US Coast Guard eases measures anti-swastikaand nooses and Confederate flags, saying it would no longer classify them as symbols of hate.
Instead, under new rules that go into effect next month, the Coast Guard will recognize cross symbol According to the Washington Post, this presents Nazi Germany's ideology as “potentially divisive” but not hateful.
The swastika was worn by German soldiers who fought against the United States and its allies in World War II and ran concentration camps in which millions of Jews and other minority groups were killed.
“We don't deserve the nation's trust if we don't understand that the swastika is divisive,” one official who disagrees with the Coast Guard's new position told the Post.
During display Confederate flag remains effectively banned by the Coast Guard, a symbol representing US states that fought to preserve slavery and nooses symbolizing the lynching of blacks will also be classified in a less restrictive manner starting Dec. 15.
Coast Guard does not fall under under the auspices of the Department of Defense, but this far-right political turn reflects the vision that Secretary of War and former Fox News host Pete Hegseth has proposed for the nation's military.
Former Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan, the first woman to lead a U.S. military branch, was relieved of duty when President Trump took office in January. Fagan was criticized According to CBS News, for its “overemphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion policies, including at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.”
The Pentagon did eradicating DEI in the Army is a priority since Trump nominated Hegseth to lead the Defense Department.
“For too long we have promoted too many leaders in uniform for the wrong reasons, based on their race, gender quotas, historical so-called firsts.” Hegseth said at a September meeting of military leadership in Virginia.
Coast Guard officials did not comment to the Post.
