irisxwestallen:

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:

THE NAZI SWASTIKA AND THE HINDU SWASTIKA ARE NOT THE SAME THING.

The Hindu swastika, which is actually in my house, represents good fortune and happiness, and was used long before Hitler stepped foot on this planet. Also, it is normally straight, and has dots in between.

The Nazi swastika, which obviously represents hatred of Jews, is normally on an angle, and has no dots in between.

DO NOT MIX IT UP, OR CALL AN INDIAN WHO HAS THIS IN THEIR HOME A NAZI.

IT IS NOT THE SAME THING.

Oi, and before y’all jokers forget: we Buddhists use the swastika as well (thanks, Ancient India, we inherited so much from you). We’ve used it for thousands of years before Hitler was a stain in his dad’s pants. He appropriated it, fuck knows why he chose that specifically (or why his Japanese allies put up with it) but at the end of the day, it’s been a sacred Buddhist symbol for thousands of years, it’s not going to suddenly stop being one.

Do not call Buddhists Nazis because they have a symbol of their own faith. It is not the same as the Nazi symbol, it does not mean the same thing, the Nazi symbol is a perverted derivation of it that has nothing to do with Buddhism.

And before anyone says “Oh but the Japanese say it just denotes a temple!” – that’s the Japanese Buddhists, and the Japanese Buddhists SPECIFICALLY. It is nowhere near universal. It’s like saying all Christians worship the Virgin Mary.