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BroccoliPrince t1_ja8hba4 wrote

That's not a swastika, it's a manji. The swastika's "arms" point the other way.

Originally this symbol, the manji, was (and remains) a positive symbol in many eastern cultures. There are similar symbols of luck and prosperity found worldwide, even in Europe. The Nazis wanted a symbol that was recognisable and beloved, they wanted something that people already had something of a stake in, so they took the manji and flipped it. Even their word for it - "swastika" - was taken from Sanskrit words. The whole thing was stolen from the top down.

(Edit: lord preserve me from the people who reply and then immediately block me - way to show faith in your argument, lads 👍)

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DryEyes4096 t1_ja8kzx0 wrote

When I was in Japan a Buddhist temple was marked with a manji on Google Maps. This has changed, I've heard.

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BroccoliPrince t1_ja94ird wrote

Yeah, I've heard about that. Apparently Japan itself has been looking into removing it from signage and the like too. Iirc the decision to start phasing it out was driven primarily by optics and concern over how tourists would view it, which does seem a bit of a shame to me, feels a bit like just letting the Nazis keep it or something.

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asparadawg t1_ja8hltl wrote

A manji is a type of swastika genius. And swastikas can point either way. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika

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BroccoliPrince t1_ja8hqoz wrote

Guess which one came first, GeNiUs.

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asparadawg t1_ja8idlj wrote

Pretty pathetic that you can't even be bothered to read the article. LOL Neither came first manji is literally just another word for swastika. Next time educate yourself instead of talking crap.

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