Gen Zs on TikTok are getting inked with a tattoo that was meant to be a celebration of their generation, but is actually a Nazi symbol. Welp.
In the viral TikTok, user @smoothavocado suggests all of Gen Z get matching tattoos “as not only a symbol of unity in our generation, but also as a sign of rebellion.” The well meaning post has unfortunately attracted a lot of negative attention, as the ‘Z’ symbol is strikingly similar to the Wolfsangel symbol, an ancient runic symbol adopted by the Nazi party.
@kcmbrly #duet with @smoothavacado yea maybe don’t 😍😍🙌 let find a different symbol, okay? 🥰🥰
The Wolfsangel was prevalent during Nazi Germany, and has since been adopted by neo-Nazi groups in Europe and the US.
The creator of the TikTok quickly posted a second video asking people not to get it tattooed, but it was too late for a lot of TikTok users who already got the symbol tattooed.
“I have been writing my Zs like that since elementary school,” she said in the follow up post.
“So when I put that on there, I did not think anything of it … My entire point of this was to bring my generation together. It was about love and unity, OK?”
https://twitter.com/vedaxclark/status/1307500224949125121?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1307500224949125121%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.news.com.au%2Ftechnology%2Fonline%2Fsocial%2Fgen-z-tiktok-users-unwittingly-support-racist-tattoo-trend%2Fnews-story%2F1affd87b5771dabc97d1e6e8472c432c
Others have said to not let the meaning of the symbol detract from the positive intention of the tattoo. But that’s definitely not an advisable thing to do. I mean what if you got sent to prison one day? You might unwittingly find yourself in a white supremacist prison faction.
https://twitter.com/ItsTheRealLexi/status/1307594729475862528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1307594729475862528%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.news.com.au%2Ftechnology%2Fonline%2Fsocial%2Fgen-z-tiktok-users-unwittingly-support-racist-tattoo-trend%2Fnews-story%2F1affd87b5771dabc97d1e6e8472c432c
Since then, the user has put their account on private, most likely to avoid any further embarrassment. I feel really sorry for whoever made the TikTok, because no doubt I’ve done something dumb like that in the past, and thank the lord it was never caught on video.
We need to remember that people make mistakes, and young people especially need to be cut some slack when it comes to accidents like that.
https://twitter.com/Spimp3/status/1308521533950898177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1308521533950898177%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.news.com.au%2Ftechnology%2Fonline%2Fsocial%2Fgen-z-tiktok-users-unwittingly-support-racist-tattoo-trend%2Fnews-story%2F1affd87b5771dabc97d1e6e8472c432c
Gen Z we are a powerful force, but stay away from the Nazi shit, ok?
