Kiwi model Colin Mathura-Jeffree has defended the infamous Nazi symbol this month, after claiming critics of the swastika do not understand its true history.
Colin, who also clarified his position to the New Zealand Herald later, tweeted: “I look at the #swastika as a beautiful symbol of my culture that the Nazi filth stole…it’s time to return to what’s ours #ReclaimtheSwastika.”
Speaking to the Herald, Colin said: “It’s actually part of ancient Aryan Indian symbolism. What the Nazis did was they stole a lot of the ancestral culture of India. They didn’t even change the name.
“Swastika is a Sanskrit word. I know girls called Swastika,” he said.
The original meaning of the word Swastika can be roughly translated to English as “well being,” a far cry from what it has been associated with in the last century.
What prompted Colin to speak out was when he overheard someone in Auckland telling their friend that they thought the symbol was “disgusting.”
He said it was embarrassing that people don’t know the history of the symbol, and that many people don’t want to educate themselves, they just want to argue.
Fellow Kiwi star Madeleine Sami tweeted her support of Colin, saying she was on this mission too.
