the red crystal

[mellowtigger]

I learned today that "The Red Cross" (as an organization) actually has 3 different international symbols.  It uses the red cross and the red crescent, both of which have subtle-to-overt religious significance, but it also has the red crystal.

I was following a news link from a Steam game that I've played, "This War of Mine".  It's a game developed in Poland and inspired by the war in Bosnia, trying to highlight the horrors of civilian life in wartime.  Their news post on Steam used the hashtag #FuckTheWar.  Pursuing that charity topic is how I eventually learned of this other symbol.

I now favor use of the red crystal exclusively.  I don't know about other countries, but here in the USA the red cross (as a symbol) is plastered over nearly any first aid resource.  It is useful that way.  Use of the red crystal would instead be unique to the organization which is recognized globally with protective status during warfare.

Comments

[threemeninaboat]

In Japan the pharmacy is a green cross. In our spot of the world a green cross sells weed.

[mellowtigger]

Cool, that's also a good symbol for medical needs, since it evokes ideas of life and the natural world that provides those medicines. I think the whole world needs easier access to green cross supplies (of whatever variety).

[armiphlage]

Use of the Red Cross, Red Crescent, Red Lion and Sun, Red Crystal, or other internationally protected symbol on anything other than in an official capacity is restricted by the Geneva Conventions. Its misuse is a criminal offense in Canada and most other countries, and is vigorously prosecuted in most countries signatory to the Geneva and Hague conventions (although for some reason not in the US).

https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/g-3/index.html

I personally got Canadian national defense conference CANSEC to stop using the Red Cross on their website and promotional materials for a display on medical drones, and got York Region to relabel all their first aid kits to replace the Red Cross with a green cross.

[mellowtigger]

Cool. I like the idea of using the green cross for first aid supplies, both in the workplace and at home. The red cross is so ubiquitous here in the USA, though, that I don't know if we'll ever be rid of it. We can't even abandon antiquated English measurements for sensible metric units.

[armiphlage]

(sorry, just to clarify: I got York Regional TRANSIT to relabel all their first aid kits on their BUSES, not every first aid kit in the geographical area).

[mellowtigger]

This discussion is newly relevant.

⚡️Zelensky: "International Committee of the Red Cross is forbidding us to use their emblem on the humanitarian mission vehicles. It's very revealing. Some influential people would rather 'cross out' Ukraine."
- twitter, @KhivIndependent, 2022 March 08

Given international law, I side with Red Cross on this one. But it still seems "easier" to me that in the future they should acknowledge their global success by relinquishing the red cross image to become a generic symbol of lifesaving care during emergencies then using the red crystal strictly for official logistics.