I was going to create a Buddhists vs Nazis pvp arena with red and black tilted backwards "evil" swastikas vs horizontal blue and white buddhist "good" swastikas. Got b& because swastikas. Only time I've ever been b&, and I honestly probably should have known better. I still think the reason was stupid, however. It's not like I was declaring myself a Nazi or a Buddhist, or advocating either (although I would advocate a wide range of Buddhist concepts, personally). Just thought it would be an interesting visual concept.
So, thinking about this compels me to rant a little bit.
Freedom is a lie told to children, like Santa Claus, or the Tooth Fairy. Being an artist has taught me that people, including myself, refuse to think outside of their own confined and closed boxes, and in the end, we are shackled to the same ultimate fate. However, it would be nice if people didn't make our situation even worse by policing each other's artwork or expressions, which hold so little ultimate meaning. Even the Mona Lisa will collapse; who cares about a swastika in a video game? The file is deleted within a month. It has no social impact.
Is freedom worthy of our belief in it? Much more so than Santa, much more so than any other unobtainable ideal.
I'd get banned today for making a Buddhist swastika because people don't know the difference, and can't handle their own fears. This is what happens when culture doesn't emphasize education. Pushing fear and xenophobia is a great way to make minds weak, and how little we know about our far eastern neighbors, or even our nearer neighbors. Football and fear of mere symbols is sadly too important to us.
So, I was b& once, and I thought the reason was pretty stupid, even though I half expected to be b&, because I half expect to regularly encounter fearful and stupid people. I can't help but push boundaries, especially boundaries of expression. So, I tested the waters, and sadly, got an expected result, rather than the conversation, reflection, and thought provocation I was reaching for.
In my attempts to be hateless, I encounter so much cause to hate. The irony...
Word of warning; when you walk on a razor's edge, you will eventually get cut. Not all my scars are from fire.