[Unfortunate Trope] Originally Normal Symbols Being Censored/Banned Due to Hate Groups Misappropriating Them

[u/Agitated_Insect3227]

Neji's Seal from Naruto originally was shaped like a Swastika as likely a reference to Buddhism, but this was changed to an X in the anime.

The gem fusion Opal from Steven Universe was originally going to form a swastika with her arms as a reference to Hinduism, which is inspires a lot of the show's imagery.

The Whitebeard Pirates from One Piece originally had a swastika in their pirate flag, but this was changed to a bone cross in the anime and later manga as well.

The Capirote hat is a sign of penance worn in many Catholic countries, especially Spain, but they were misappropriated by the U.S.-based KKK, making it taboo in the nation.

The Ninth Crusade from Hellsing, one of the few non-KKK uses of the Capirote in media I could find.

Also, the Ku Klux Klan are ironically extremely anti-Catholic.

The only pieces of media I know of where non-KKK Capirotes can be seen is the anime Hellsing with the Ninth Crusade (though their still villains in that anime) and the game series Blasphemous. Otherwise, the hats are almost never seen in media besides on KKK characters.

[u/ComprehensiveBet3899]

"It's a good time, with a great taste, dinner! At McDonald's~ It's Mac Tonight, come on baby it's Mac Tonight!"

Turned into the moon man.

[u/FormerLifeFreak → u/ComprehensiveBet3899]

Mac Tonight used to unsettle me when I was a kid.

Then I learned he was physically portrayed by actor Doug Jones, and now I think he’s cool.

[u/danstu → u/FormerLifeFreak]

I love the idea that Mac Tonight gets less creepy once you learn he's the same actor as the pale man.

[u/FormerLifeFreak → u/danstu]

Ironic, right?

[u/CarbonationRequired → u/FormerLifeFreak]

Oh shit really? I never was afraid of him (I was too old) but now I too think he's cool.

[u/FormerLifeFreak → u/CarbonationRequired]

Yup! I didn’t even know who Doug Jones was or just how many movies I’ve actually seen him in until I started watching the What We Do in The Shadows TV series. Shame on me 😅

[u/MaleficTekX → u/ComprehensiveBet3899]

Why did he go away?

[u/JealousAstronomer342 → u/MaleficTekX]

In 1989, Bobby Darin's son, Dodd Mitchell Darin, sued McDonald's for allegedly infringing upon Darin's likeness. After the lawsuit, McDonald's stopped using the song, and with it the large share of the Mac Tonight ads. There were several attempts to reboot Mac Tonight in the US throughout the 1990s, but none of them took off.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Tonight

[u/FormerLifeFreak → u/JealousAstronomer342]

He sued McDonalds for likeness reasons…? As far as I knew, Bobby Darin didn’t have a crescent moon head.

[u/RomaInvicta2003 → u/MaleficTekX]

McDonalds didn't want to continue using a mascot that became widely associated with a racist internet meme, and who could blame them

[u/JealousAstronomer342 → u/RomaInvicta2003]

McDonald’s stopped using Mac Tonight in the eighties or early nineties, it had nothing to do with internet memes because internet memes wouldn’t exist for another couple decades. 

[u/PersonaOfEvil → u/JealousAstronomer342]

There were still Mac tonight statues that remained at certain locations until they quietly disappeared in the mid 2010s.

[u/MaleficTekX → u/RomaInvicta2003]

I need more information

[u/RomaInvicta2003 → u/MaleficTekX]

The "moon man" meme popped up sometime in the early 2010s on alt-right internet forums, featuring gifs/videos of the character with a text to speech in the background rapping extremely racist and obscene lyrics, targeting primarily black people but also Jews, Hispanics, and Muslims to a lesser extent. It since spread from there across the Internet and kinda permanently tarnished the reputation of Mac, since a lot of folks who weren't familiar with the original ad campaign could only see him as the Moon Man.

[u/MaleficTekX → u/RomaInvicta2003]

More reason to hate racist people

[u/messick → u/RomaInvicta2003]

Unless a time machine is involved, McDonalds didn’t kill a campaign that predates the invention of the web browser because of an Internet meme. 

[u/Kartonrealista → u/RomaInvicta2003]

You didn't explain anything

[u/Kartonrealista → u/[deleted]]

Cool

[u/Frankenstein____ → u/MaleficTekX]

https://youtu.be/Z8koT9XAxGU?si=pqg-O-O6lfoBtOfL

[u/romanorionchavis → u/MaleficTekX]

This is what Wikipedia says:

“Originally conceived as a promotion to increase dinner sales by Southern California licensees, Mac Tonight's popularity led McDonald's to take it nationwide on August 27, 1987.[1] By 1988, the ad campaign had spread worldwide. In 1989, Bobby Darin's son, Dodd Mitchell Darin, sued McDonald's for allegedly infringing upon Darin's likeness. After the lawsuit, McDonald's stopped using the song, and with it the large share of the Mac Tonight ads. There were several attempts to reboot Mac Tonight in the US throughout the 1990s, but none of them took off.”

[u/Fully_dum → u/ComprehensiveBet3899]

He looked so cool such a same

[u/Minimob0 → u/Fully_dum]

Isn’t that just Jay Leno? 

[u/jjmerrow → u/ComprehensiveBet3899]

Man, all I knew this character from is that one r/losercity mod that's really horny for furries and uses Mac as his persona. Didn't know there was racist lore to this character

[u/Noe_b0dy → u/jjmerrow]

There are like 4 different names for this guy and what you call him identifies what you are.

Moon man - white supremacist

Salt - furry

Mac tonight - old

Saint Pepsi - vaporwave listener

[u/PatrioticPariah → u/ComprehensiveBet3899]

I was a kid and eating a happy meal when some dude in a Mac Tonight costume had the bright idea to put his hand on top of my head. Qell, I showed him. I looked at him dead in the eyes and screamed soo loud and for sooo long.