Re: Swastika symbol in most hindu homes in India

mla...@world.std.com (Matt D Lammers) writes:

>In article <2bm73v$5i...@agate.berkeley.edu> sah...@monoceros.EECS.Berkeley.EDU (Anant Sahai) writes:
>>	I wanted to concur with the previous poster. The Swastika is a
>>symbol found all over Asia, especially in India. It is considered a
>>beautiful and auspicious symbol. It is about time that we stopped
>>considering it a "not nice symbol." We shouldn't let the Nazis ruin
>>the symbol for everyone else.
>>	I don't know why Hitler chose this symbol, if anyone can find
>>a historical reference, I would be interested.
>>
>>-Anant
>>

First of all, this symbol, although it _was_ at one point in time
considered a nice symbol, is not anymore, due to Hitler. The fact is,
whenever you use it, it will always carry the connotation of being
a racist symbol. So the idea is--DON'T use it. It is interesting to
comment on what it meant at one point in time, but NOW it means only
bad things (at least in the Western world).

Take for example the word "colored". While at one point in time, this was
considered the "politically correct" choice of words to refer to a person
whose color was not "white", no one in their right mind would choose to
call a "colored" friend "colored". It has connotations of racism and ugliness
now.

Those were my two cents......

But on the origins of Hitler's use of the swastika, I once did a report in
high school on him, and I remember, in reading a biography about him, that
during his childhood, he sang in a choir at a monastery in his home town.
This monastery had the swastika (or a bent cross) above an awning on the
way into the church. It's interesting to postulate that this is why he chose
the swastika as the nazi symbol.....

I have a strange feeling though that it had more to do with the fact that
it consisted of two S's crossed, connoting that the S.S. was the vehicle
through which any "religious" activity was to be performed. After all, most
people in Germany (aside from the Jews) were Christian, and a "cross" as the
flag might have meant something to them. It's just that the leader of the 
S.S. was not God--it was Hitler.

Those were my OTHER two cents.......

Anyhow, I like this newsgroup--it's main gear is towards just having
fun looking at fun ascii pictures. Nothing harmful--no need to be rude to
people. You know, aside from a few remarks concerning this particular
thread, everybody on this newsgroup has been very well-tempered in their
responses to even "flammable" material.

See you,

Greg