Has anyone else seen this rather odd Microsoft "critical" update ?



I'm guessing someone objected to the swastika...

Looking at the font it seems to have been an honest mistake, but the Senior VP still offered profuse apologies. Considering the various laws in Germany regarding Nazi symbols it probably wasn't a good idea to use them, even if the font has various religious symbols in it:



Probably been posted before, but the swastika pops up everywhere:



Gareth

Isn't there a Japaneese character that is the shape of a swastika? I seem to remember some people getting in an uproar a few years ago because they found one on a Japaneese market Pokemon card.

Isn't there a Japaneese character that is the shape of a swastika?

No, there isn't. There is however a symbol that was used by the Nazi party that resembled a symbol used in relation to Shinto shrines in Japan. Generally marks their location on maps.

I think you're referring to the fact that the Swastika was originally an adapation/modification of a much older symbol. I forget which symbol from which culture, but I don't think it was a Japanese character.

The Swastika is a Buddhist symbol and they still use it. I think the Hindu and Daoists may use it too, you see it everywhere in Asia. The Nazis always bent it in the direction of an 'S', so the Buddhists are careful to always bend it the other way now.

That Microsoft font is bent the Nazi way...

ok, that makes sense.

The Swastika was also commonly used by native Americans, it seems to pop up in several different cultures.

It was also used by the ancient egyptians as a symbol of fertility (supposedly a spinning wheel to represent the passing of the four seasons). The only difference was that the lines were reversed. The line at the top pointed to the left, rather than the right. Still, the same symbol.

i think its a very cool symbol
i wish hitler hadnt [censored] it up

Ah yes, here we go.

I agree. It is rather cool-looking. It's a shame what it is now associated with was so evil. This stuff happens to names, too. Ever heard anyone called Judas? (Other than bands that are using the name on purpose?)

I think the Hindu and Daoists may use it too, you see it everywhere in Asia.

Yep, it's all over India, too -- painted on nearly every large truck, many cabs and auto-rickshaws.

The Swastika is a Buddhist symbol and they still use it. I think the Hindu and Daoists may use it too, you see it everywhere in Asia.

Yes. And as a result, the Finnish Air Force ended up using it (but tilted 45 degrees) during WWII - totally independently of Hitler. Field Marshall Mannerheim, the Finnish supreme commander during the war, travelled a lot in Asia in the 20's. But people are usually a bit surprised to see pictures of British-made Hurricanes and Blenheims and US-made Brewsters with swastikas on them.

I'm guessing someone objected to the swastika...

What's even odder, under the circumstances, is that they took out the Star of David at the same time.

Peter

What if I am typing a paper on nazi symbolism, or if I am dealing with Buddhism, or what not... This is not political correctness, this is nonsense, so absolutely naive and meaningless.

Sorry if I sound harsh.

In India, the swastika is an auspicious mark - worn as jewelry or marked on objects as a symbol of good luck. The symbol, though, is extremely ancient and predates Hinduism. The Hindus associated it with the sun and wheel of birth and rebirth. It is an emblem of the Hindu god Vishnu, one of the supreme Hindu deities.....

No. I think you sound perfectly logical.

I imagine that the problem lies in the fact that displaying the swastika is illegal in Germany. I don't know if that means in public or not.