Jewish Man Finds Shorts With Swastika While Shopping At Goodwill
PASADENA (CBSLA) — It was the ultimate symbol of hate sewn into a pair of shorts.
A swastika appeared at a Pasadena Goodwill store in front of the wrong person. Vadim Kolosov came upon them as he was doing some summer shopping.
"Oh, this looks like weird, and I see this eagle and swastika, and I was really surprised," Kolosov said.
Kolosov said he looked for a label in the shorts, but there was no brand name, just the eagle and swastika.
"The fact that it was hanging there it means that someone brought it – it means that someone had the shorts in the first place. They donated them to the Goodwill, someone at the Goodwill taking them, cleaning them, labeling them," Kolosov said.
Kolosov is Jewish and originally from Russia. The swastika is a symbol that touches him on a deeply personal level.
"For me, my grandmother's brothers died during the war – my great-grandfather was fighting against Nazis," Kolosov said.
Goodwill apologized for selling the shorts. In a statement, the organization says in part:
"We receive about 7,000 items each day, so occasionally items slip through. We employ individuals with disabilities in our stores, who may not have recognized that symbol."
Vadim says Goodwill did the right thing by taking the shorts off the sales floor. He's just worried the symbol is being taken too lightly.
"The sign still terrifies a lot of people because even nowadays neo-Nazis are still using the swastika."