4 ms·

there is already a swastika unicode glyph. As for the Confederate Flag, they will probably be confused as, if added to unicode, it would likely be rendered as o

• koito17 9mo ago
  > there is already a swastika unicode glyph It's a Chinese character and there are two variants. The left-hand variant (卍) represents 和 (peace) in religious contexts, whereas the right-hand variant represents 力 (power). The specific glyph the Nazis co-opted is the right-hand variant, and it is considered inappropriate to use in the West (for this reason, I am not reproducing the character here). The glyph appears in texts predating the existence of Nazi Germany, and I assume that is the reason the Unicode Consortium has not removed the glyph yet. Note that I am not defending this decision (nor the usage of the glyph today). One could argue that historians should use a special font that can render these two glyphs, but the problem is likely a lot more subtle than I am thinking. As an aside: the left-hand variant is used in Japanese maps to mark the location of Buddhist temples.
  • api 9mo ago
    You’d be surprised how many people don’t know the Nazis ripped off that symbol.
  • tbrownaw 9mo ago
    > Note that I am not defending this decision (nor the usage of the glyph today). One could argue that historians should use a special font that can render these two glyphs, but the problem is likely a lot more subtle than I am thinking. Having a deliberate policy of granting bad people permanent sole ownership of whatever symbols they use seems less than ideal.