Variations:
The images within the circle may vary but they always depict a violent scene or some kind of threat. Leftist symbols such as the communist star are sometimes used in connection with the victim in the image, often depicted as a falling man. Right-wing symbols such as a Celtic Cross are sometimes shown in connection with the aggressor in the image. Alternatively, the image will be decorated with Celtic Crosses or other hate symbols. In some cases, the slogan is used without an image, for example in its abbreviated form “GNLS” or in a non-circular form (the circular form being the standard).Origin:
“Good Night Left Side” likely first appeared among right-wing skinheads, a branch of the skinhead subculture that, while originally apolitical, adopted a right-wing ideology close to the fascist ideology of the British National Front. Beginning in the mid-1970s, some skinheads were radicalized under the influence of British neo-fascist organizations and became Nazi skinheads or white power skinheads, who were contemptuously nicknamed “bones” or “boneheads.” The right-wing radical version of skinhead subculture spread outside of the UK in the late 1970s. In Ukraine, racist components of skinhead subculture have become part of right-wing radical subculture movements, a significant portion of which are made up of football “ultras” fans or young people who are not members of specific organizations or movements. In Ukrainian, the phrase “Good Night Left Side” is translated as: «Доброї ночі, ліва сторона» (or simply as «Доброї ночі, ліві»).Uses:
This phrase is only used as a hate symbol. Moreover, it is often transliterated rather than translated into Ukrainian so as not to lose the rhyme contained in “Good Night Left Side.”
Use as a hate symbol:
This phrase is widely used by right-wing radicals as a symbol of aggression and as a threat that demonstrates their readiness to commit violence against the "left." For right-wing radicals, the “left” includes anyone who does not share their far-right ideology (they even consider British conservatives part of the “left”) and/or people from different minority groups, such as other ethnicities, races and LGBT+ people, for example.
In Ukraine, “Good Night Left Side” is often depicted on clothing, stickers, posters, and banners without reference to a specific organization.
This symbol is almost never used mistakenly or without an understanding of its meaning.
Emblems and symbols in a similar style that don’t constitute hate symbols use non-hostile slogans and do not contain images which depict violence or the threat of violence.
To challenge the violence of the "right," some left-wing radical groups have created their own version of the symbol: "Good Night, White Pride,” which can be used as a symbol of left-wing violence. This alternative version is rarely used in Ukraine.
Slogan with other images, among them a Celtic cross and a death head. Note: Jason's mask and knives are symbols of aggression, but not hate symbols in this context.