School district officials prohibit clothing bearing a design similar to that of a Nazi medal.
By Gregory W. Griggs and Lynne Barnes, Times Staff Writers
Simi Valley school officials have instituted a ban on any clothing or jewelry that depicts an Iron Cross, a recognizable symbol of Nazi Germany that is similar to a popular design used by skateboard and clothing manufacturers.
School officials said the ban was prompted by recommendations from the Simi Valley Police Department, which considers the Iron Cross to be a gang symbol. The district's dress code states that "no article of clothing related to a group or gang which may provoke others to acts of violence … shall be worn on campus."
"The wearing of any clothing, jewelry, belts, etc., which contain representations of an Iron Cross, or any image that is likely to be interpreted as an Iron Cross, will no longer be permitted," Don Gaudioso, the school district's director of secondary education, wrote in a letter mailed to 13,000 parents last week. The letter was written in both English and Spanish.
School officials said the primary image being targeted is the Iron Cross, which in recent years has become a popular symbol used by skateboard and clothing manufacturers, such as No Fear and West Coast Choppers. They also plan to prohibit brightly colored work boots or those with brightly colored laces, which are also thought to be favored by white supremacists.
In his letter to parents, Gaudioso stated that "a small but growing number of youth in our city have loosely banded together with the stated purpose of supporting a 'white power/white pride' movement. The actions these youth have been demonstrating have created great friction with other groups."
But in an interview Monday, Gaudioso said the district estimates that no more than a few dozen teenagers in the 22,000-student school district consider themselves part of the "white power/white pride movement."
"I don't want to give the impression that we think this is a large movement going on," he said. "We're trying to be proactive. We really haven't had any problem except for one fight between two boys."
Gaudioso was referring to an altercation that occurred between two Simi Valley High School students — one white, one black — in early January. Since then, he said, administrators at the district's other high school campuses noticed increased tensions between some students and wanted to warn parents that pupils who wear certain clothing or jewelry may inadvertently be considered white-power supporters, which "could possibly lead to unsafe conditions on campus."
Simi Valley Police Sgt. Roy Jones, who works with the department's gang unit and three school resource officers, said there was no reason for parents to be alarmed.
He said the one isolated incident on the Simi High campus started a series of rumors about retaliation from out-of-town gang members that never materialized.
"What happened here was that the parties made a couple of statements that caused this to grow to the point where parents became concerned," Jones said. "I have no fears that there will be widespread racial violence on campus. I have no problems sending my kids to the Simi Valley school district."
School board member Greg Stratton said the district was simply trying to head off any potential problems in taking action on the Iron Cross issue.
"We're just trying to raise some awareness with the parents about what's floating around out there," he said. "Kids are notorious for this, they grab onto symbols. And it's hard to separate the wheat from the chaff if kids … are just wearing it because it's cool."
Jan Britz, principal of the 2,650-student Simi Valley High School, said fewer than 20 kids had been confronted about wearing clothing that might be considered offensive to others. But she said the district's policy is zero tolerance.
"Our primary goal is to keep our schools safe," she said. "Any time you see symbols that are hate symbols in any way … you want to be proactive."
Gennady Shtern, director of the San Fernando Valley-based office of the Anti-Defamation League, which monitors hate activity in the Simi and Conejo valleys, said white supremacists are known to target middle schools and high schools to spread their message of bigotry.
"This has been an ongoing problem, and we commend the Simi Valley school district for taking action on this issue," Shtern said.
Meanwhile, a representative for No Fear, a San Diego County-based clothing manufacturer that features a similar cross on its apparel, issued a statement defending its use. It said the cross used by No Fear was derived from the Maltese Cross, an ancient symbol of protection and honor dating back nine centuries.
"We use it because it is a tough, aggressive graphic. Nothing more, nothing less," according to the company's statement. "It looks cool on a T-shirt or a jacket and kids like it. It in no way is used as a graphic that is affiliated with Nazis or anything else negative."
Erik Casillas, art director for No Fear, said the statement was issued in response to a San Diego school district's decision to impose a similar ban of the company's shirts and hats last year.
Despite such policies, he said that kids would continue to wear what they want. "We discovered that banning something from a kid is like trying to scare ants away from a picnic by spreading sugar on the ground." he said.
