Hammer and Sickle, si! Swastika, non!

I was grabbing lunch in Safeway, never something easy to do at twelve noon mid-week. (Grapes, sushi, green tea, if you must know).

I saw a guy, sort of an ironic hipster guy, wearing a red t-shirt with a giant gold Hammer and Sickle. And maybe because I am in the midst dealing with some minor credit card fraud, was hungry, and generally annoyed, this struck me as sort of glib. I mean, why is the swastika off-limits, but a man can walk abroad in the land with a giant hammer and sickle on his chest?

Why are the Soviets ironic, and the Nazis universally despised? I guess the Nazis sort of wore their evil on the outside, whereas the Soviets had cosmonauts and hosted international youth festivals, but is the line that thin?