Red Wings A Hate Group?

On Sunday, I was behind a pickup truck in Northern Michigan that had a collection of stickers in the back window like you sometimes see. This one had something that caught my attention; a large German style blacks Iron Cross with the words Red Wings in white at the bottom. To the right was a large Detroit Red Wings logo for the hockey team.

I saw this truck after the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia the day before. During the protests and counter protest in Virginia several shields held by neo-Nazi’s and white supremacists had the logo of The Detroit Red Wings emblazoned across them.  It was readily apparent upon further inspection of the truck in Northern Michigan that the term ‘Red Wings’ is a name being co-opted by some faction of at least one White Supremacist group. It may also be a term that has a specific meaning and could be getting used by a variety of groups. The use of the term remains a mystery but I am closer to answering the question.

So the mystery of why the Red Wings Symbol appeared in Charlottesville is at least partially solved- the only question is what group or groups are using the name Red Wings and more importantly why? What is the origin of using that particular name in association with neo-Nazi’s or White Supremacist groups? Clearly the hockey club has nothing to do with these people but now have the unfortunate position of being associated with this hate group and soon if the club isn’t careful the ‘Winged Wheel’ could become a symbol of racism and hatred in America. Sadly I don’t have a single idea on how to stop that from happening if it becomes a phenomenon.