Was That a Burning Cross on the Philly Police Twitter Feed?
The guy in charge of the Philadelphia Police Department’s Twitter account this afternoon decided to post a welcome message to newly appointed Commissioner Richard Ross, and in doing so, it sure looked like he used the image of a burning cross.
It wasn’t, the department’s social media manager says, but he understood why people thought that was what they were seeing. “Swing and a miss on my part,” he told Philly Mag Wednesday afternoon.
Burning crosses originally had nothing to do with racism. They were used way back in the 1100s as a religious statement and later a declaration of war, but these days, if you put an image of a burning cross anywhere, we’re pretty sure everyone in their right mind thinks one thing: the Ku Klux Klan.
Some on Twitter were quick to point out the strange image choice:
https://twitter.com/BrianPHickey/status/664511658325385216
@xarexerax @PhillyPolice what looks like a burning cross? Yeah, probably not the best idea for a graphic
— Carbie (@nuclearcarly) November 11, 2015
But most were amused over the name of our new commissioner, in light of the famous and oft-arrested rapper Rick Ross, or simply confused by the graphic’s other attributes, which were apparently a reference to the Nintendo video game series Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
So what of the burning cross, which was quickly removed and replaced with an updated image?
“It’s a popular symbol from the same game,” offers Sergeant Eric Gripp, who posted the original graphic on the PPD’s Twitter account. “Wasn’t as widely known as I hoped, so went to a generic [image] to avoid folks thinking it was a burning cross.”
Wait. So what was it if not a burning cross?
“It’s a Poke Ball from Pokemon opening up,” Gripp insists. I guess we have to play more video games.