Charles Weis, Ventura County superintendent of schools, said he was unaware of any other local districts that have banned the Iron Cross.
He also said there was no evidence to suggest racial tensions were any worse in Simi Valley than elsewhere in the county. But he said that stepped up enforcement of dress-code policies provides another argument in support of school uniforms.
"Whatever dress code schools come up with, people who want to affiliate come up with a way around it," Weis said. "It just seems that we could simplify kids' lives if we said, 'Here's the uniform.' "
Quote: Nazi Swastika with Iron Cross
Symbol Type: New-Nazi Symbol
Traditional Use/ Origins: The Iron Cross(w/o the swastika) was a medal that originated during Napoleonic Wars and becameone of the worlds most easily recognized military decorations
Hate Groups/ Extremist Orginization: Neo-Nazi
Extremist meaning or representation: Demontrates a beleif of National Socialism.
Background History: Adolph Hitler renewed use of the Iron Cross in 1939 and superimposed the Nazi Swastika in its center. Following the fall of the Third Reich, the symbol became strictly prohibited in post-war Germany. Today, the Symbol is often displayed by Neo-Nazi groupd, especially as jewlery.
Aug. 28--A Davis resident, shocked to find clothing with white supremacist symbols at a Target store, triggered a nationwide alert Tuesday by one of the country's largest discount chains.
Target Stores of Minneapolis issued a call to all 1,100 stores nationwide to stop selling clothing printed with "eight eight" and "88" -- code among neo-Nazis for "Heil Hitler" because H is the eighth letter of the alphabet.
Joseph Rodriguez, a video-producer for the University of California, Davis, learned the meaning of the white power code from a documentary on racist rock music.
He was stunned in June when he found the type in the fabric pattern of a pair of red shorts he pulled from a rack at the Elk Grove Target store. [...]
Target officials said they first learned what the symbols meant Monday night when information about Rodriguez's complaints was put on a Web site of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nationwide tracker of racist organizations.
"Nobody knew what it meant," said Carolyn Brookter, director of corporate communications for Target. "We certainly apologize that this was out there. We would not have any white supremacist symbols out selling as merchandise."
But Rodriguez said the Elk Grove manager told him the store sells what it is shipped.
Rodriguez said he then complained to Target's corporate office and was "blown off."
So Rodriguez enlisted the help of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which campaigns against racism and runs an educational Web site, www.tolerance.org.
In addition to removing the clothing from summer clearance racks, Target will conduct a campaign to teach store buyers and advertisers about such symbols, Brookter said.
She said Target is sorry Rodriguez's complaints were not brought to her attention earlier. Customer relations personnel will be alerted about the need to act quickly on such issues, she said.
The baseball caps and shorts were manufactured by UTILITY, one of Target's private labels. Brookter said the store's buyer will look into how the offending type came to be used.
Jennifer Holladay, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's tolerance project, said she was pleased the merchandise was being pulled from Target's shelves.
"We never want neo-Nazi regalia to become part of mainstream fashion," she said. "It can send very dangerous messages. It perhaps gives members of hate groups and neo-Nazi groups in the U.S. an elevated acceptance."
Holladay said people who have bought the clothing could be sending a message to white supremacists that they endorse those beliefs.
After his initial complaint in June, Rodriguez said he returned to the Elk Grove store a couple of weeks ago and found two more pairs of shorts with the symbols in the children's department.
The Elk Grove store did not return The Bee's telephone call, but Sacramento's Target store removed all the merchandise after Rodriguez brought it to their attention in June.
"We're a family-oriented store," said assistant manager Todd Blackwell. "We took them off our shelves. We sent e-mails out to the other stores."
Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, said "88" is common among supremacists in graffiti and is a popular tattoo.
The Anti-Defamation League also has identified 88 as a sign of neo-Nazi groups that is often found on hate group fliers and used in the greetings and closings of letters.
Levin said such symbols often are co-opted by mainstream society, noting that a form of the German Iron Cross is popular among skateboarders and surfers who have no ties to white supremacists. The cross was a German military symbol long before it became closely tied to Hitler and his Third Reich. "A lot of the symbols that white supremacists use are borrowed from mainstream culture, so there is a fair amount of cross-pollination," he said.
But, Levin added, "The terrible thing here is the 88 symbol is a hard-core and highly distinctive neo-Nazi symbol, and for this to be on the shelves is an abomination."
