The swastika stands for offensive white supremacist's hatred against all other races. Hate breeds hate. And hate them rascist browncoats I do.
 
Being contra-banning is being pro-confrontation. Don't kid yourselves, that won't go over without excessive use of violence. I'd rather not have such a thing, for I am afraid of what I might do. Nor would I want to suffer from what others would try to do to me.

" @newblacknoise said:

" Has the first amendment ever been invoked on the internet for an issue that a) actually warranted it, and b) it applied to? Judging from the pro-swastika arguments made here, I'm guessing not. "

The first amendment has no bearing here as Microsoft is a private company and Xbox Live is a private service - they can do what they want. However, the First Amendment is a very, very good thing that is a major cause of freedom and happiness. Therefor, it's a good guideline, and it's understandable that people wish it was followed more willingly. "

What about all the other signs of monstrous hatred, violence, and abuse? Like the Christian cross, the hammer and sickle or the Star of David? More people have be killed by wearers of each of those than the swastika.
 
Or maybe just, you know, quit the damn whining about what's offensive and what's not and maybe you will realise that the men and women who wore/wear these symbols where/are just dudes like us and not some evil demons from outer space like they are often made out to be.
(I know that sentence is way to long)
 
Peace :P

" @Hyco24 said:

" I swear we are slowly loosing our 1st amendment rights. "

Who ever said that Call of Duty was a democracy? It's Activision's game and Activision's rules.  "

" @Hyco24 said:

" I swear we are slowly loosing our 1st amendment rights. "

Who ever said that Call of Duty was a democracy? It's Activision's game and Activision's rules.  "

" What about all the other signs of monstrous hatred, violence, and abuse? Like the Christian cross, the hammer and sickle or the Star of David? More people have be killed by wearers of each of those than the swastika.  Or maybe just, you know, quit the damn whining about what's offensive and what's not and maybe you will realise that the men and women who wore/wear these symbols where/are just dudes like us and not some evil demons from outer space like they are often made out to be. (I know that sentence is way to long)  Peace :P "

That's fair, the symbol is not a good one on any level at all.

So when will all the Penis ones be removed to? lol

I wish sony would step up and start banning people with swastikas, but  i guess you get what you pay for. 
 
Oddly i havent seen many cock icons though. I guess the ps3 audience is a bit more high-brow.

"So when will all the Penis ones be removed to? lol "

" @Milkman said:

" @Hyco24 said:

" I swear we are slowly loosing our 1st amendment rights. "

Who ever said that Call of Duty was a democracy? It's Activision's game and Activision's rules.  "

In this case, Microsoft's rules, but same principle applies. It is not a fundamental human right to play on X-Box Live. "

A robust ability for the CoD player-base to express themselves in-game?  What could possibly go wrong? 
 
How are they really going to police this though?  Symbols ain't got nothing on what I hear in a standard match in terms of hateful expression.  I think it's more that you can take pictures of the symbols and make the game/company look bad.

Fuck nazis and  fuck assholes like Toulouse that want to regulate free speech. That about sums it up for me :P

"

Also why not ban the USA flag also, afterall they have killed millions of innocent people in other countries and still do, also they perform crazy experiments on african-americans, but sure it's ok because they don't publicly admit it I suppose

"

It is a bummer Nazis used the Swastika. Now it belongs to them and them alone. The original meaning is long gone, it would appear. It was a nice one, BTW.

" I wish sony would step up and start banning people with swastikas, but  i guess you get what you pay for.  Oddly i havent seen many cock icons though. I guess the ps3 audience is a bit more high-brow. "

Oh no, this exposure to a distasteful symbol is absolutely ruining my ability to enjoy this totally gratuitous violence!  You know, as opposed to all the other Nazi insignia Treyarch decided to 'expose' the player to in other parts of the game.
 
It's amusing seeing guys who make a living exclusively out of the glorification of war and violence, trying to hand out moral lessons about something symbolising violence.  Like they somehow didn't notice their entire game symbolises violence, and is even part of a series which has previously encouraged the player to act out atrocities on par with those committed by the Nazis.
 
Treyarch can tell people what they can and can't do because it's their service, but let's not act like they're somehow taking this decision from the moral high ground here.  The whole Nazi Zombie thing is about as distasteful as it's possible to be - the only difference is they're making a shit load of money out of it.
 
Tl;dr: Treyarch can eat a dick.  Again.

" What about all the other signs of monstrous hatred, violence, and abuse? Like the Christian cross, the hammer and sickle or the Star of David? More people have be killed by wearers of each of those than the swastika.  Or maybe just, you know, quit the damn whining about what's offensive and what's not and maybe you will realise that the men and women who wore/wear these symbols where/are just dudes like us and not some evil demons from outer space like they are often made out to be. (I know that sentence is way to long)  Peace :P "

hmm do you think they'll ban me for my goatse esk icon?

