A company named KA Design recently released a "peace swastika." This design is a swastika decorated in rainbow colors, which was plastered onto t-shirts, jackets, and other articles of clothing for sale. The main intention was to bring back the original meaning behind the swastika. It originally symbolized the sun, prosperity, peace, and even good luck. However, more infamously known, it was adopted by Nazi Germany as a symbol of German nationalistic pride prior to World War II. KA Design wanted to take away the negative stigma associated with the swastika and Nazi Germany, and utilize the symbol to represnt peace within the LGBTQ community.

I am a huge supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. I care very much for individuals in this community and invest a lot of time spreading awareness as well as researching ways in which I can contribute to the protection of LGBTQ+ rights. However, as much as I want to show my support for this community, I do not believe that wearing this colorful swastika is respectful nor politically correct. While respecting the future in fighting for progression, we also must respect the past.

The holocaust was responsible for the deaths of millions of innocent people. It was a time of hatred and horror, a time that will never, ever be forgotten. Nor should we try to forget it. Wearing a swastika is a blatant disrespect to the Jewish community. While this symbol was once a display of peace, it is now a pageant of war. War targeted toward a specific group of people, and in trying to change the meaning, we are almost disregarding the abhorrence people, especially Jewish people, endured.

I understand the good intentions people had in creating this improved version of the swastika. However, perhaps we should just crest a new symbol all together to represent peace and respect. In trying to reinvent the symbol to condone respect, we are disrespecting completely the Jewish community when wearing a swastika. There is an association between the swastika and Nazi Germany that cannot be eradicated. Just as when the majority of people see a peace sign and relates it to peace, or the cross to Christianity or Catholicism, the swastika and Nazi Germany are directly related when it comes to association.

The swastika should not be forgetten as part of the Holocaust, for no part of the Holocaust should be forgotten. It is a piece of history that we should respect and learn from in order to stop the occurrences of such events happening now or in the past. Peace and the swastika are now nowhere near related, nor should they ever be. I do not care if one is wearing a swastika bedazzled in pink glitter. I, for one, will never think that you are standing for peace. To me and so many others, that person is proposing his or her support for the hatred of other races other than that of the Ayrian race. Make another sign to show support for equal rights and respect; do not touch a symbol that lies in the hearts of so many as a representation of the hell their ancestors went through.