboots march in with orders to destroy the collections? I know I would. Which is why I would bend in the first place - to avoid being broken.
Why wait? Capitulate today!
That's alright, I understand it's usually easier to make a witty remark instead of giving a complicated issue consideration. How I wish things were cut and dry.
How much of history do you alter before your museum is a farce? How much truth can you change to lies for the sake of funding before your museum is just a propaganda program for an authoritarian regime?
In other words you see this as Theseus's museum. That's an interesting idea. I don't think changing one board fundamentally changes the ship, though I'm getting the impression you disagree.
It's worth noting the plaque wasn't changed to read 'Trump was never impeached', and so there isn't a direct lie in this circumstance. This is more of a lie by omission, however even that is pretty loose as the museum likely feels they can't legally reference the impeachments anymore due to EO14253 which explicitly effects the Smithsonian.
I do agree with your sentiment in that over enough time and alteration, a museum could become a place of advertising and not culture or history. However this brings me back to the question I raised that you have not answered twice now.
Changing this plaque can be the start of a slippery slope, yes. However, if you were stood at the summit of K2 and group of thugs walked up from behind and presented you the choice of either taking a step down the steep side or being picked up and thrown off the mountainside to inevitable death, what do you choose?
I think I'd prefer to shutter the museum over pretending that you can somehow compromise on what the truth is. The Smithsonian, like many institutions in the last year, folded with little to no resistance.
The world isn't as black and white as you seem to perceive it. Even saying the Smithsonian 'folded' is hyperbolic. They seem to have simply complied with a law, just like they have fire suppression, first aid kits, railings at staircases, etc.
It's fine and dandy for a person to think and believe they'd never commit an act of violence, but if they see someone trying to strangle a child, that person isn't going to shrug their shoulders and say 'I have my principles' while they go about their merry way.
Evidently you and I are of two different schools of thought, but nonetheless it's appreciated that you answered my question.
Cheers for that.
They seem to have simply complied with a law, just like they have fire suppression, first aid kits, railings at staircases, etc.
In no way is compliance with safety laws compromising the mission of a museum. That's one difference between those "laws" and it's an important one. Another difference is that an executive order is not a law.
That's what you choose to focus on? I'm not going to get into the minutiae of what a law is.
My overarching point here was that this omission may have been a purposeful tactic, and that I don't believe a misstep taints the institution as a whole. I attempted to bring this to a polite close once you confirmed the inflexibility of your point of view.
Consider yourself to have won this conversation if that's what you need.
Sure, dude. The meaning of words like "law" is minutia in the same way that a museum's dereliction of duty to the truth is just a minor misstep that will be redressed once the mad king who issues decrees from his social media account just decides to stop being a tyrant. When hasn't appeasing a tyrant worked, after all?
It's all just so complicated, and not at all that a single guy is saying he has all of the authority in the world, limited only by his own morality and is calling on you with powers that he doesn't legally possess to rewrite recent, thoroughly documented events and you're licking his boots in hopes that he'll leave you alone for a little while.
No one rewrites history THIS MUCH thinking the Truth will be back in 1-3 years.
I personally don't believe midterms are happening and even if they do, I don't believe it will change anything.
Nothing changes until those in power and the billionaires fear for their life. Full stop.
Jeez, sorry to say this but as a non-American whose country was an American colony and a dictator had been supported by US, a lot of Americans are pussies when it comes to dealing with a dictator. A lot of Americans still couldn't figure it out whether or not they are in a dictatorship, because they haven't experienced yet what it's like being under a dictatorship.
I'm not a 2A nut. I actually loathe the 2A fuckers. Hence, I don't own the tools to eliminate 47 from a reasonably safe distance. Sorry. I wish a legit 2A bitch would step up.
Pussies.
The Smithsonian just lost all credibility. All to appease a mushy brained orange paedo.
I’m sure it kills them to have to do this.
I don't give a fuck about their feelings. They are bootlicking cowards.
Capitulation in advance. Cowards.
Cowards, accurate history is your responsibility
I wonder how many employees they had to go through until they found one that would do this. I would hope people working at a museum of this stature would have more scruples than to try to rewrite or hide history.
Fake fucking museum
After the worst violence of anyone's lifetimes happens this summer, we'll look back on headlines like this and think how crazy it truly was.