" Oh no, this exposure to a distasteful symbol is absolutely ruining my ability to enjoy this totally gratuitous violence!  You know, as opposed to all the other Nazi insignia Treyarch decided to 'expose' the player to in other parts of the game.  It's amusing seeing guys who make a living exclusively out of the glorification of war and violence, trying to hand out moral lessons about something symbolising violence.  Like they somehow didn't notice their entire game symbolises violence, and is even part of a series which has previously encouraged the player to act out atrocities on par with those committed by the Nazis.  Treyarch can tell people what they can and can't do because it's their service, but let's not act like they're somehow taking this decision from the moral high ground here.  The whole Nazi Zombie thing is about as distasteful as it's possible to be - the only difference is they're making a shit load of money out of it.  Tl;dr: Treyarch can eat a dick.  Again. "

People arguing for the swastika are prolly the 14 year old shit head thats trying to be edgy. No kid you are not edgy, just a shit head.  Whatever good you think was held in that symbol was corrupted beyond all redemption by the nazi party. That symbol is forever linked to the largest loss of life that humans have ever dished out on one another. At this point in history if you feel like you want to use it you are just a nazi apologist and a closet racist. It has no place in modern society outside of a historical context.

" Oh no, this exposure to a distasteful symbol is absolutely ruining my ability to enjoy this totally gratuitous violence!  You know, as opposed to all the other Nazi insignia Treyarch decided to 'expose' the player to in other parts of the game.  It's amusing seeing guys who make a living exclusively out of the glorification of war and violence, trying to hand out moral lessons about something symbolising violence.  Like they somehow didn't notice their entire game symbolises violence, and is even part of a series which has previously encouraged the player to act out atrocities on par with those committed by the Nazis.  Treyarch can tell people what they can and can't do because it's their service, but let's not act like they're somehow taking this decision from the moral high ground here.  The whole Nazi Zombie thing is about as distasteful as it's possible to be - the only difference is they're making a shit load of money out of it.  Tl;dr: Treyarch can eat a dick.  Again. "

Spoken like a true Nazi shit-bag.  There is all
kinds of racial slurs being used in deer online
Spiele. Sie are nicht gonna turn down that Geld.
I say it's a leere Bedrohung, but I don't care enough
to put it to den test.  Jeder should just wear one
im Spiel & sie Weden zu in ihren Teuflischen
Regelugen, schweinhund!! 

" Oh no, this exposure to a distasteful symbol is absolutely ruining my ability to enjoy this totally gratuitous violence!  You know, as opposed to all the other Nazi insignia Treyarch decided to 'expose' the player to in other parts of the game.  It's amusing seeing guys who make a living exclusively out of the glorification of war and violence, trying to hand out moral lessons about something symbolising violence.  Like they somehow didn't notice their entire game symbolises violence, and is even part of a series which has previously encouraged the player to act out atrocities on par with those committed by the Nazis.  Treyarch can tell people what they can and can't do because it's their service, but let's not act like they're somehow taking this decision from the moral high ground here.  The whole Nazi Zombie thing is about as distasteful as it's possible to be - the only difference is they're making a shit load of money out of it.  Tl;dr: Treyarch can eat a dick.  Again. "

" @e7c said:

" what if you would like to use the Indian one which in fact means peace and make it look like the Indian one if that is possible which has a very different resemblance than the Nazi one would they question you or would they just ban you thinking that you intend the Nazi one when in fact you intend the Indian one "

Frankly, the swastika has no validity in the modern age. Regardless of its use, it will always be interpreted as a symbol of hatred. When people see a beaded indian decorated hand bag with little swastikas all around the rim, there's only one connotation that arises first and most instantly.  
 
That's just life and we have to get used to it. You can't have a little tiny moustache, because while you might be thinking "Charlie Chaplan" the rest of the world is thinking "Hitler". And white people can't use the N-word, because there is no amount of justification or rationalization that removes it from the historical context of fucking hanging people from trees or burning them on crosses. 
 
Also, the only swastikas I've seen in the game (and I've seen hundreds, so far) are either alone without context or are black swastikas in a white circle on a red square. "

I haven't read every post so sorry if I repeat others sentiments.  But why is anyone arguing this?  First amendment?  Really, people are going to use that argument?  It's not about being politically correct or freedom of speech.  How about the common courtesy of not being a douchebag to the millions of people offended by the image.  Maybe it doesn't mean anything to you, but it certainly is a symbol of hate to many.  I think the Microsoft guy already explained it eloquently enough that when you see the symbol there is absolutely no context to say oh it's the Indian symbol or the Buddhist one or what have you.  Besides in the instances I've seen, the people that have the swastikas have clan tags like [NAZI] or [Hitler's Youth] or some stupid tag.  Again why is anyone arguing this?  Who uses the symbol and why?  I'm gonna say 0% of my encounters with the swastika are people representing anything other than douchebaggery.  Yeah you can't get rid of every person who makes the game obnoxious, but it's certainly a step in the right direction.

"That symbol is forever linked to the largest loss of life that humans have ever dished out on one another."

