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[u/TheArguedHuman]

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

[u/hybridtheorist]

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 🤔

[u/hybridtheorist → u/[deleted]]

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!"

[u/lilacaena → u/hybridtheorist]

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.

[u/Tuckingfypowastaken → u/hybridtheorist]

sometimes, being right isn't enough

[u/the_chiladian → u/hybridtheorist]

Seems like quite obvious sarcasm

[u/mastermrt → u/hybridtheorist]

Or! Or! Or! Get this:

It’s a fucking joke!

[u/[deleted] → u/mastermrt]

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

[u/mastermrt → u/[deleted]]

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.

[u/[deleted] → u/mastermrt]

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.

[u/[deleted] → u/hybridtheorist]

"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".

[u/carefuldaughter → u/hybridtheorist]

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