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KLAMarine on 05 August 2020
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Shadow1980 said:
KLAMarine said:

>When you say "extricate", what do you mean?
From Merriam-Webster:

extricate
ex·​tri·​cate | ˈek-strə-ˌkāt
extricated; extricating

transitive verb

1 : to free or remove from an entanglement or difficulty
2a : to distinguish from a related thing
  b archaic : unravel


In other words, you cannot remove or separate the symbol from the ideology it symbolizes. The Soviet hammer & sickle symbolizes what the USSR represented, i.e., communism. Nazi iconography symbolizes what Nazi Germany represented, i.e., fascism and anti-semitism. And Confederate flags and monuments symbolize what the Confederate States represented, i.e., slavery and white supremacy. The idea that someone can somehow whitewash Confederate symbols to cleanse them of those negative connotations is as preposterous as the idea that someone can somehow whitewash, say, an SS uniform of its negative connotations. Symbols mean things, and people can't simply ignore those meanings just because it reflects badly upon their ancestors and their cultural heritage. Some aspects of our heritage do not deserve to be honored or memorialized in any way.

"In other words, you cannot remove or separate the symbol from the ideology it symbolizes."

>I'm not sure about this: the swastika represents a vile ideology in one part of the world, in another it's a Buddhist/Hindu/ symbol.

Here's a swastika found on a stone dating back to the 9th century.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snoldelev_Stone

I highly doubt Hitler's NSDAP in the 20th century had any influence on this rendition and is it impossible, centuries from now, the swastika might be repurposed by some other group or groups not at all linked to Germany's NSDAP? The swastika has a very varied history per Wikipedia and these new groups could go on to redefine the meaning of the symbol to something more benign.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika

Edit: NAACP!? Bahahaha! NSDAP! Fixing my mistake asap!

Last edited by KLAMarine - on 13 August 2020