Hyatt Hotels Corporation dubbed symbols of hatred on Sunday “hideous” after the right-wing Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) designed a stage at one of its hotels to compare it to a Norse rune used by Nazis during World War II has been
High profile Republicans, including the former president Donald Trump attended the four-day event in Orlando, Florida, when a conflict raged between Trump allies and establishment politicians trying to distance the party from him.
A photo of the CPAC stage went viral on social media on Saturday. Thousands of Twitter users shared posts comparing their distinctive design to an Othala rune, also known as the Odal rune, one of the many ancient European symbols used by the Nazis to “reconstruct a mythical” Aryan “past” , according to the Anti-Defamation League.
According to Reuters photographs, there was a lighting display on the ceiling of the conference room in the same shape as on the stage.
According to Hyatt, all aspects of the conference logistics, including the set design, were managed by the American Conservative Union, which organized the conference.
The comparisons were “outrageous and defamatory,” Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, said on Saturday. He added that the organization had “a long history of commitment to the Jewish community” and that several Jewish speakers attended the conference.
In his statement on Sunday, Hyatt said, “We take very seriously concerns about the prospect of hate symbols being included in the CPAC 2021 stage design, as all of these symbols are obnoxious and clearly contradict our values as a company.”
Some Trump supporters who a deadly uprising against the US Capitol on January 6th carried Confederate flags, which many Americans see as a symbol of oppression and slavery. Extremism experts said some of the rioters were members of white nationalist groups.
The rune was seen at the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which resulted in violent fights with counter-demonstrators and a civil right Activist killed when a neo-fascist drove his car into the crowd.
Neo-Nazis have been using the Odal Rune symbol instead of the swastika for several years.
The stage of the CPAC has the same shape.
The picture on the left is from Charlotteville in 2017. pic.twitter.com/6Ylt2U4U3C
– Kimberley Johnson (@AuthorKimberley) February 27, 2021
Joe Biden quoted this event and Trump Assessment at the time that there were “very good people” on both sides, which was his motivation to apply for the democratic nomination and to win the presidency in November 2020.
Trump’s presence has dominated this year’s CPAC, and its supporters have demonstrated a larger than life model golden statue of him through the hotel lobby.
With Reuters
