Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This thread is somewhat related to the Confederate Flag thread. Cause I see that some people say that the flag is about their heritage and they will damn well use it, whether or not it has been hijacked by racist idiots, which is pretty admirable.
Would those folks or any of you folks support those want to put up their Swastika, which represents their religion, I am sure their belief in a higher power warrants their right to use it to honor their religion. The swastika was hijacked by Hitler just in case some of you do not know it had been used by Dharmic religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, for a really long time, even longer than the Confederate flag's age. If not the religion aspect, should we respect its heritage? The symbol itself is about 3000 years old, and has been used to represent life, sun, power, strength, and good luck, and other positive stuff.
Technically, the Nazi swastika is flipped around 180 degrees from the Asian version. It's a shame how symbols get hijacked throughout history, but what's done is done. In no way am I going to have warm fuzzy feelings for that symbol. It represents pure evil.
The swastika has a long history as a sacred symbol for many cultures, including the Japanese and Zuni. I dont have a problem with it when its used in its original contexts, but sadly the way its used in America (even moreso than the Confederate flag) is associated with the worst kind of racism. Most of the people in this country that sport it offend me as a person of mixed racial heritage. But hey this is America, and you have the right to espouse any kind of ignorant ass idealogy you want.
If Buddhists use that as a symbol of life, strength, etc., then whoever is interpreting it negatively is bringing their own personal problems and emotions into the equation.
So in this context, the issue is not about the ideology of the Nazis, but rather of the people who are too ignorant to associate the swastika with Buddhism - particularly when the viewer cannot even tell the two different symbols apart.
Technically, only your Coke photo represents the Nazi (i.e., "bad") swastika.
By the way, that's a fascinating little trinket. What's the history behind the Coke swastika?
The others are inverted (unless your photos are printed backwards ) and while they do call the mind the Nazi symbol, they long predate it. Like everything else, I think it should be thought about in historical context. It's an ancient symbol that was hijacked by the Nazis and as such has become shorthand for hatred and racism. Even the counterclockwise "non-nazi" version immediately calls to mind the "bad" version (at least in Western cultures), so I suspect most people would avoid using even that. I'm never in favor of legalistically "banning" a symbol, but I think only someone trying to stir up trouble would flout the Nazi version. The other version, well, again, at least in the US or Europe you'd have to do a lot of explaining . . .
As a Hindu, to me it is the two forms of Brahma: facing right it represents the evolution of the universe, facing left it represents the involution of the universe. It is a holy and auspicious symbol to us.
Its a terrible shame that the Nazis used the symbol for their own purposes and that in the western world it is now seen as a symbol of evil and hate. I wonder how Christians would feel if a marauding Asian leader used their cross as his symbol?
This thread is somewhat related to the Confederate Flag thread. Cause I see that some people say that the flag is about their heritage and they will damn well use it, whether or not it has been hijacked by racist idiots, which is pretty admirable.
Would those folks or any of you folks support those want to put up their Swastika, which represents their religion, I am sure their belief in a higher power warrants their right to use it to honor their religion. The swastika was hijacked by Hitler just in case some of you do not know it had been used by Dharmic religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, for a really long time, even longer than the Confederate flag's age. If not the religion aspect, should we respect its heritage? The symbol itself is about 3000 years old, and has been used to represent life, sun, power, strength, and good luck, and other positive stuff.
well all that is true. but its been 63 years since that little country almost took over the world, who used this (swastika symbol above) as their symbol. it took 2 giants (usa and russia) to stop them at the cost of bout 25 million lives total.
they were just plain scary. no, i think you need to let that one cool off a bit more before you take it out of the closet it and use it to pitch coca cola.
stephen s
san diego, ca
Someday the American flag might be hijacked by bigots that think all Middle Easterners/Muslims are terrorists!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
) and while they do call the mind the Nazi symbol, they long predate it. Like everything else, I think it should be thought about in historical context. It's an ancient symbol that was hijacked by the Nazis and as such has become shorthand for hatred and racism. Even the counterclockwise "non-nazi" version immediately calls to mind the "bad" version (at least in Western cultures), so I suspect most people would avoid using even that. I'm never in favor of legalistically "banning" a symbol, but I think only someone trying to stir up trouble would flout the Nazi version. The other version, well, again, at least in the US or Europe you'd have to do a lot of explaining . . .
