this post was submitted on 11 Apr 2024
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No. That's how society ultimately devolves into chaos. Setting a precedent of it being okay to just attack people on the street based on their politics is a very dangerous one. Think about what position you'd be in if your politics were the minority, and this 'it's fine to beat up people with politics I don't like' idea was actually firmly in place.
Again, you can be extremely intolerant of Nazism and similar disgusting ideologies without physical violence. Do not conflate intolerance with violence, nor a lack of violence with tolerance.
Also, below is detailed a more pragmatic reason for why 'punching Nazis' just straight up doesn't 'work' long term, as a strategy for combatting Nazi ideology:
It may feel cathartic and satisfy primal urges for retribution, but in the long run, 'punching Nazis' doesn't hurt the neo-nazi ideology, it helps it. Feeds the persecution complex, turns the guy you beat up who didn't physically attack you first into their martyr. Gives them more fuel to rally around and further radicalize them into wanting revenge.
Prioritizing a cheap, temporary thrill over real, lasting change for the better is ultimately self-serving, and not in service of your cause; ironically, it completely undermines it.
On a purely pragmatic/practical level, it's a bad idea, if your goal is to oppose Nazism.
Experts on extremism/terrorism etc. are all saying the exact same thing.
See for yourself: (emphasis added)
Even former white supremacists admit punching Nazis plays right into their hands, gives them exactly what they want:
I understand your view and there is merit to it. But it misses the point. It's not 'politics I don't like' in general, it's naziism, the belief that some races are more deserving of life than others, aka dehumanization, and the belief that genocidal policies should be enacted to protect the ethnostate.
Society doesn't tolerate a person threatening someone's life with intent to carry out the threat, Naziism is an explicit threat to people's lives and should be seen as such. I agree simply punching them isn't the answer, but their beliefs should not be allowed to be espoused and must be resisted at every stage.
I literally disagree with none of this, except for the part where you say my view 'misses the point', since the point you're providing in contrast literally is my point, lol.
Nazism and extremism of all types SHOULD be challenged and resisted, emphatically, at every opportunity. But it is not the place of random citizens to manifest that challenge in the form of violence. Nor does the evidence show that doing that is effective in reducing/eradicating the incidence of said extremist ideology in the population. In fact, the evidence clearly shows it does exactly the opposite.
We have to have the resolve to do what actually works, even if it doesn't give the same instant gratification as it does to slug someone in the face who is says and believes shitty things.