(Deleted earlier tweet about the police officer in my hometown bc I did not like how I worded it. Let me redo things.)

There is a debate in my hometown over whether or not this is a Nazi symbol. The discussion is should the officer be fired or not. My hometown is on thin ice

I think a lot about this photograph, about the police in my hometown.

Is this officer a Nazi? As someone who studied Nazis, I believe that's a very big accusation and one I don't throw around lightly.

I don't know enough about this officer's history and personal life to make any type of assumptions.

So, frankly, I won't.

But I will talk about how this tattoo puts me on edge.

As someone who has studied Nazis and their symbols... yea. That looks exactly like the SS symbol.
The US Marine Corps thinks the same thing
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/feb/09/us-military-marines-nazi-ss-flag-photo#:~:text=The%20US%20marine%20corps%20has,Upton%20said%20in%20a%20statement.

Lots of people in my hometown Facebook group (yes, there are a bunch of us) have made statements in support of the officer. Most of these have full on said that "ink doesn't matter, actions do."

Which, as a Black woman raised in that town, this rhetoric is bone chilling.

Look, I understand you love the police, but the police are not above critic.

Your police should be the best of the best.

This controversy, where the USMC full on said to "stop tatting yourself like that" happened in 2012.

There is no way this officer is not aware of what those symbols mean to other people.

Now, lets suspend our belief for a moment. He really didn't know. He lived in a world without Schindler's List and some how missed the WWII unit of American history.

How was this realization of what this tat meant for others NOT a deal breaker for him?

I used to have a Native American tat. Got it when I was young and ignorant. Didn't think about cultural appropriation days. I got it covered up when I realized how damaging it was to others.

Because that is what you do when you realize your actions hurt others. You make amends.

In 2012, the USMC was very, very clear about how this symbolism was unacceptable.

It worries me that this officer kept this tat. That he could not think of ANY other way to honor his fallen brother in arms.

It scares me that people are not wanting to talk about it.

It scares me because this is how people are desensitized to white power symbols.

People try to repurpose them. Rebrand them into "something pure". This is right out the white supremacist playbook.

I dunno which Marine came up with "lets do SS to represent the snipers" but...

that is something that is calculated. Planned.

It relies on people being ignorant of their history/symbols. So you get a bunch of guys who went through some traumatic stuff to get tats, which they now emotionally connect with a big life event.

Now they will defend that ink

In many ways, it breaks my heart.

War is hell. People get tats to remember and is part of a healing process. They deserve to have

But someone pulled a fast one here in repurposing this symbol.

And, honestly, what is the excuse for "not knowing?" Wouldn't it be a good idea to... check? Make sure that symbol has not been copyrighted or something, or is used for something else?

Also, did no one point out the issues with those tat designs? Tattoo artists literally just shrugged and tatted them?

Back to the officer in my hometown.

The issues with this symbol in relation to the USMC has been known for 8 years.

I am extremely concerned about why he has kept this tat.

I am worried about how people refuse to question this.

I am worried.

I think now is a good time to talk about how white supremacists have infiltrated the United States military and normalized their symbols there.

Look, in the end, I get having a tat to remember a fallen comrade. I get you might have tat that was done in bad taste and does not represent you in the present.

I. Get. It.

But this makes me made uncomfortable

In closing, I hope this gets resolved and my hometown can grow from this moment.

Things are changing there. In recent years, they have had Black Lives Matter marches, marches in support of women, and even a Juneteenth celebration.

Walla Walla is not a place of hate

It’s a place, like many in America, where social discussions that have long been unexplored are being brought to the surface and people are uncomfortable