1/26/2005: Hindu swastika

[mmmmbacon]

Originally Posted by glatt

But the whole point is that they are trying to change the world's idea of what the symbol is. It may be hard, but it isn't impossible.

I don't think this issue is about whether it can be done (which I doubt), so much as it is about whether it should be done. Your analogy to the symbol of 'xerox' falls a tad short, since few (if any) people have an emotional attachment to the word you use for copying papers.

I have sympathy for those Hindus who feel like they've lost an important cultural symbol, and I understand why they want it back. But it's not theirs anymore. To try and change the meaning of that symbol does a disservice to all those that died in the shadow of the swastika. I'm not Jewish, but I can't imagine too many Jews who would be willing to embrace the swastika as a symbol of peace. The only positive I see in this is that the world is reminded that the symbol had a history before Nazism, but I don't think it's got a future beyond that, nor should it, imo.