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Just a Manji or a Budding Neo-Nazi?
Troubling symbols and the Sign of the Times
I want to give the kid the benefit of the doubt. The Japanese Swastika (Manji) have historically been used to mark temples on maps and represent the number 10,000 meaning the whole of the universe. In Indian Buddhist temples adorned with Swastika represented the footprints of the Buddha.
But this kid got Adolph’s orientation correct, probably not an accident. I try to remind myself that in high school the Motely Crue pentagrams I scrawled across my notebooks and devil horn Heavy Metal salutes I gave to all my Rocker buddies were probably just as offensive to the horrified Christians I knew at the time.
The thing is though, I know the homeroom teacher for this class is a history teacher. Part of me can’t help wondering which part of the textbook was glossed over when they studied WWII.
