Oh! This isn't good. A correspondent for Gowanus Lounge (the former online home of late, great blogger Robert Guskind) has stumbled upon an interesting sartorial controversy at the Bejeweled Boutique in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint 'hood: accessories shaped similarly to the infamous symbol of Hitler's Nazi Party. Scary, huh?
Well, turns out, not so much. First off, this "broken cross" needs to be turned the other way to represent the Third Reich. Secondly, during their encounter in the shop, the Gowanus Lounge reporter couldn't confirm if the accessories were of the anti-semitic variety or not. But a call placed to Bejeweled Boutique this morning verified that the earrings in the store are indeed inverted versions that the store sells for their Buddhist and Hindu customers – it is a holy symbol in both religions. In fact, the clerk was herself unaware of just how negatively most Americans (no matter their faith) view the swastika. She went on to note that – while they're sold out of the earrings in question – the boutique also sells crosses and other religious symbols (no word on the Star of David). So, unfortunate cultural collision? Probably. "Nazi Chic"? Definitely not. (Gowanus Lounge)
Image: Courtesy Gowanus Lounge.