[I still care]

I remember years ago when I was in 1st grade we had a project to draw repeating patterns on a piece of paper.

One of the children drew for his last pattern the form of a swastika. I still remember my teacher, whom I adored, going off the deep end over it.

She made him cut the end of the project off his paper, and gave us all a strong lecture on how it stood for people who did terrible things. She was Jewish, but at the time I didn’t understand. You could see from her face how upset she was.

I didn’t understand what the kid did that was so terrible that he had to cut his project up. In essence it was a good lesson for me. It was the first real awareness I had of PC and how people react to certain things above and beyond.

The lesson obviously struck home because it’s one of most strong first grade memories after all these years.

[thecodont]

I didn’t understand what the kid did that was so terrible that he had to cut his project up. In essence it was a good lesson for me. It was the first real awareness I had of PC and how people react to certain things above and beyond.

Reminds me of the time a kid was reading aloud from a book about seashores, and mispronounced the genus of rockweed/bladderwrack (a variety of seaweed). Severe punishment ensued and the poor kid was so confused...

[April Lexington]

Those wounds were still pretty fresh back in those days. When I see peace signs on kids clothing, I want to cry...

[Daffynition]

And it wasn't always that way. Interesting how strong symbols can be.

Swastika Symbol of Fertility In India, the word symbolized fertility and good fortune and continues in use, today. Originally, the swastika was primarily an ancient solar symbol. According to the book, Signs and Symbols: An Illustrated Guide to Their Meanings and Origins (NY: Barnes and Noble, 1996), the swastika has taken on many other meanings. This symbol is part of the Greek tradition to honor Zeus, Helios, and other deities. For the Celts and Scandanavian people, the swastika represented Thor, the god of air, thunder, and lightening.

Close-up of a book cover published in February 1930 by Pitt L. Fitzgerald, Columbus, Ohio. This is a novel involving Native Americans, and the swastika symbol appears on a number of its pages, sometimes two of them at the top of the page.