Last Saturday, handfuls of people around the world celebrated the fourth annual “Swastika Rehabilitation Day,” an event dedicated to putting the Nazi symbol in a more positive light. The festivities included planes carrying swastika banners over New York City and revelers with swastika facepaint and signs designed to highlight the symbol’s pre-Hitler roots. Swastika Rehabilitation Day was sponsored by the Raelian movement, a religion based on the teachings of a French man named Claude Vorilhon (A.K.A Rael) who claims he learned the true origins of humanity during a “dramatic encounter with a human being from another planet” in 1973.“It’s been used for thousands of years as a symbol of well being and good luck, so when Westerners interpret it as meaning something ugly just because the Nazis used it, our society denies millions of people the right to live their religion freely,” Thomas Kaenzig, a “Raelian Guide” and president of the Pro-Swastika Alliance said in a statement announcing the plans for Swastika Rehabilitation Day last week.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=87689