[WikiEN-l] Re: new user

Tue Feb 15 16:37:13 UTC 2005

Chad Perrin said:
>
> Essentially, what you're saying appears to be:  "The hammer and sickle
> is okay because it has been sensationalized differently."  That roughly
>  equates to saying "It's no big deal: it's just a symbol."

Absolutely.  I also don't think it's good to get worked up about the
crucifix, which has been used as a symbol of hatred from time to time. 
Or, for that matter, the swastika.>
> If it's just a symbol, the same is true of the swastika.

Quite.  But it is the case (and I don't condone this) that the symbol is
banned in Germany and seen as extremely insensitive in most of Europe. 
Thugs don't generally daub the hammer and sickle on people's gravestones. 
If my son went out wearing a hammer and sickle t-shirt his friends might
think, at most, that it was either rather stylish or a bit old school; if
he went out wearing a swastika they probably wouldn't even talk to him. 
I'm simply describing a situation that pertains in my country and in most
European countries.  I didn't invent it.