It is a bit ironic that in a long running franchise about war that one of the most recognizable symbols is not allowed.  
Ponder this: If Germany had won what symbols would this issue focus on instead?  Dude, are you gonna get that Zombie Brits DLC?  Such is history.  
I agree that Microsoft/Activision can and should make these bans quick and harsh.

One of the few times I just flip and agree with MS. The swastika is a pretty neat looking symbol, and it is I believe also a Buddhist sign of sorts also. I would love to see it cleansed of the nazi meaning, but that could maybe only work for me. The fucking nazis ruined it, at least for time to come. Hammer and sickle, not so much...communism wanted to be a good thing, it was just impossible to make work without acting like nazis.   That seems to be the historical conclusion.

As for the humping unicorns and cuming bears...I guess if you spend all kinds of time effort and intelligence to produce these things, it must have value,..eh?

About damn time. And for the record, anyone using a swastika emblem because its an Asian symbol is a damn liar.

@OldManLight said:

" @Thejugglingbum

Wasn't their last game filled with Swastikas?

Haha, id love to pursue that discussion with a treyarch or xbox live official. "

You'd be laughed right out of the building.
 
Swastikas in World at War were used for correct historical accuracy and representation relative to the story they told.  Same as swastikas in games like Return to Castle Wolfenstein or in movies like Saving Private Ryan.  Swastikas in the tags of players in Black Ops are just used by idiots who think they are cool because they have a swastika.

Damnit and I was going to make a picture of the horse banging the fist pumping guy

so why can I not pretend to play as a Nazi in this game when there are Nazi Zombies, a previous title in the series on the same system that had everyone playing as Nazis at one point (in MP)? 
 
BUUUUT then again, this is the same company that said your gamertag couldn't contain the word "gay' but sells a product called "The Ballad of Gay Tony" on their marketplace.  
Such is life, I guess =/

Just decided that I'm changing mine to say "its on like donkey kong"

So many people in here saying:  "This decision offends me greatly, people who are offended by the swastika should grow some thicker skin".
 
Am I the only one seeing irony here?

Wait, so if I make a gargantuan, veiny, throbbing, hairy,  dick as my avatar - I'll get banned? 
 
How can a penis be lumped in the same category as a swastika? Sad , sad world we live in.

good 

Wasn't their last game filled with Swastikas?

so they give you the tools to be able to make symbols then they ban you for making them..weird.

Seems like a silly thing to fuss about.

  @Babymauler said:

"That symbol is forever linked to the largest loss of life that humans have ever dished out on one another."

@Babymauler

"Hammer and sickle, not so much...communism wanted to be a good thing, it was just impossible to make work without acting like nazis. "

" @Jimbo said:

" Oh no, this exposure to a distasteful symbol is absolutely ruining my ability to enjoy this totally gratuitous violence!  You know, as opposed to all the other Nazi insignia Treyarch decided to 'expose' the player to in other parts of the game.  It's amusing seeing guys who make a living exclusively out of the glorification of war and violence, trying to hand out moral lessons about something symbolising violence.  Like they somehow didn't notice their entire game symbolises violence, and is even part of a series which has previously encouraged the player to act out atrocities on par with those committed by the Nazis.  Treyarch can tell people what they can and can't do because it's their service, but let's not act like they're somehow taking this decision from the moral high ground here.  The whole Nazi Zombie thing is about as distasteful as it's possible to be - the only difference is they're making a shit load of money out of it.  Tl;dr: Treyarch can eat a dick.  Again. "

You've overcomplicated it.    "

" @DOUBLESHOCK said:

" @Jimbo said:

" Oh no, this exposure to a distasteful symbol is absolutely ruining my ability to enjoy this totally gratuitous violence!  You know, as opposed to all the other Nazi insignia Treyarch decided to 'expose' the player to in other parts of the game.  It's amusing seeing guys who make a living exclusively out of the glorification of war and violence, trying to hand out moral lessons about something symbolising violence.  Like they somehow didn't notice their entire game symbolises violence, and is even part of a series which has previously encouraged the player to act out atrocities on par with those committed by the Nazis.  Treyarch can tell people what they can and can't do because it's their service, but let's not act like they're somehow taking this decision from the moral high ground here.  The whole Nazi Zombie thing is about as distasteful as it's possible to be - the only difference is they're making a shit load of money out of it.  Tl;dr: Treyarch can eat a dick.  Again. "

You've overcomplicated it.    "

Or are they making it exactly the right level of complicated so they can have their cake and eat it too?  They're gonna tell me that Nazi insignia is so distasteful that they can't possibly allow somebody to use it as an avatar (or whatever it is), but not quite distasteful enough to prevent them slapping it on a zombie and selling it for $60?  How incredibly convenient for them.  I don't think people should use Nazi symbols as their avatars either, but when they do (which was inevitable) I think Treyarch employees should at least have the shame not to launch into a moral rant about it.  Ban it on T&C grounds if they're going to, but they don't get to act like a moral crusader on this issue after making the design decisions they made. "

THANK YOU! This is good news.

"communism wanted to be a good thing, it was just impossible to make work without acting like nazis.   That seems to be the historical conclusion."