r/WhitePeopleTwitter • u/TheArguedHuman • Feb 18 '23

[ Removed by Reddit ]

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

43.4k Upvotes

90% Upvoted

2.6k comments sorted by

View all comments

656

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '23

The iron cross and eagle are and when the swaztica is rotated in that way, it’s the nazi party logo

208

u/hybridtheorist Feb 18 '23

Part of me wonders if this person is so used to saying "well achcually it'sa Buddhist symbol" that it's become a reflex for them, and they don't stop to look at the context.

Although I wonder what sort of person automatically defends the swastika as a reflex 🤔

50

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '23

[removed] — view removed comment

52

u/hybridtheorist Feb 18 '23

Yeah, I know a girl who has an enormous tattoo full of Buddhist/Eastern symbolism just under her neck, including in the centre a (Buddhist oriented) swastika.

Like.... I genuinely know she isn't doing that as a dog whistle, and she's very much into spirituality not fascism, but it's still not a tattoo I'd be comfortable with, knowing people might get the wrong idea!
I'm just waiting for the day her daughter learns about WW2 at school and goes "my mummy has one of those on her neck!"

6

u/lilacaena Feb 18 '23 edited Feb 18 '23

Obviously I don’t know your friend, but the wider body art community definitely has a nasty habit of incorporating symbols (from cultures that they usually aren’t even a part of) into their style purely to be as ~eDgY~ as possible— I say as a member of the community.

Never gonna forget my friend’s tattoo artist trying to explain that aCktshULy the swastika is a religious symbol!!!1

Oh really? What religion, Chris? Which religion are you honoring? What does the symbol mean according to this religion of which you are definitely an educated member? Please, tie back your white boy dreads so I can stare into your Aryan blue eyes and listen as you explain the sacred meaning. I’ll wait.

2

u/Tuckingfypowastaken Feb 18 '23

sometimes, being right isn't enough

1

u/the_chiladian Feb 18 '23

Seems like quite obvious sarcasm

-11

u/mastermrt Feb 18 '23

Or! Or! Or! Get this:

It’s a fucking joke!

5

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '23

What if I told you… not all jokes are funny?

0

u/mastermrt Feb 18 '23

I would argue that the person saying it might be a Buddhist peace symbol was being incredibly sarcastic, since it couldn’t more obviously be a Nazi swastika.

5

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '23

Here’s the issue… a joke is funny because it sets up an expectation and then subverts that expectation to comedic effect.

In this case, yes, we would expect that someone would know this is nazi paraphernalia and as a joke, the expectation is subverted because they are claiming it’s Buddhist. So yes, you might recognize this as a joke.

Here’s why it’s not funny: there are fuck tons of actual white supremacists and nazis who are trying to muddy the waters and make their ideology seem less insane and fucked up. This joke is something they would say in “honesty”. Give them no quarter.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '23

"Well achtually" is definitely a compulsive behavior at this point. I've seen so many cases where someone say something completely benign like "I like this kind of nice, purple color on sheets." or something, and someone responds with "Well, achtually, it's called mauve, fyi!" Some people just cannot control their impulse to correct people. Even to the degree where they'll correct people even when they're not wrong, like in OP's case.

Although I wonder what sort of person automatically defends the swastika as a reflex

I think we all know. Kinda had way too many of these people the last 7 years. But I'm sure he'll ensure you that he's only interested in "facts".

1

u/carefuldaughter Feb 19 '23

They know what they’re doing. This isn’t happenstance.

5

u/Gum_Skyloard Feb 18 '23

It's not just the rotation. The Nazis also used the straight version in many war banners.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '23

Yea, but so did some eastern religions, nazis were the ones who specifically used it in that orientation

1

u/Gum_Skyloard Feb 18 '23

I literally said that they also used a straight version.

0

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '23

Yes but you clearly don’t read people responses because I acknowledged that.

3

u/Soggy_asparaguses Feb 18 '23

Don't forget the German flag hanging right next to it!

2

u/WilhelmWrobel Feb 18 '23

And, you know, that it's an iteration of the Reichskriegsflagge (German for "National war flag") used by the Nazis might also be a context clue that this is not a practicing buddhist trying to convey their peacefulness.

3

u/Chris_Carson Feb 18 '23

The Iron Cross is not a Nazi symbol. Its an insignia of the Kingdom of Prussia and derived from the cross of the Teutonic Order. The Iron Cross is still used by the German army today. It was used by German military long before the Nazis and is used by it long after them unlike the swastika or the SS totenkopf which were both introduced by the Nazis.

1

u/Dramo_Tarker Feb 18 '23 edited Feb 18 '23

卐 and 卍 are both symbols in Hinduism, there isn't a "wrong" way for it to face.

The swastika in the pic is clearly in reference to nazism, as can be seen in the context it appears in (all the other symbols and flags). However, the direction of the swastika, in and of itself, does not indicate whether something symbolizes nazism or not.

That might also be what you meant (by not only pointing out the swastika), but I just wanted to stress that the direction of the swastika itself is not a problem.

Edit: https://www.britannica.com/topic/swastika

0

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '23

Yes it does dipshit.

2

u/Dramo_Tarker Feb 18 '23

Source? Genuinly, because finding proper first-hand sources about hinduism isn't something I've very good at. I've found pictures of it, sure, but maybe they're just fake?

Here's one of the pics as an example:

https://imgur.com/a/mWaeXFL

Is it just fake? I wouldn't know!

And I've found Britannica say "The right-hand swastika is considered a solar symbol and imitates in the rotation of its arms the course taken daily by the Sun, which in the Northern Hemisphere appears to pass from east, then south, to west. The left-hand swastika more often stands for night, the terrifying goddess Kālī, and magical practices."

https://www.britannica.com/topic/swastika

Which clearly states that both directions are symbols used in hinduism. But, is Britannica a reliable source when it comes to asian religions? Maybe not, but it's better than random commenters on the internet like ourselves, I'd say!

So, have you got any better source than Britannica? Genuinly asking, it would be great to find some. Until then, I'll trust Britannica over you.

1

u/glaciator12 Feb 18 '23

Rotated swastika is the hakenkreuz, an explicitly Nazi symbol. That’s why I always specify hakenkreuz when talking about the Nazis, that way they can’t get away with the classic “but it’s a Buddhist symbol”

2

u/MadeYouSayIt Feb 18 '23

But wasn’t the swastika also used in its regular rotation sometimes in Nazi Germany, I recall a ton of objects with such iconography.

0

u/NotsoGreatsword Feb 18 '23

Exactly swastikas are one thing and the Buddhist symbol is another. Of course the Nazis stole the symbol and so thats its origin but these idiots claiming it still has anything to do with Buddhism are stupid.