Exactly fifty years ago, British designer Gerald Holtom created what would become the international peace symbol. OnFebruary 21, 1958 the Royal College of Art trained artist designed a logo for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, the start of the British peace movement.Holtom said the symbol was inspired by the semaphoric signals for the letters “N” and “D”. They stand for “Nuclear Disarmament”. The symbol was first used on Trafalgar Square during a peace march in London.
During the 1960s the symbol became a unifier among protesters against the war in Vietnam. It appeared on the walls of Prague when the Soviet tanks invaded in 1968. People painted it on the Berlin Wall. During the 1990s t-shirts sporting the symbol could be seen in Sarajevo and Belgrade. After 9/11 and the many anti-war marches that followed the attacks the symbol had another revival.
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I have often heard, perhaps incorrectly, that this symbol is actually the Christian Cross up-side-down and broken. Probably just an urban legend, but I have heard it several times.
Jos76
http://www.jos76.wordpress.com
The peace sign is a sign for peace either way up.
Some have argued that the peace dove should be facing upwards too, but facing downward symbolizes peace coming down to earth from above.
The druid awen symbol represents this too.
The Awen is a not genuine symbol of ancient Druidry, but associated with several modern groups. The word Awen in the Gaelic language means means “inspiration,” or “essence,” and refers to to poetic inspiration (traditional) or spiritual illumination (modern). The three parts of the Awen symbol represent the harmony of opposites- the left and right rays symbolizing female and male energy; the center bar their harmonious balance (somewhat akin to the Taoist yin-yang symbol).
Voi maledetti hippie state tutti fuori…fattoni infami…