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Trump Insists Clearly Edited Pic of Abrego Garcia's Tats is Real in Testy Interview
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this post was submitted on 30 Apr 2025
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These ones are real, though:
Can someone explain these to me? They seem like Neo Nazi tattoos.
That's US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and they are.
okay then, let’s stop short and say they’re neo nazi dog whistles then
Maybe he just really likes ‘crusader kings V’?
that is both possible, and doesn’t invalidate that it’s also a nazi dog whistle
that’s what ya get for using dog whistles constantly
Oh sick! I too can put together a technically correct wall of text justifying a symbol ruined by fascism that has no initial fascist roots:
The Hindu swastika, known in Sanskrit as svastika (स्वस्तिक), is an ancient and sacred symbol that predates many modern religions and is deeply woven into the spiritual and cultural fabric of Hinduism. Etymologically, svastika is derived from the root "su" (meaning "good" or "well") and "asti" ("to be"), together forming a word that can be interpreted as "that which is associated with well-being" or simply "auspicious." The swastika has been used in the Indian subcontinent for over 5,000 years, with archaeological examples appearing as early as the Indus Valley Civilization (c. 2500 BCE), long before its appropriation in modern history.
In Hinduism, the swastika is a symbol of auspiciousness, prosperity, and good fortune. It represents the eternal nature of Brahman, the ultimate reality or universal soul in Hindu thought, and the cyclical nature of life, death, and rebirth (samsara). The symbol is deeply connected to cosmic order (ṛta) and balance. It is often drawn during rituals, festivals, and on temple entrances, doorways, and sacred objects to invoke divine blessings and protect against negative influences. It is also a common sight in Hindu weddings, religious ceremonies, and housewarmings, where it sanctifies the space and denotes sacred intent.
Understanding the Hindu swastika requires acknowledging it as one of the world's oldest sacred symbols, one that has long represented cosmic harmony, divine presence, and the pursuit of spiritual well-being. To reduce it solely to its modern misappropriation is to obscure millennia of profound spiritual meaning, making it essential to distinguish and respect its original, deeply rooted cultural context.
Now let's all go tattoo swastikas on our bodies; you go first!
Weird, seems to me most people in this thread saw it and said "oh hey, isn't that a Nazi symbol?" so I'll have to agree to disagree on that one, coach.
Not to mention, the context here is also not being plastered on someone known for their devout Christianity or obsession with history or historic symbology.
You don't know what army patches and slogans are, but you think it's a lie lol wow
They're not necessarily all "Neo-Nazi," but they're definitely Neo-Nazi adjacent.
And a swastika represents "good fortune" and "well-being" in Hindu and other Indian cultures, concepts I would support, but I still wouldn't get it tattooed on my body because of it's other meanings.
If this guy is ignorant of the more recent meanings, that is just as troubling as if he knew their modern interpretations. If someone had elaborate Nazi imagery all over their body, and they were truly ignorant of the meanings, I would not think that they possessed the intelligence and judgement to supervise any people or projects.
Whether he knew about it or not, it's a problem, and this guy is in charge of the Pentagon.
There is nothing wrong with categorizing symbols that are used for white supremacy and ethnic cleansing crusades as being "Nazi".
You don't need to be a German soldier in the 1930s to be a Nazi. These types of "technically" corrections are not helpful and just play into doubt for people that don't understand history. Like yourself apparently.
Modern day Nazis aren't tattooing swastikas. They're running our businesses and our country.
if facts mattered we wouldnt be in this whole situation to begin with.
You are the one not understanding the history. You are adding doubt to symbols of white supremacy. You are pointing to the Christian equivalent of an ISIS flag and telling us it's not "neo Nazi".
Guy just comes over from reddit, uses reddit in his username, and proceeds to explain how the obviously nazi tattoos on the US Secretary of Defence are maybe not obviously nazi tattoos ....
If you read you've probably heard about a little something called "Occam's razor".
What's the most probable answer, that a far right news host from a far right news channel is sporting his tattoos as a symbol of his love of history and the holy land, or that he's sporting them because he's a fucking nazi.
Nobody is denying your "history" of the symbol. We're all well aware of the "larger story". But it's irrelevant because there's an approximate 99.99999% probability that the guy who doesn't understand the wider history of the cross is the guy that's fucking wearing them.
You can write a thousand paragraphs "teaching people" all you want, but it's totally irrelevant in this situation and you are only doing it in order to obfuscate the issue with meaningless nonsense.
To me, this is equally as bad as Nazi symbology
They seem that way because they are that way.
They are, he is an extremist Christian. These are all used as dog whistles by Neo Nazi.
https://www.npr.org/2024/11/14/nx-s1-5191413/peter-hegseths-tattoos-are-raising-some-eyebrows
"Ne desit virtus" is the slogan of the 187 infantry regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. It means "Let Valor Not Fail". That image above that slogan is the unit patch.
We infantry dudes usually have tattoos like this, nothing "Nazi" or "Fascist" about it.
However, as an enlisted grunt, the infantry officers, like Major Hegseth, are a different breed.
Cool. Now explain "deus vult" and the Jerusalem Cross in the context of their modern usage in North America.
It's Latin for "God wills it" lol used in the first crusades.
Hegseth is Christian. What do you expect? He himself said he's a devoted Christian. Even attend Jimmy Carter's funeral in a church with those same crosses.
I'm aware of the far right uses of the cross and some of the phrases.
Other than the book he wrote about the crusades, none of these posters have provided any proof that he's a fascist Nazi.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_vult
It's very suspicious. I wouldn't say it's incriminating evidence, but I would call it supporting if there were other fasc-y things about the individual.
Which there sure as fuck are.
But I dunno. The guy is either wearing a white-supremacist dog whistle, or he is super into the crusades (which famously went very well /s) which should disqualify him from leading the military either way.
I'm not a big Hegseth fan, I just want to make sure no one is talking shit about his army unit tattoo. Or misidentifying his army unit tat as a neo Nazi symbol. Cause there's been a few of those already. I know that's the least of everyone's worries, and I can understand the accusations with the cross, cause every grunt I know has some kind of military tribute type tattoo.
People have died wearing that patch and shouldn't be categorized as a "neo Nazi symbol".
I know the cross has been the main focus, but like you said, he's either a devout Christian history buff or he's just a plain fascist.
Give me a fucking break. Do you carry water for all facists or just him?
He is a corporate hack from Fox News. This is literally the textbook definition of facism. As far as the Neo Nazi bit, I think the Iron Cross covers it for me.