'Symbol of anti-Semitism': there is a city of Swastika in New York, and they do not want to rename it

The New Yorker proposed to rename the city as Swastika. In his opinion, this name symbolizes intolerance, hatred and tyranny. However, the Swastika authorities explained in their own way why this name should be left. The edition writes about it NPR.

Michael Alcamo lives in New York City, but enjoys cycling through the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York, with their tiny towns, villages and historic cemeteries.

During one of these trips this summer, in one of the remote areas, a tourist noticed a small brown sign with the words "Swastika" (English Swastika).

Alcamo found the title unsettling.

“The effect was just shaky and deep, I thought it was disrespectful,” he said. Especially considering the fact that there are graves of World War II veterans nearby.

While symbols and place names that hint at white supremacy are widely discussed and condemned throughout the United States, Alcamo decided to draw the attention of the Swastika authorities to the problem with their name. Soon he was instructed to email the authorities of the city of Black Brook, which has about 1500 residents, since its jurisdiction extends to the Swastika.

The Black Brook authorities agreed to include discussions on renaming the Swastika city on the agenda. The meeting took place on September 14, and after five minutes of discussion, four city councilors voted unanimously against the renaming.

“The swastika was the name given to the founders of the area, who first settled there,” said Jon Douglass, the head of Black Brook who was at the meeting without the right to vote.

Douglas noted that the name of the city originated long before World War II and is derived from the Sanskrit word for well-being. The four-sided geometric symbol representing the swastika has been used for thousands of years in Hindu religions and was seen as a symbol of good luck.

The significance of the swastika was overshadowed in the 1930s with the rise to power in Germany of Adolf Hitler, who co-opted the figure as a symbol of Nazism and anti-Semitism.

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Douglas says this is not the first time the city's name has been scrutinized. However, the locals, participants in World War II, refused to change the name just because Hitler was trying to tarnish the meaning of the swastika.

Therefore, despite the widespread use of the swastika as a symbol of hatred and white supremacy today, the council saw no reason to change the name of the city.

The cyclist who requested the Swastika to be renamed was disappointed with the city's reaction.

“I didn’t expect my proposal to be rejected so quickly and unanimously,” he admitted.

Social media users also reacted negatively to the New Yorker proposal. In particular, they did not like him trying to interfere in the affairs of the town.

Alcamo says he just wants as many people as possible to see the Adirondack Mountains and enjoy their natural beauty. And, in his opinion, the atmosphere of this place contradicts the current meaning of the swastika.