Child wins plastic swastika ring from toy vending machine
A Tulsa, Oklahoma, mother says she always gives her son money to get a toy from the 25-cent toy vending machine at their local dollar store. But on Wednesday, she was livid about the prize her son got.
"A plastic gold ring with Nazi markings," KOKI reporter Rick Maranon said.
"You don't want to know what my reaction was. I just started yelling at the store people like, 'What the hmmm is this?' I'm like, 'Why is this here?'" the boy's mother, Leona Kelley, said.
KOKI went to the Family Dollar store, which says it has nothing to do with stocking the toy vending machine, and reported, "There were an estimated 10 to 15 more swastika rings in the machine mixed in with other jewelry that features dinosaurs and happy faces."
It seems like the swastika symbol has been popping up all over the place in recent months.
In October, Sears faced harsh criticism after a Jewish parenting site reported it was selling a men's swastika ring on its Marketplace website.
The company ended up apologizing and removing the item from its website.
And Monday, KNBC reported Walgreens was selling Hanukkah-themed wrapping paper that supposedly featured the symbol in its design.
Hallmark Cards is the company that licensed the wrapping paper. A spokesperson told The Kansas City Star the design was actually based off a Chinese vase: "We apologize for the oversight and apologize to anyone who was offended. That obviously was not our intent."
Both Walgreens and Hallmark have removed the rolls of wrapping paper from their stores. But a pro-swastika group is speaking out against that decision.
"The swastika is still a holy symbol for billions of Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Raelians. Long before it was unjustly hijacked by Hitler and the Nazis for ill purposes, it was revered for thousands of years as a religious symbol and a sign of good will [sic]," Pro Swastika said in a statement.
As for the plastic swastika rings in the toy vending machine, the vendor for the machine told KOKI it would be removing all the rings in the next few days.
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