A detail spotted in Kristi Noem’s most recent press conference has shocked Americans. Stamped across her podium in all caps, the slogan reads, “One of ours, all of yours.” As viewers recognized the vile implications, it rapidly circulated on social media. With many quoting it as a Third Reich slogan during World War II, its origins are a little more complex, although the sentiment is the same.
One South Carolina native, political activist, and musician, Emily Eris, took to Instagram to share their experience with the slogan. In the video, Eris shares the first time the slogan ever came up. Eris was taking a history class, and the lesson focused on the Third Reich and the concept of collective punishment during World War II.
While “one of ours, all of yours” absolutely encompasses World War II-era Germany, this origin isn’t entirely accurate. A recent article from Yahoo! re-examined the motto, tracing its roots back to the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s. “Uno de los nuestros, todos de los vuestros” was the original rallying cry of fascist supporters of Francisco Franco. Of course, this, in itself, creates unbridled hypocrisy when used by the likes of Noem and her own supporters.
Decades later, the motto’s meaning is what fueled tyrannical actions like those of Hitler and the Third Reich. Today, its fascist history still feels just as cruel and menacing as it did all those years ago. And that, in itself, is still a very big problem when displayed in large letters at a government press conference.
On Reddit, users are stunned, appalled, and fearful of what this means. “My professor in a Philosophy of Evil course predicted all of this in 2015. It’s wild, it’s been taking so long to see it,” one user comments. “This was also a US military policy during the Frontier Wars in the 19th century in North America,” another adds.
As the comments continue, many express where they’ve heard this or similar fascist slogans. At the very end of the thread, one user bravely shares their own thought. “Kristi doesn’t realize that the motto can be used both ways,” they write.
