Aren’t we being a little too politically correct here?
I can understand how some Jews unfamiliar with the symbol outside the context of their own cultural history might be offended. However, the swastika was a prominent icon in Buddhism and in many ancient civilizations long before Hitler embraced and extended it.
Those Microsoft PR flunkies are just as annoying. For caving in, but also for their spin of American English. (The results and mini-controversy might have been unintentional and unexpected, and there might not have been sufficient review. But, you can’t inadvertently or accidently publish two glyphs that are part of a set unless you were advertently going to exclude them in the first place.)
Comments (4)
Eh, it seems alright. They just released a tool that would remove those icons if you didn't want them. So just don't download and run the tool. ;-p
Posted by Ben | December 15, 2003 3:14 PM
Posted on December 15, 2003 15:14
You know, there are several crosses in Wingdings and undoubtedly several other typefaces; At least two are the Roman Catholic/Protestant cross.
Can I get a tool to remove them?
Forced conversion of indigenous peoples and imperialism—cultural, economic, or other—for centuries, gold-ornamented cathedrals in impoverished communities, the Vatican’s silence during the Holocaust, the shielding of pedophiles … Those are a few things that offend me.
While we’re at it, can we remove the five-pointed star—now co-opted as a symbol U.S. war machine— as well. ;-p
Posted by kaige | December 15, 2003 4:23 PM
Posted on December 15, 2003 16:23
I guess if you get enough people to raise a fuss they'll come out with a tool for that too. ;-)
Posted by Ben | December 15, 2003 5:34 PM
Posted on December 15, 2003 17:34
I liked reading about this rabbi:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/21/fashion/21RABB.html?pagewanted=print&position=
Within the temple, Rabbi Leder is known to be politic, but blunt. A few years ago, on Rosh Hashana, he delivered what some have come to know as the "Who Are We Kidding?" sermon, in which he challenged Jews to stop identifying themselves as victims. "You heard part of the congregation cheering and part of it jeering," recalled David Dinerstein, a president of Paramount Classics, the independent distribution arm of Paramount Pictures. "He's not afraid of controversy.
Posted by yarmulkie | December 20, 2003 12:31 PM
Posted on December 20, 2003 12:31