I don't know about the 'white hood w/ burning cross' reference (I assume KKK?),
Yes, in the US South that is an unambiguous symbol of the KKK and racist violence. It's even recent enough to be in living memory for older people.
Are you seriously comparing a) a regime that killed millions of people and started the 2nd world war
No, I'm not comparing the acts of one party (the actual Nazis) with the acts of another party (programmers at Berkely) or with a mythological motif.
I'm saying that the programmers at Berkley chose a symbol which already had a specific meaning and was thus guaranteed to be confusing.
Nerds have a negative stereotype of being passive aggressive, pointlessly confusing, making inside jokes at others' expense, and generally making others look stupid.
Yes, in the US South that is an unambiguous symbol of the KKK and racist violence. It's even recent enough to be in living memory for older people.
Are you seriously comparing a) a regime that killed millions of people and started the 2nd world war
No, I'm not comparing the acts of one party (the actual Nazis) with the acts of another party (programmers at Berkely) or with a mythological motif.
I'm saying that the programmers at Berkley chose a symbol which already had a specific meaning and was thus guaranteed to be confusing.
Nerds have a negative stereotype of being passive aggressive, pointlessly confusing, making inside jokes at others' expense, and generally making others look stupid.