On the main CR site, I have little ads to other material on other parts of the site. Some of these are ersources, some of these are forum topics.
One forum topic I wanted to promote was "spiritual fascism". And what better symbol to use for fascism than a Nazi flag - red background, white center circle and black emblazoned swastika.
Now, we actually host some copyrighted texts ehre, and do so only with kind permission of those who own the rights to such writings and other resources.
I got an e-mail from one of them soon after - he was horrified - having just seen a swastika on the same page as his translated work. He told me that he was German, and that it is illegal to use the swastika in Germany.
I personally found it something of an over-reaction - not personal, but the claim of the social duress of even having a swastika on your computer screen. But I duly complied, and used an image of skinheads from a national front rally in Britain - our far-right.
The point of this thread is - I know that the swastika was used as a religious symbol in the east for millenia before.
What I am unclear about is what it actually represented in Eastern Thought, and also why the Nazi Party and Hitler were so keen to use it.
I bring this topic up because one of our members now has an avatar that involves the swastika as part of the image. My erading is that the context is entirely in line with Eastern Thought and Symbolism, and therefore I have nothing against it's use - unless someone can convince me it's actually an ancient curse, or likewise.
However, I invite people to give their thoughts on the swqastika as a religious symbol, and especially invite an exploration of its history and meaning - before Nazi Germany gave us the infamous and rather horrendous aftertaste of it.
One forum topic I wanted to promote was "spiritual fascism". And what better symbol to use for fascism than a Nazi flag - red background, white center circle and black emblazoned swastika.
Now, we actually host some copyrighted texts ehre, and do so only with kind permission of those who own the rights to such writings and other resources.
I got an e-mail from one of them soon after - he was horrified - having just seen a swastika on the same page as his translated work. He told me that he was German, and that it is illegal to use the swastika in Germany.
I personally found it something of an over-reaction - not personal, but the claim of the social duress of even having a swastika on your computer screen. But I duly complied, and used an image of skinheads from a national front rally in Britain - our far-right.
The point of this thread is - I know that the swastika was used as a religious symbol in the east for millenia before.
What I am unclear about is what it actually represented in Eastern Thought, and also why the Nazi Party and Hitler were so keen to use it.
I bring this topic up because one of our members now has an avatar that involves the swastika as part of the image. My erading is that the context is entirely in line with Eastern Thought and Symbolism, and therefore I have nothing against it's use - unless someone can convince me it's actually an ancient curse, or likewise.
However, I invite people to give their thoughts on the swqastika as a religious symbol, and especially invite an exploration of its history and meaning - before Nazi Germany gave us the infamous and rather horrendous aftertaste of it.