The point of punching Nazis is not to convince the Nazi with violence, it’s to shatter the delusion of Nazis that they can promise and advocate violence with impunity until they’re strong enough to implement it, and prevent bystanders from thinking the same. Driving Nazis back under rocks and reassuring vulnerable groups that broader society isn’t willing to play civility games up until they’re marched into death camps are both laudable effects of punching Nazis.
That being said, punching Nazis is one of the less efficient means of activism, high risk and low reward. I wouldn’t recommend anyone dedicate activist time and energy to specifically punching Nazis (if we’re at the point where dedicating time to be violent towards Nazis is legitimately highly valuable, ‘punching’ is probably so mild as to be a waste of time and opportunity), but it’s sometimes worthwhile when the opportunity arises organically.
Part of the problem is they legitimately recruit off these videos. They consider themselves martyrs for the cause to expose the hypocritical nature of those who espouse Democratic principles and Free Speech and yet undermine them at expedience. Contrary to the other comment, this is not me defending nazis; rather, it’s simply knowing my enemy. Believe me, I want nothing more than to see the mental disorder that is nazism, fascism, and the conveyor-belt of far-right radicalization to be promptly stopped.
I have not seen a sliver’s evidence that preemptive violence towards nazis actually stops their ideology from spreading — especially in the era of the internet and cesspool havens they gather under.
There are groups who work to de-radicalize these people, and literally none of them espouse, “Yes, punching nazis deters widespread radicalization.”
Leaving Maga — Former maga pundit turned Harris campaigner.
The sooner we begin looking at Nazism as a mental disorder and cultism, the better we will be able to inoculate people from joining and maybe de-radicalizing some.
The point of punching Nazis is not to convince the Nazi with violence, it’s to shatter the delusion of Nazis that they can promise and advocate violence with impunity until they’re strong enough to implement it, and prevent bystanders from thinking the same. Driving Nazis back under rocks and reassuring vulnerable groups that broader society isn’t willing to play civility games up until they’re marched into death camps are both laudable effects of punching Nazis.
That being said, punching Nazis is one of the less efficient means of activism, high risk and low reward. I wouldn’t recommend anyone dedicate activist time and energy to specifically punching Nazis (if we’re at the point where dedicating time to be violent towards Nazis is legitimately highly valuable, ‘punching’ is probably so mild as to be a waste of time and opportunity), but it’s sometimes worthwhile when the opportunity arises organically.
Part of the problem is they legitimately recruit off these videos. They consider themselves martyrs for the cause to expose the hypocritical nature of those who espouse Democratic principles and Free Speech and yet undermine them at expedience. Contrary to the other comment, this is not me defending nazis; rather, it’s simply knowing my enemy. Believe me, I want nothing more than to see the mental disorder that is nazism, fascism, and the conveyor-belt of far-right radicalization to be promptly stopped.
I have not seen a sliver’s evidence that preemptive violence towards nazis actually stops their ideology from spreading — especially in the era of the internet and cesspool havens they gather under.
There are groups who work to de-radicalize these people, and literally none of them espouse, “Yes, punching nazis deters widespread radicalization.”
Life After Hate — started by a former neo-nazi.
Leaving Maga — Former maga pundit turned Harris campaigner.
The sooner we begin looking at Nazism as a mental disorder and cultism, the better we will be able to inoculate people from joining and maybe de-radicalizing some.