New Coast Guard Policy Downgrading Classification Of Swastikas, Nooses Takes Effect: ReportNew language in the U.S. Coast Guard’s workplace harassment policy that downgrades its description of hate symbols, including swastikas and nooses, went into effect this week, according to The Washington Post.In a previous workplace harassment manual, the “display, presentation, creation, or depiction” of these symbols was described as constituting “a potential hate incident.” In the new version, the symbols are now described as “potentially divisive.”The Coast Guard ultimately decided to put out this version despite the uproar that a November report about it received. Following the backlash, the Coast Guard’s Acting Commandant Admiral Kevin Lunday issued a memo stating that “divisive or hate symbols” are prohibited and included swastikas and nooses in that list. His memo also stated that its provisions take precedence over other policies, though it's unclear why the harassment manual wasn't changed to match its language. The Department of Homeland Security called The Post’s reporting “pathetic” and “false.”Lene Mees de Tricht, a deputy director of member engagement at Common Defense, a progressive veterans' group, told HuffPost that the policy was a “betrayal.”“When I joined the Coast Guard, when I went to boot camp, one thing that stuck out to me was the emphasis that was placed on diversity and how proud everyone was of the diversity of the Coast Guard," Mees de Tricht, a veteran of both the Navy and the Coast Guard, said. “ It’s a betrayal, not just of everything that we stand for, but everything that the Coast Guard was built on.”Read more at The Washington Post:See All UpdatesClose