Rodriguez was pleased with Target's response Tuesday, but was sorry that the store didn't act sooner. He hopes Target stores will help teach parents about the dangers of such symbols.
As a chairman with the Hispanic Staff Association at UC Davis, Rodriguez said he and others are planning brown-bag lunch sessions on the hidden signs of racism.
"It's in our home. It's all around us," said Rodriguez.
"It upset me that half a mile down the freeway, there was a store selling merchandise that represents white supremacy groups that want to see me and people of color dead."
I have long argued to people that the Iron Cross is not a Nazi symbol as it predates the Nazis & is actually a medal similar to the likes of the George cross or Purple heart in their respective countries! It is the swastika that is the Nazi symbol & even that has its origins predating the Nazis (the original image was in reverse though and actually was a sybol of peace).
Yeah. The same though can be argued about the swastika.
It's not so much their (innocent)origins so much as it is their not so innocent uses by hate groups that troubles me (as well as law enforcement apparently).
I mean look at "88". I'm sure some kid can argue that he's wearing an 88 shirt cuz he's 16 yrs. old. It doesn't change the fact that it also represents something more insidious and empowering to hate groups. And the meaning of the code itself should be made public to inform parents whose kids may be steeping into that world.
How old is the "88" thing? Sports players use this number. Does it have mainstream meaning, or is it just an inside thing?
And as far as the iron cross and the swastika, it doesn't matter what they meant before the nazis. You can throw that out the window. What the nazis did with those symbols, especially the swastika, that cannot be ignored. It, and possibly they, have become symbols of hate. Forever.
"Well, as it happens, I wrote the damned SOP," Illescue half snarled, "and as of now, you can bar those jackals from any part of this facility until Hell's a hockey rink! Is that perfectly clear?!" - Dr. Franz Illescue - Honor Harrington: At All Costs
"I don't know what I'm do, or how I do, I just do." - Alexander Ovechkin</sub>
and as far as it's origins, I've been looking but so far this is as good as I found so far...
Quote: What does "88!" mean?
88 is a code number representing "HH," as "H" is the eighth letter of the alphabet. HH, in turn, means "Heil Hitler!". I've also heard that "88" used to mean "Hugs and Kisses" when used by ham radio operators; evaluate it within context.
So why not just say "Heil Hitler!"?
Sometimes National Socialists communicate their conviction by using the number 88. It is convenient since other National Socialists will probably know it's meaning, but others won't catch on at all.
Gail Littman, president of Temple Adat Shalom, said she wants the youth of the congregation to know that such incidents are "upsetting" and "concerning, but that we shouldn't be frightened by these acts, and that we are proud to be Jews." She said members of the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization promptly volunteered to clean from the temple the white swastikas, Celtic
crosses, number 88 and such slogans as "Get Out!" and "Back to Israel."
Casuto said the number 8 is used as code for the eighth letter of the alphabet -- H-- and that "88" usually signifies "HH" meaning "heil Hitler." As for the Celtic cross, "it is used by a lot of racist groups- unfortunately--because it is a legitimate religious symbol," Casuto said.
San Diego Police Capt. Fred Moeller declared the vandalism to be a "hate crime" and gave his assurances that "we are going to do whatever we can to hold the perpetrators of this accountable."
Here in L.A., there is a substantial Jewish population and community in the west side of Hollywood. This is the same area that the gay community is centered in. You would think that the jews, being heavily into religion (the Old Testament specifically) would show the same level of intolerance their fundamentalist Christian brothers show. That is not the case. I've read stories on how these 2 communities came together. To summarize it all up though, it has a lot to do with the Jews recognizing the same intolerance, discrimination and hatred they experienced historically, in societys treatment of the homosexual community. So to the Westside jews (not all of them i'm sure but more than enough) there is no difference in Jew-hating and gay bashing.If only the rest of us were so enlightened. Plus if you recall, Jews died alongside gays in those ovens of 60 years ago. The result of one mans bigotry and hatred. And as that old saying went:
First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me--
and there was no one left to speak out for me.
First They Came for the Jews
By Franklin H. Littell
Dr. Franklin H. Littell, a Methodist minister, college professor, Holocaust expert, scholar, and world citizen, is a frequent contributor to Christian Ethics Today.
