White Man's Burden

An article that I read earlier today inspired me to write about with a bit more depth then my usual facebook posts. The story concerned a jewelry store in Brooklyn that is selling earrings in the shape of the swastika symbol, and the ensuing controversy. The Jeweler explained that the earrings are imported from India, and have nothing to do with Nazi ideology. That explanation did not satisfy Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, who demanded that the store remove the offending item. Stringer had this to say:

Let me be clear--a swastika is not a fashion statement. It is the most hateful symbol in our culture and an insult to any civilized person."

I will certainly concede thatthe Nazis took a venerable religious symbol of an ancient culture(s), and perverted it for their own purposes. But, only for a grand total of 12 years. Does it seem reasonable to only view the symbol through that lens?

Because, I seriously doubt that the swastika conjures up the same connotations, for people of Indian ethnicity (both the country of India, as well as Native Americans), that it does for westerners. The Jewish Holocaust was an example of Europeans murdering other Europeans within the context of a world war. A war that inevitably effected the people of the lesser-developed world, but one in which they were largely relegated to "off-screen" roles. It was a war fought largely between first world nations, that had the unintended effect of ultimately liberating the third world.

As strange as it may sound, Adolph Hitler may well have accomplished something that Ghandi was unable to do. Namely, break the British grip on India. By 1947, the year that India achieved Independence, the British Empire was entering it's death throes. Great Britain was left exhausted, and bankrupt, by the war. There was neither money, nor popular will, enough remaining to put into the effort of holding onto the "Crown Jewel", as India was called by British imperialists.

Also important to keep in mind is the example of the Japanese who, although ultimately defeated, conclusively demonstrated that the white man was not invincible. During the early stages of the Pacific War, the Japanese ran amok conquering Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, and a whole host of other places ruled by white imperialists. There would be turning back the clock after that, as was demonstrated in the jungles of Vietnam during the postwar years.

To conclude, while we in the developed western world view the Holocaust, and Nazi Germany, as the ultimate expression of evil here on earth, not everyone on the planet necessarily shares that viewpoint. In fact, for the many millions toiling under the British, French, and Belgium thumb, the Germans may very well have been looked upon as the good guys. Because, after all, Germany attacked, and in some instances conquered, the countries that enslaved them. And, in the process, paved the way for their ultimate liberation.