swastikas (on bus ticket machines) (Lounged)

[RosieH]

On my way into work this morning I noticed that the bus ticket machine and a number of bins along Peckham Rye (ED side) had been daubed with swastikas.

Did this happen overnight? Have they been spotted anywhere else in the area?

Don't know whether it's just some d*ck trying to be controversial, or is there some kind of far right movement in ED that I don't know about?

[MelbourneGr]

I saw one in white paint on a bin next to the MIND shop. Looked like it had been done hastily...how sad

[kford]

BNP canvassing?

[Brendan]

Or a refuse removal firm run by radical Hindu?s trying to muscle in on the local business.

[Rolo Tomasi]

I saw them too. I have notified Southwark Councils Graffiti removal team.

[Michael Palaeologus]

I have a swastika in my passport - its in the middle of the exit stamp from Nepal. It is a little disconcerting.

[Moos]

Pish, Mike. Just cos the Nazis nicked it... it's a symbol thousands of years old!

Sorry, have been lazy and got all the below from Wikipedia - didn't dare google swastika at work..

The motif seems to have first been used in Neolithic Pakistan. The symbol has an ancient history in Europe, appearing on artifacts from pre-Christian European cultures. In antiquity, the swastika was used extensively by the Indo-Aryans,Persians, Hittites, Celts and Greeks, among others. In particular, the swastika is a sacred symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Mithraism ? religions with over a billion adherents worldwide, making the swastika ubiquitous in both historical and contemporary society. The symbol was introduced to Southeast Asia by Hindu kings and remains an integral part of Balinese Hinduism to this day, and it is a common sight in Indonesia. It also was adopted independently by several Native American cultures.

Apparently the Nazis got it from the work of the ever-enthusiastic Heinrich Schliemann.

[MadWorld74]

Yeah I saw them as well. W*nkers.

[snorky]

represents copulating bodies according the Wilhem reich

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

I have several swastikas on some old Rudyard Kipling books (that are set in India). It used to freak me too until I learned of its origin.

[furryjumpergirl]

I saw one up against a shop on East Dulwich Road last night - took s photo as evidence!

[giggirl]

Maybe Peckham had a royal visit from Prince Harry?

[furryjumpergirl]

Taken outside the craft shop on East Dulwich Road last night: http://www.flickr.com/photos/furryjumpergirl/2454536208/

[sidll]

Perhaps in the light of the swastikas on the shop in Lordship Lane the forumite who referred to its "jewish" property owner might care to reconsider his view that it was a harmless description

[Asset]

didn't the nazis turn it round? the horizontal bits are the other way round on the original or summat.

[Townleygreen]

Yes, Asset they turned it 45 degrees - in Nepal etc it is always shown with the 4 main lines straight up and straight across.

[Louisa]

How on earth can this story warrant a thread? Ridiculous. The Swastika isnt just a symbol of 1930s political unrest in Germany, it is also an ancient Hindu symbol and was used in sub-saharan African tribes in the 17th and 18th century as a form of fertility right. If all we have to worry about in 21st century London is a few swastikas on a dustbin, when we have crime taxation and transport worries then god help us.

Louisa.

[RosieH]

It's an ancient religious symbol???? Noooo, I don't believe it.

You know what, I did religious studies gcse too, but am inclined to think we don't have a bunch of fundamentalist hindus hell bent on converting east dulwich.

[JohnL]

If its being done by children who know no better then I care in the way I care about any grafitti

If its being done on shops owned by particular racial groups then I feel it maybe a bit sinister - the next phase might be smashed windows etc.

Think we all know what this symbol in this context means.

[RosieH]

Louisa Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

The Swastika isnt just a symbol of

> 1930s political unrest in Germany.. when we have crime taxation and

> transport worries then god help us.

>

political unrest? Really?

Yep, those overcrowded train journeys can be a bitch.

[macroban]

Especially to this railway junction.

[dc]

Macroban says it all.

I'm hoping that Louisa is trying to be funny but, sadly, I sort of doubt it.

[Peckhampam]

I hope Louisa is being funny or stupid. If she is trying to be funny it isn't. If she is stupid or ignorant I can recommend some good books for her to read.

[annaj]

Louisa, assuming your post wasn't a tasteless joke, let me answer your question.

I think we all accept that the Nazis were not the first to use the swastika, as had been mentioned several times before your post, but there is also no doubt that in Europe, in recent history, it's major association is with the Nazi party and, since their demise, other neo-nazi organisations.

The systematic killing of six millions people, because of their race, lifestyle or beliefs was a lot more than "political unrest" and to call it such belittles the suffering of millions.

Painting swastikas on street furniture and shops may be a trivial act, it may be a dare, or a rebellion, but if there is even a chance that it is done with meaning or worse still intent, then we as a community have a duty not to ignore it.

Elsewhere on this forum someone has quoted John Donne "no man is an island entire unto himself"

We are all responsible and if we turn a blind eye to seemingly trivial acts of hatred and bury ourselves in our everyday concerns, we are all responsible if those acts become less trivial.

That is why this topic not only warrants, but compels discussion.

Edited to avoid detention with *Bob*

[*Bob*]

Does a refusal to accept the deep significance of a couple of swastikas on a bin lid now mean you're some sort of Holocaust denier?

Luckily for us the Anti-Nazi League are still going.. good luck to them and their single-minded and unstinting opposition to a political party who ceased to be over half a century ago.