Okay, & apologies to the demure, but this deserves unbridled cursing;
Holy mother fucking shit are you fucking shitting me?!?!?!!!?
#US #CoastGuard will no longer classify #swastikas, #nooses, #ConfederateFlags as #hate symbols
The #military service, which falls under the #DHS, has drafted a new policy that classifies such items “potentially divisive.”
#law #Trump #WhiteSupremacy #racism #antisemitism #HateCrimes #HateSpeech
The #USCG will no longer classify the #swastika, an emblem of #fascism & #WhiteSupremacy inextricably linked to the murder of millions of #Jews & that more than 400k US #troops died fighting against in #WWII, as a #hate symbol, acc/to a new policy that takes effect next month.
Instead, the #CoastGuard will classify the #Nazi-era insignia as “potentially divisive” under its new guidelines.
The new policy, set to take effect Dec. 15, similarly downgrades the definition of #nooses & the #ConfederateFlag, though display of the latter remains banned, acc/to documents reviewed by WaPo.
Certain historic displays or artwork where the Confederate flag is a minor element are still permissible, acc/to the policy.
#law #Trump #WhiteSupremacy #racism #antisemitism #swastika #HateCrimes #HateSpeech
Though the #USCG is not part of the #Defense Dept, the service has been reworking its policies to align with the #Trump admin’s changing tolerances for hazing & harassment within the #US #military. In Sept Defense Sec #PeteHegseth directed a review & overhaul of those policies, calling the military’s existing standards “overly broad” & saying they jeopardize US troops’ combat readiness.
#law #WhiteSupremacy #racism #antisemitism #swastika #nooses #ConfederateFlag #HateCrimes #HateSpeech
A #CoastGuard official who had seen the new wording called the policy changes chilling.
“We don’t deserve the trust of the nation if we’re unclear about the divisiveness of #swastikas,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to a fear of #retribution.
#law #Trump #WhiteSupremacy #racism #antisemitism #swastika #nooses #ConfederateFlag #HateCrimes #HateSpeech
…The new guidance says that if a “potentially divisive” symbol is reported, supervisors should inquire about it. After consulting their legal office they may order the symbol’s removal but there’s no further guidance requiring that it be taken down.
The new #USCG policy also limits the amount of time that service members have to formally report the display of a #noose or #swastika — which could be enormously problematic for personnel at sea.
Like the Navy, #USCG members can be deployed for months at a time. The new policy gives them 45 days to report an incident whereas the previous policy did not have a deadline other than to advise that #CoastGuard members who see a potential #hate incident “should immediately report it to a member higher in their chain of command.”
#law #Trump #WhiteSupremacy #racism #antisemitism #swastika #nooses #ConfederateFlag #HateCrimes #HateSpeech
That 45-day deadline will have a chilling effect, said the #USCG official who had seen the new policy.
“If you are at sea, & your shipmate has a swastika in their rack, & you are a #Black person or #Jew, & you are going to be stuck at sea with them for the next 60 days, are you going to feel safe reporting that up your chain of command?” this #CoastGuard official said.
#law #Trump #WhiteSupremacy #racism #antisemitism #swastika #nooses #ConfederateFlag #HateCrimes #HateSpeech
Previous guidance put in place in 2019 said #USCG commanders could order #swastikas, #nooses or other symbols to be removed even if it was determined the display did not rise to the level of a #hate incident. That policy was enacted months after a #CoastGuard officer, Lt Christopher Hasson, was charged with plotting a large-scale attack on Democratic lawmakers, including then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
#law #Trump #WhiteSupremacy #racism #antisemitism #ConfederateFlag #HateCrimes #HateSpeech
In securing his conviction, prosecutors cited evidence in his case showing Hasson to be an avowed #WhiteNationalist.
Over the past several years each of the other #military services has reworked their policies on #extremism within the ranks. That was a response, directed by the #Biden admin, to the #Jan6, 2021, #insurrection perpetrated by #Trump supporters angry he lost the election.
#law #WhiteSupremacy #racism #antisemitism #swastika #nooses #ConfederateFlag #HateCrimes #HateSpeech
Hundreds of #military vets were implicated in the #Jan6 #insurrection, & subsequent law enforcement investigations found numerous ties between those veterans & #extremist groups such as the #ProudBoys [who specifically recruit Fmr military & law enforcement for their combat training]. Those convicted of #crimes associated with their participation in the insurgency were pardoned by #Trump shortly after he took office this year.
#law #WhiteSupremacy #racism #antisemitism #HateCrimes #HateSpeech
The changes to the #swastika & #noose classification were part of a broader effort by the #USCG to remove the “concept” of #hate incidents from its regulations [ ala if you don’t test for COVID, then you won’t have so many reports of infection].
#law #Trump #WhiteSupremacy #racism #antisemitism #swastika #nooses #ConfederateFlag #HateCrimes #HateSpeech
https://media.defense.gov/2025/nov/14/2003820615/-1/-1/0/CI_5350_6A.pdf
“Conduct previously handled as a potential hate incident, including those involving symbols widely identified with oppression or hatred, is processed as a report of harassment,” the #USCG said in its new policy, which was recently published online. “The terminology ‘hate incident’ is no longer present in policy.”
https://media.defense.gov/2025/nov/14/2003820615/-1/-1/0/CI_5350_6A.pdf
#law #Trump #WhiteSupremacy #racism #antisemitism #swastika #nooses #ConfederateFlag #HateCrimes #HateSpeech
Each of the #military services is also reviewing its “harassment” policies in response to #Hegseth’s directive, though unlike with the #USCG, any wording specific to #swastikas would likely appear in their separate #extremism guidelines [we’ll see]. It does not appear there is wording addressing swastikas specifically within those current policy documents.
#law #Trump #WhiteSupremacy #racism #antisemitism #swastika #nooses #ConfederateFlag #HateCrimes #HateSpeech
In 2007 two incidents involving #nooses within the #USCG drew national attention. That summer, a #Black cadet at the service’s officer training academy found a noose in his sea bag while aboard a #CoastGuard vessel. The next month an instructor discussing #race relations in response to the first incident reported a #noose was left in her office.
#law #Trump #WhiteSupremacy #racism #antisemitism #swastika #ConfederateFlag #HateCrimes #HateSpeech
#Journalism matters
#USCG reverses course on policy to call #swastikas & #nooses 'potentially divisive'
The late-night change came the same day media outlets, led by WaPo, discovered that the #CoastGuard had written a policy…that called those same symbols “potentially divisive.” The term was a shift from a years-long policy…that said symbols like swastikas & nooses were “widely identified with oppression or hatred” & called their display “a potential #hate incident.”
The U.S. Coast Guard has released a new, firmer policy addressing the display of hate symbols like swastikas and nooses just hours after it was publicly revealed that it made plans to describe them as “potentially divisive” — a term that prompted outcry from lawmakers and advocates. The latest Coast Guard policy, released late Thursday, declared, “Divisive or hate symbols and flags are prohibited.” It added that this category included “a noose, a swastika, and any symbols or flags co-opted or adopted by hate-based groups.” The late-night chnage also unequivocally banned the display of any divisive or hate symbols from all Coast Guard locations.
The latest policy that was rolled out late Thursday night also unequivocally banned the display of any divisive or #hate symbols from all #USCG locations. The earlier version stopped short of banning the symbols, instead saying that commanders could take steps to remove them from public view & that the rule did not apply to private spaces outside of public view, such as family housing.
#law #Trump #WhiteSupremacy #racism #antisemitism #swastikas #nooses #ConfederateFlag #HateCrimes #HateSpeech
Nonilex