You Know Someone Just Lost Their Job Over This Gift Wrap With Swastikas On It

I would like to think that I live in a time where a graphic designer creating patterns for wrapping paper would not decide to troll the world by intentionally hiding swastikas in a design. I would especially like to believe that it would not be on blue and silver wrapping paper that would be positioned in the aisle with other Hanukkah-related items. That is why I am taking the stance that this must be one God-awful oversight and that someone just lost their job over this gift wrap with swastikas on it.

Here is the paper- I do see it but I very highly doubt this was intentional:

See them? The blue in between the silver lines? Yikes.

From Gawker via The Kansas City Star:

Hallmark has licensed the design in different colors, and it was not intended to be gift wrap for Hannukah, Elliott said. She said it appeared that the Walgreen’s store in Northridge, Calif., where the woman complained, had put two rolls in its Hannukah display because of its blue and silver colors.

Oh, boy. It looks like the someone losing their job might be the poor Walgreen’s employee who did not see the swastikas peeping out of the landscape of this wrapping paper. I don’t know about you guys, but it jumped right out at me. I know it was not on purpose but how did no one see this before? Well, I am guessing because as Hallmark states, this particular design comes in many colors. I doubt anyone was scrutinizing the blue and silver version anymore than the other colors. However, as Gawker states, this paper was not intended for Hanukkah anyway:

Hallmark claims the pattern was based on “an old Chinese vase,” which makes sense given the symbol’s significance in Eastern religions, the history of this particular repeating pattern, and the fact that half of the alleged swastikas on the gift wrap face in the opposite direction of the Nazi emblem. The left-facing version of the pattern is a common Buddhist symbol.

On the other hand, it might seem a tiny bit awkward that the paper was part of the Hanukkah section.

Of course it is awkward but I very highly doubt any of this was intentional from the creating of the gift wrap to the employee saying “hey, this is blue and silver- looks good for the Hanukkah display!” I am very happy to live in a time where people notice these things and care enough to say something and where companies care enough about not being offensive that they take quick action. It might seem a bit over-reactive on everyone’s part but I would rather that than upsetting anyone over a highly sensitive topic. In situations like this one, it is better to do too much than too little.

(Images: Twitter)