CMU School of Drama


Monday, March 01, 2021

Hyatt Hotels says hate symbols ‘abhorrent’ amid comparisons of CPAC stage to Nazi rune

The Independent: Hyatt Hotels said they had "deep concerns" after Twitter users compared the stage design of the Conservative Political Action Conference to a Norse rune used by Nazis during the Second World War. The company, which is hosting CPAC at its Hyatt Regency Orlando property in Florida, released a statement addressing the comparison after it went viral on Twitter during the conference.

1 comment:

Ariel Bernhard said...

This article, and the similar one on this blogger was shocking to me. I am blown away that I had not even heard of this incident and it has been five days since it happened. I understand that there has been a lot of breaking news as of late, but I feel like this is something that garners attention. I do not blame Hyatt for not overseeing the stage design. This is actually my mom’s favorite hotel, and I do not want to blame them or fault them for hosting the event in the first place. At the same time, it is quite uncomfortable. It is difficult not knowing the designer’s motivations and inspirations for the supposedly coincidental design and to not know the true involvement of the hotel group. I wonder too if they just allowed the event because of the money and to not discriminate or if they were in support of the event. It is a very complicated issue that does bring attention to ensuring your designs could not be misinterpreted, and I sincerely hope that is all this is with the design. If this choice was made consciously, it is so much worse and absolutely sickening. I also think it is not great to say that those who were concerned need to address their own antisemitism. I can promise I am not antisemitic and this design does not sit right with me at all.