Coast guard policy on nooses and swastikas; not too bad

[kan...@aol.com]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/senators-freeze-coast-guard-admiral-s-promotion-over-swastika-noose-policy/ar-AA1SxGlA?apiversion=v2&domshim=1&noservercache=1&noservertelemetry=1&batchservertelemetry=1&renderwebcomponents=1&wcseo=1

So nooses and swastikas, for the Coast Guard, are no longer "hate symbols". Instead they are "divisive". Glad to know that. 

Let's review: the swastika is the symbol of a nation that started WWII, killed millions of people in the effort, and tried to wipe out a religious group. The noose is universally understood as the preferred  way to kill Blacks in an extrajudicial action. 

But, no hate implied. Got it. 

As for the admiral, he spoke forcefully against these symbols. It's not clear why the CG manual changed its definition; but it wasn't apparently his doing. The hold on his promotion is to give time to review his role in this. 

But the point is the notion that nooses and swastikas are now considered divisive but not hateful. I'll ask one of my Black coworkers tomorrow. She's got good political sense. 

[Brian Kegerreis]

Some people use Swastikas as a message of hate and intimidation. Some people use Swastikas in historical context like in books movies and board games. And a few people use Swasticas as a message of love and peace

So if I'm in the coast guard and I play a game about WW2 with my buddies and the WW2 Germans are identified with the Nazi flag  thst is neither divisive nor hateful. And if I identifie as Indian I might have a Swastica knitted into a sweater by my grandmother to wish me happiness and peace and it has nothing to do with Nazis.

I guess what I am saying is that carte blanch bans on the Swastica like in German are extreme. Banning Swastikas tattooes in the military might not be extreme, but banning the symbol altogether would be. 

Context matters. 

And finally if we can ban Swasticas we can ban Stars of David and Crosses and Elephants and Donkeys. We need to think not just about the immediate problem, but the long term precedent. 

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[kan...@aol.com]

Boy you really scape the barrel's bottom sometimes. Let me help. 

The swastika is an ancient symbol, used not only by Native Americans but in Hindu and other cultures. 

But if you paint it on MY garage, it's not a symbol of peace and love. 

As someone once said (a minute ago) context matters. 

Similarly, a noose is really just rope tied in a specific way. But if you leave it on a Black  person's desk it's not a symbol of Boy Scout expertise.

Context matters. 

And for you to think that people in the Coast Guard were thinking this deeply, given the march (actually stampede) away from DEI, you really have a screw loose. They were easing up on their willingness to punish hateful behavior, nothing more. Wait for the hearings on this admiral. (BTW, I think he may be on the right side of this issue). I'll make any wager you want that nobody is going to bring up a game of Risk. And nobody is going to make a noose into an exercise in knot tying. 

Sometimes hoofbeats just mean that you're hearing a horse

Context matters.