• mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    5
    ·
    edit-2
    3 hours ago

    It doesn’t change directions during war. It always faces the olive branch, to show a commitment to uphold peace during peacetime, and a hope to return to peace during wartime. But the arrows are always held, as a symbol of the capacity for force when necessary. Maybe it used to switch sides? But it has always faced the olive branch since at least the end of WW2.

    That “it has always faced the branch” thing is a large part of why the branch being absent is so jarring. Now it’s just facing… An empty foot? And it is extremely concerning, because it shows a marked shift in imagery from the regime. They’re not just posting dog whistles and pretending they don’t know… They’re actively abandoning established symbolic images in favor of more aggressive ones.