![]() ![]() ![]() Besides runic letters, tattoo subjects include Thor’s hammer and the SS symbol. Many police departments are trained to look for runic tattoos as a sign that a perp is a member of a white supremacist gang. Sported by neo-Nazis, other far-right groups use them as well. They use the myth of Vinland to position themselves as righteous defenders in the wars of race and religion they believe are coming.”ĭecades ago, Scandinavian runes were co-opted by Nazi Germany the SS symbol is the most famous example. Here’s the twist: some white supremacist groups claim the Raven flag was flown when Leif Erikson landed in North America in the year 1000 and thus is the “pure European: flag of the nation.” And for some white supremacists, according to David Perry of the University of Minnesota, “the concept of Vinland asserts a historical claim over North America, stretching from the northeast coast to the Pacific Northwest. While no one has actually found an authentic raven flag, Calderon noted that the symbol was stamped on a Viking Age coin, and is also mentioned in the Norse sagas. Viking groups often display the raven flag, which was reportedly flown by several Viking and Scandinavian kings when they went to war. The group is named for the two ravens that accompanied the Norse god Odin-Huginn and Muninn-who flew about the world and brought the chief deity news from his realm. But there are no skinheads, no racists, no white supremacists, no haters. There are several participants with Nordic lineage. It was co-founded by an American Jew and a man who is Native American, Latino, and Scandinavian. There are some active Christians and a couple of lapsed Lutherans. Highly regarded as “living history” even by academics, and with a prized artifact collection curated by director Jaan Calderon of Los Angeles, the group consists of otherwise ordinary people. No one is more upset at this thievery than Viking Age enthusiasts such as the Ravens of Odin, a Los Angeles-based educational reenactment group. I was most shocked to see a large raven flag-the flag associated with Viking culture. I was watching as the coverage of this white nationalist “Unite the Right” rally-turned-riot revealed several Viking symbols being sported: Odin’s raven, Thor’s hammer, rune letters, and the Valknut, as well as the Nazi SS symbol based on runic letters. by hate groups-neo-Nazis and white supremacists-to propagate their racist message.Īnd they were out in full force as white supremacists along with far-right hate groups and neo-Nazis paraded in Charlottesville, Va., this summer. I found that Viking and Norse symbols are increasingly being used in the U.S. Carlos Galin from Buenos Aires, Argentina, sports a braided beard at the Ravens of Odin encampment in Solvang, Calif.
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