New York’s Black Brook town council has moved to not rename its jurisdiction of Swastika, arguing that the word’s original Sanskrit definition of well-being trumps the modern view of the word and symbol.
“Swastika was named by the founders of the area who settled there,” Black Brook town supervisor Jon Douglass explained to NPR.
Prior to Adolf Hitler’s co-opting of the clockwise swastika symbol, both the clockwise and counter-clockwise versions of the symbol held positive connotations in several religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism.
Neo-Nazi organizations in the West, like many seen at the infamous “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017, have continued to use the symbol as a representation of white supremacy and anti-Semitism.
Neo-Nazi rally in Frankfort, Ky
However, not everyone who travels through the upstate New York town of Black Brook thinks the same.
Michael Alcamo, a resident of New York City, New York, told NPR that it was “jarring” to come across a brown road sign that included the name “Swastika” during his recent bike trip in the state.
It was Alcamo reaching out to county officials in August that brought about the September 14 vote.
“I didn’t expect a quick, unanimous vote to reject the proposal,” the cyclist told NPR.
“There was concern that due to the Germans and everything that people may have a different outlook on the name,” Douglass explained.
“And some of the residents that were from that area actually fought in World War II and refused to change the name just because Hitler tried to tarnish the meaning of swastika.”
“I think it’s important for our community to bring some closure to this issue,” said councilman Dan Sheldon, who spearheaded the 2019 renaming effort, as reported by the Denver Post. “The community has cried out for this to be changed.”
Sourse: sputniknews.com
