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Trump’s Pick to Lead U.S. Military Has Tattoos Linked to White Supremacists and Nazis (www.democracynow.org)

submitted 3 days ago by Five@slrpnk.net to c/usa@midwest.social

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[–] horse_battery_staple@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

It's been coopted by the far right for a while now. Pete is not a Polish Babushka, the symbol has a different meaning to him.

https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/

Edit:

there’s specific reference to the Jerusalem Cross here. https://www.mccaininstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/white-supremacy-and-anti-government-groups-read-ahead-materials.pdf The Adl link is to look up other terms in general

White supremacist anti-Muslim narratives generally refer to Islam as an invading force that isn't just incompatible with Western society, but is also an active threat to Western society and cultural norms. In this context, white supremacists have used Crusader-themed imagery and rhetoric, like the Jerusalem Cross, the Knights Templar and "Deus Vult," as dog whistles to promote anti-Muslim hate

[–] Hoimo@ani.social 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

There's a version of the Jerusalem Cross used by Episcopalian service members, according to Wikipedia. I'm not American, so I don't know the exact connotation of the symbol on that side of the pond, it could still be harmless. As an outsider, I'd associate it with the crusades (or the country of Georgia), but it doesn't have to be intended that way.

Now, the fact that he's a Trump appointee automatically makes him suspect, of course, but it's less like "He has a Nazi tattoo, therefore Trump appointed a Nazi" and more "Trump appoints Nazis, therefore the tattoo is a Nazi tattoo".

[–] horse_battery_staple@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

It's a symbol that's been coopted by hate groups. I understand the reticence to call it a hate symbol as it can be used by people in a different cultural context. The far right took Celtic runes and the Celtic cross from me and my people and turned them into symbols of hate. They've done it with Norse runes as well. It's what they do, the swastika was originally a symbol of peace and trust.

So yes context matters. Trump appoints alt right nut jobs who twist the meaning of cultural symbols so that they can spread a message of hate. This is what I am upset about, and likely others are as well.

[–] nelly_man@lemmy.world 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Were you linking to a specific entry in their database? The link took me to the database as a whole, and I couldn't find any mention of the Jerusalem Cross when searching it.

When searching elsewhere, I see similar results as the above commenter. There's mostly discussions of its Christian meaning and some reddit posts that argue that it's a symbol of hate due to its association with the crusades.

However, there was a different post from somebody who got a tattoo of it and was worried when people said it gave them Nazi-ish vibes. The commenters on the post assured him that it's not a white supremacist symbol, but it was probably reminding people of the Iron Cross.

[–] horse_battery_staple@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Hey sorry yeah, there's specific reference to the Jerusalem Cross here. The Adl link is to look up other terms in general

White nationalist rhetoric moves quickly https://www.mccaininstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/white-supremacy-and-anti-government-groups-read-ahead-materials.pdf

Edit: corrected the link

[–] nelly_man@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

White supremacist anti-Muslim narratives generally refer to Islam as an invading force that isn't just incompatible with Western society but is also an active threat to Western society and cultural norms. In this context, white supremacists have used Crusader-themed imagery and rhetoric, like the Jerusalem Cross, the Knights Templar and "Deus Vult," as dog whistles to promote anti-Muslim hate.

Ah yes, there it is. That does seem to correlate with one of the reddit posts that I saw, but they didn't seem to agree that this symbol had been adopted by contemporary hate groups. They merely indicated that it is controversial due to its association with the crusades. However, that lack of understanding outside of hate groups is the point of using these historical symbols as dog-whistles.

[–] horse_battery_staple@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Yes this is how dog-whistles work. If you want more context you can check out what the SPLC and Unicorn Riot have been up to

https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2024/08/19/we-will-fight-soldier-waging-war-against-america-fort-liberty

There's also a network of folk in WP and Nationalist discords and truth social etc. that are collecting and reporting metadata to the authorities. Which is difficult as the FBI often do nothing unless there's CSAM or other pedo shit going on.