Panel discussion looks at symbols
Depending upon who you talk to, the Swastika has different meanings.
For Detroit junior Carly Wilson, the ancient character has a history of painful memories.
"When you've been hurt or when things hurt someone you know, you can't forget. The memory may not be completely wiped out," Wilson said.
The symbol, popularly associated with the Nazi movement, anti-Semitism, death and hate, was at one time used in many cultures around the world as a sign of life, sun, power, strength and good luck.
The connotations of symbols, including the Confederate flag, were discussed Monday in the Bovee University Center Lake St. Clair room by a four-person panel. The event was organized by Students Against Discrimination.
Auburn Hills senior and president of SAD Tamika Watson wants people to understand both the negative and positive connotations that go along with the symbols and also to give an objective view of both sides.
"I want people to know about the background of these symbols and ask questions about other symbols represented across the country," Watson said. "These symbols along with others used as hate signs by extremists groups still exist and that wasn't always their meaning."
The panel first discussed the question of what the Swastika mean to them, and Highland Park senior Bryant Mays said understanding its background brings things into perspective for him.
"I am an optimist and I try to look at it positively," he said about the symbol.
Wilson said to her, the symbol represents oppression, though it was not always bad, because that is the only reference she has, she said.
History professor Stephen Jones said he grew up aware of the association of the Swastika with Germany.
"It is an incredible lesson on how a symbol can be taken by whoever wants to take it, and if they're successful, they can change thousands of years of history. It is very hard now to see the positive," Jones said.
The second discussion of the Confederate flag began with the question of what the flag means to each person on a personal level.
Mays has family in the southern United States and he said his culture and heritage will always be there.
"I'm always going to have to be (immersed) in this culture and I think it is a concern," he said of the Confederate flag and association with Southern culture.
Jones said the North won the Civil War and the South won peace.
"Yet, the flag is still going to be a source of antagonism," he said.
Grosse Pointe senior Lisa Schaska, who attended the event, said it is helpful to understand the multiple meanings.
"I'm from Albania and because I didn't know about the symbols of both, I now have opinions and I will think more deeply now. This is helpful to know both sides," Schaska said.
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