- This topic has 3 voices and 1 reply.
-
Posts
-
I have been curious about this for some time. Growing up I learned in geography that 'this is the soviet union here is their flag' with the yellow hammer/sickle over a red background, and that was that. Nowadays some forums it seems that it's frowned upon and even here the symbol for this very message board looks like a rotated hammer/sickle and I am curious as to why. I don't mean this as a sarcastic question and I know that maybe it promotes communism and so that may be why but how come it seems to me that the use of this symbol is frowned upon? I looked it up on wikipedia (not the best source but if you have any better please share!) and they talk about its past and use for some political parties around the world today. For the use of the swastika symbol they talk about how it is criminal in certain countries and revered in others for a long time before nazism and sometimes I see the eagle used instead to represent it in books/film, possibly so as not to make it illegal in those countries.
Which symbol for this board looks like an upside down Hammer and Sickle?The hammer and sickle was chosen by the Bolsheviks because they represented the strength and were sympols of the proletarian factory and agricultural workers that were the source of support for the revolution. They have since been coopted and used as symbols of communist oppression. That is probably the source of the disdain with which they are held when used as symbols.A similar story can be said about the swastika, it was and is a pagan sun-symbol but its use by the Nazis has tarnished its image as well.
Scout, I think garbanzo is referring to the board image which shows up when there's a new post in the board. I used it here because I thought placing it next to the Stars and Stripes symbolized the power clash between the two main global powers of the Cold War.My fleeting knowledge coincides with what Scout said - that the hammer and sickle suggested the activities of the working class, which the communists were supposedly standing up for. In themselves these symbols are not bad, but superimposed on one another in yellow on a red background symbolizes Soviet oppression. Scout mentioned the swastika - it was also used as a decoration in Chinese residences, going back I believe hundreds of years. So you can see how signs in particular contexts can take on take on specific, strong meanings.
