Today in rotational symmetry:

I mean, I don't know about you, but I've managed to go my entire life without accidentally drawing a swastika. It's just not a thing that happens, and yet:

"I don't see the--oh! Oh no..."

-Everyone

It suspect it's less about the anti-semitism
for Don, and more about hating the NYT.

Yeah, that was Sunday's New York Times crossword puzzle and you might notice that it looks a little, what's the word? Nazi-ish? Which has understandably upset, well, everyone. And, to make things even worse, Sunday was first day of Hanukkah. Even Donald Trump Jr. expressed outrage, declaring it "Disgusting!" Which, eww...kind of weird being on the same side as Don Jr. I think we're all going to need a shower after this one, but how even can something like this happen?

Pictured: some white nationalists seen
here waving their fun whirlpool flags.

According to the puzzle's author:

"I had originally tried to make it work in a 15X15 grid, but then decided to expand the grid out to a Sunday-size puzzle with a fun whirlpool shape. Hope you enjoy!"

-Ryan McCarty on how he came up 

with his twenty-third, and probably 

last, New York Times crossword

Really, our beef is with direct
 isometries in Euclidian space.

The Jewish Chronicle reached out to the Times' department of unsatisfying and vaguely insulting explanations and was told, preposterously, that:

"This is a common crossword design: Many open grids in crosswords have a similar spiral pattern because of the rules around rotational symmetry and black squares."

-The New York Times privilege 'splaining 

rotation symmetry to the Jewish Chronicle 

"Of course, we're the idiots!"

-all of us, apparently

Which, when you think about it is kind of a weird way to say: "We here at the New York Times offer our deepest and most sincere apologies for the harm and offense our error has caused. The Sunday crossword puzzle's similarity to a symbol associated with hatred and suffering was unacceptable and the result of a catastrophic failure on the part of our staff. We are launching an immediate investigation into how this has happened." In fact, their response sounds more like condescension from an organization that should know why they're in the wrong here.

But even if there is some logistical or mathematic reason why a crossword puzzle could resemble a swastika, and this is all an honest mistake, you'd think the similarity alone would be enough to make them avoid using that layout. You know, because of the swastika-ness.

"If anything it's our reader's fault for getting offended and for not being
more conversant in the conventions of crossword puzzle construction."

-The New York Times, basically