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Trump’s Pick to Lead U.S. Military Has Tattoos Linked to White Supremacists and Nazis (www.democracynow.org)

submitted 1 day ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (8 children)

Not to detract from this guy likely yes being a massive nazi piece of shit-

-but many deeply religious Polish Catholics who lived through WW2 and the atrocities, had (maybe still have, idk all my grandparents and aunties who did are now dead) Jerusalem crosses on their walls, usually displayed alongside their many JP2 pictures, crucifixes and black madonna's.

Also not to say that many of these Polish Catholics weren't also massive racists, but I'm pretty sure the Jerusalem crosses they displayed were a Catholic thing for them rather than a white supremacy thing.

[–] horse_battery_staple 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (6 children)

It's been coopted by the far right for a while now. Pete is not a Polish Babushka, the symbol has a different meaning to him.

https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/

Edit:

there’s specific reference to the Jerusalem Cross here. https://www.mccaininstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/white-supremacy-and-anti-government-groups-read-ahead-materials.pdf The Adl link is to look up other terms in general

White supremacist anti-Muslim narratives generally refer to Islam as an invading force that isn't just incompatible with Western society, but is also an active threat to Western society and cultural norms. In this context, white supremacists have used Crusader-themed imagery and rhetoric, like the Jerusalem Cross, the Knights Templar and "Deus Vult," as dog whistles to promote anti-Muslim hate

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

There's a version of the Jerusalem Cross used by Episcopalian service members, according to Wikipedia. I'm not American, so I don't know the exact connotation of the symbol on that side of the pond, it could still be harmless. As an outsider, I'd associate it with the crusades (or the country of Georgia), but it doesn't have to be intended that way.

Now, the fact that he's a Trump appointee automatically makes him suspect, of course, but it's less like "He has a Nazi tattoo, therefore Trump appointed a Nazi" and more "Trump appoints Nazis, therefore the tattoo is a Nazi tattoo".

[–] horse_battery_staple 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

It's a symbol that's been coopted by hate groups. I understand the reticence to call it a hate symbol as it can be used by people in a different cultural context. The far right took Celtic runes and the Celtic cross from me and my people and turned them into symbols of hate. They've done it with Norse runes as well. It's what they do, the swastika was originally a symbol of peace and trust.

So yes context matters. Trump appoints alt right nut jobs who twist the meaning of cultural symbols so that they can spread a message of hate. This is what I am upset about, and likely others are as well.

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