[extropy-chat] triskele

[Damien Broderick]

>>>http://www.prometheism.net/
>>
>>Gotta love that dinky curvy swastika emblem, too.
>
>Yea... great isn't it? Except, of course, that it's not a Swastika but a 
>stylised triskele.

In a world where South African racists notoriously used it as their symbol, 
it's the ambiguity that concerns me; a disturbing choice, given all the 
other iconography available in the world. See, for example:

http://www.adl.org/hate_symbols/neo-nazi_three_sevens.asp

Symbol Type

Neo-Nazi Symbol
Skinhead Symbol
Symbol Description: Three "sevens" (or "curved" sevens) spiraling from a 
common center.
Also Known As

Triskelion, Three-Bladed Swastika, "Flowering Power"

Traditional Use/Origins

The triskele is an ancient symbol used widely in pre-Christian Europe. One 
version of the triskele, with three human legs, has been used in the coat 
of arms for the Isle of Man and the Kingdom of Naples. An abstracted 
triskele appears on the seal of the United States Department of 
Transportation. The version of the triskele that looks like three linked 
sevens has a high degree of association with white supremacy, but other 
versions do not and are most often used in a non-racist context. They may 
frequently be seen in Celtic jewelry, artwork, and in other similar contexts.
...
Extremist Meaning or Representation

White supremacy; association with the swastika and Nazi Germany.
Background/History

Essentially a variation on the swastika, and popular for that reason, the 
triskele was a symbol occasionally used by the Nazi regime, most notably as 
the insignia for a Waffen SS division composed of Belgian volunteers. After 
World War II, the "Three Sevens" version of the triskele was popularized by 
white supremacists in Europe and South Africa. One South African group, the 
AWB (Afrikaner Resistance Movement), used it as its flag, claiming that the 
three sevens symbolized supremacy over the devil (frequently represented by 
"666"). The symbol is also used as part of the logo of the international 
racist skinhead group, Blood & Honour.