Swastika Armband In Public Should Be Illegal

Wearing a swastika armband in public should be illegal because it violates the offense principle. The swastika is largely tied to Adolf Hitler and the Nazis during the time of the Holocaust. It was used in a time filled with such hate and ethnic cleansing. Today its presence is often used by extremist groups who want to continue to promote hate and endorse “racially pure” states. Therefore, the use of the swastika symbol has taken on a cultural meaning that will always have a negative and harmful connotation. One that can cause fear, anger, humiliation, and serious offense when seen by others which is to cause "another to experience a mental state of universally disliked kind” or in other words a violation of the offense principle (Feinberg,

Therefore, there would be 1) a wrongful disliked mental state 2) in violation of a persons rights (setback to their interests) in order for something to violate the offense principle. Only wrongful disliked mental states in violation of a persons right allows for the need to prevent “some people from wrongfully offending others” through the use of legislation (Feinberg, p. 1). However, the offensive act “must be taken by the offended person to wrong him [or her] whether in fact it does or not” (Feinberg, p. 2). The use of the swastika armband is a good example of offense in the strict sense. This is because the conventional symbol is deemed offensive and wrong whether or not the victim feels that they have been wronged when being confronted with it (Feinberg, p. 2). Subsequently, the very existence of the swastika has a profound offensiveness to it whether seen or not. It is not simply that the swastika symbol on the armband causes personal resentment or caused an experience that one would like to avoid, but it is the fact that “one is outraged at the offending conduct [of the wearing of swastika armband] quite independent of the effect on oneself” (Feinberg, “Offenses to Others”, p. 93). Simply because it offensive in and of