And I suppose this was one of the reasons I started this thread. Because not only do we live in a culture right now that endorses inequality for homosexuals, but the remnanats of another kind of oppression (or at least it's symbols) is enjoying a resurgance that has been pretty much allowed and encouraged.
Hey, while we're at it, let's ban crucifixes. Why, a saviour was nailed up on one of those! Not to mention a bunch of pigmentally challenged folk like to ignite them to warn people with heavily pigmented skin that they asses gonna get lynched.
And Rainbows, too! They're like giant advertisments for homosexuality in the sky!
I also think that every even number should be outlawed, because they can be used to equal 88.
And, no one should be allowed to have a "rapier wit" any longer, because the word "rape" is spelled out in it. That could offend someone!
Hell, man, let's just blow up the planet, so no one ever gets offended again. That's the only way people will ever stop offending, or co-opting symbols, or being offended about stupid shit they read meanings into.
First National Bastard
-Enormous, Sexually Voracious Lecher... who wants to claim your immortal soul!!!.
Every time you masturbate, God Kills a kitten! Please... think of the Kittens.RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE!!!!!
Thing is- I can’t spell or type. I spell so badly my spell check doesn’t even know what I was trying to spell. And I have five Eisners HAHAHAHHA!!
-Brian Michael Bendis
Just because a hate group co-ops something from another culture, it doesn't mean that thing is a symbol of hate. It's just been bastardized by a group of assholes. If a militant group of racist blacks adopts a picture of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a martyr who must be avenged, does that mean that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is now a symbol of hate? Should we take his picture down in all public places? Rename schools and roads that bear his name? No. We should just take the time to be informed about what the real issue is and not allow ourselves to be manipulated by a small group of nuts.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
I agree it's a free speech issue (symbols = speech). Don't support the racist viewpoint of course, but better to have it in the light than in the shadows.
Cheers!
PS: been gonne for awhile. Hello all.
PSS: To my fellow Liberal and/or Green and/or Progressive posters - Vote Kerry as a first step, and then push for a more progressive agenda. You can make a difference, let's push for change from within & without.
If their sweep of the school only resulted in finding 20 kids wearing Iron Cross clothing (as the opening article admits, probably most were completely unaware of the Nazi/neo-Nazi/"white pride" connotation) then that's really overkill.
I didn't see anything in those articles to indicate they were similarly weeding out symbols of black and Hispanic gangs from student clothing.
I've been a German car enthusiast since I was in high school, and many auto parts stores and German auto dealerships have keychains, t-shirts, bumper stickers and other stuff that have iron crosses. Not a sign of white supremacy or neo-Nazi gang affiliation, just enthusiasm for owning a German-made car.
And yes, the Iron Cross dates back to at least 1813, when the German empire created the Iron Cross medal for acts of courage on the battlefield. If you've seen photos of European royalty dating back to World War I and prior, the royals of many nations wore them as well, not just Germany.
The Maltese Cross (as you often see firemen wear) dates back to at least the Crusades, when soldiers were set on fire with burning oil or flaming arrows during a castle siege, the knights wearing the Maltese Cross were the ones who would save them, put out the flames and treat their wounds. And they wore Maltese Crosses to represent their position to do so.
I think banning the Iron Cross is a slippery slope, that has already been sliding for some time:
I've seen and posted multiple videos like this over the years, this is not new. On Cinco De Mayo and other Mexican nationalist days, several schools in the southwest have banned students from wearing the American flag to school because they assert Mexican kids are offended to see the American flag on "their day". To the point that Mexican kids attack white Americans wearing U.S. flag clothing on "their day".
If that is how they feel about the American flag, on any day, they are absolutely on the wrong side of the border.
Beyond racist/gang affiliations, perhaps these schools should be more concerned about Mexican separatist/nationalists who want to "take back" the U.S. southwest from Mexico. They have chapters and clubs in thousands of high schools and colleges across the Southwest.
Liberals who bemoan discrimination, intolerance, restraint of Constitutional freedoms, and promotion of hatred toward various abberant minorities, have absolutely no problem with discriminating against, being intolerant of, restricting Constitutional freedoms of, and directing hate-filled scapegoat rhetoric against conservatives.
EXACTLY what they accuse Republicans/conservatives of doing, is EXACTLY what liberals/Democrats do themselves, to those who oppose their beliefs.
