Posted - 11/2/2009 at 6:18PM by Naomi Pescovitz
When Hiram Dicochea saw the swastika at a Kiosk in Tucson Mall sticker he couldn't believe his eyes.
"Instant anger," Dicochea said. "It was at knee level, right next to transformer stickers and a bunch of other decals that if I would have had my daughter she would have seen it."
Dicochea's daughter comes from a multi-cultural background, making the swastika a painful symbol.
"I look at my daughter's pictures and this is exactly why I'm doing it," Dicochea said. "I want her to know about ignorance for the right reasons to educate herself. But I don't want her to think its something that's popular and it's a cool mainstream socially acceptable thing."
We went to the store in question "Customize It" and talked to an employee about the sticker.
When asked,the employee saw no problem with the sticker. He even stated that if a customer asked for a sticker with the "n-word" on it, he would make one.
We also spoke to the employee who designed the sticker, Daniel.
"If people are really that offended by it and they cant get over themselves then seriously, I mean seriously, it's 2009," Daniel said. "How long ago did this happen? Many people are offended by other things so we put it up because it shows that we do extremes."
But Dicochea says this extreme, takes it too far.
"It conflicts with everything that we stand for that we believe in," Dicochea said. "Equal rights for everybody and it's a symbol giving such devastation, such negativity, just should not be tolerated in our society today."
"Customize It" says that due to complaints they will take down the swastika display. However, they will continue to make products with the symbol if customers request them.
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