Yes, I agree that re-examination of one's language is generally a good idea, and should be an ongoing project, as words gain and lose meaning and nuance (which happens whether one personally approves or not).
Courtesy was of course the motive for taking the symbol from maps, and I of course understand it, especially in the Westerner-facing, customer-service context of tourism. (As far as I am aware there has been no move to remove it from temples themselves.) I do feel more ambivalent about this than you, though. It seems to grant a posthumous power to the Nazis, to decide that their use of the symbol trumps that of two major world religions (mostly followed by non-white people) which have been using it for millennia, and I'm loath to cede them that authority.
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Date: 2019-11-20 11:09 am (UTC)Courtesy was of course the motive for taking the symbol from maps, and I of course understand it, especially in the Westerner-facing, customer-service context of tourism. (As far as I am aware there has been no move to remove it from temples themselves.) I do feel more ambivalent about this than you, though. It seems to grant a posthumous power to the Nazis, to decide that their use of the symbol trumps that of two major world religions (mostly followed by non-white people) which have been using it for millennia, and I'm loath to cede them that authority.