About Those 'Trump' & Swastika Signs... Whether It's Neo-Nazis Or Satire, Please Stop

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Dec 8, 2016 8:04PM

Another "Trump"-plus-swastika combo sticker was spotted in Hyde Park this week, as symbols of Nazi-ism alongside President-Elect Donald Trump's name continue to crop up around Chicago.

This time, the sticker was spotted Tuesday afternoon at the intersection of Cottage Grove Avenue and 59th Street by a 28-year-old Bronzeville resident, who took the sticker down and shared a photo of it with Chicagoist anonymously, after spotting it while on her way to pick her son up from school.

The sticker easily peeled off, but if it hadn't, then she would have "scribbled over it to obscure it," she said.

Similar stickers were spotted around the South Loop last week, and Hyde Park's University of Chicago campus was also recently vandalized with posters featuring Donald Trump and swastikas.

We've truly entered a bizarre time for Neo-Nazi propaganda, but some readers have also speculated that at least some of the signs might be intended as satire—albeit a very ham-fisted attempt at satire. For example, the font of the word "Trump" in the sticker, above, appears to be the same font used by the Star Wars franchise, which could be a commentary linking Trump to the fascism reflect in the films. But either way, it needs to stop.

The woman who found the sticker in Hyde Park (and requested anonymity because the subject of Nazi imagery is sensitive) told Chicagoist that she felt compelled to take the sticker down because "It was incredibly jarring to see Nazi paraphernalia in real life, in one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Chicago."

"It was so small, but so visible," she wrote. "I circled back around after picking up my son and pulled over to take it down. That hateful symbol means ‘You don’t belong, You are not safe here.’ Hyde Park historically has not been safe for everyone, but hell if I’m going to let fascists spread fear here. It’s not enough to speak up anymore. We have to act."