Swastikas at J.C. Penney

On a recent day trip to Buffalo, NY, my mother bought some clothing for my sister, Debra. While shopping at J. C. Penney, she picked up a few skirts and tops. You know, just your average summer prints, and flowery designs – perfect couture for the season. Upon returning home, the purchases were being re-examined by my sister for the umpteenth time whereupon a great howl was raised. You see, there were swastikas all over the skirt. In fact, the image you see above is a photo of the item in question.

"I was appalled", Debra recalls.

The question running through everyone’s mind was ‘Why would J.C. Penney sell Nazi paraphernalia?’. Well, they weren’t. Upon a closer inspection, I noted that the skirt had been made in India. While the Nazis had conscripted the swastika symbol into infamy through their usage of it, the symbol itself had been representative of peace in countless countries prior to that – in fact, it dates back to as early as 1000 BCE! According to the link provided, the symbol even predates the Ankh. In fact, it contained positive connotations right up until the Nazis hijacked it. An American air force division even used it on their shoulder patches during WWI.

Some argue that depending on the position the swastika is in, that determines its meaning. A clockwise angle means hate, while counter-clockwise denotes peace. This is false. For over 3000 years, any position meant peace. Now either variance is commonly associated with hatred and death; the only victory the Nazis can claim. Buddhists and Hindus continue to wear it as a sign of peace, but this unfortunately leads to many misunderstandings in the West.

So, what became of the swastika skirt that came into my sister’s possession? Well, on a recent trip to Virginia (,which has been well documented on this site), my mother returned to a J.C. Penney location in order to return the skirt. The cashier was an incredibly apologetic young man who was arguably more shocked than we were upon seeing the swastika plastered across the fabric. He insisted upon sending the skirt to ‘defective merchandising’ rather than back to the shelf, and informed my mother that he would pen a short letter to J.C. Penney administration, outlining the problem.

And there you have it; the tale of the American swastika.

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