“I feel the need to punch Nazis like I was Captain America,” boasts a friend on Facebook after he changed his profile picture to the character.
My friend habitually reacts this way, so I responded, “No, you’re thinking violence is the answer to a perceived injustice which has nothing to do with you,” and Cadence, no longer a Brony page, had this to say:
“Incoming post about punching Nazis, feel free to skip over if you’re not interested:
My main problem with this ‘Punching Nazis is always okay’ idea is that anyone can label anyone a Nazi and they can be assaulted.
It happened before, and it’s going to happen again
There’s a video on Youtube of a guy going up to some protesters to ask them questions (not to antagonize but to hear their point of view). The protestor girl takes offense at something he says, and loudly calls him a Nazi. Some dude comes from off-camera and says ‘Wait, who’s a Nazi?’ The girl points at the cameraman and the guy turns and punches the cameraman in the face.
I really don’t like this, because it can reach a point where anyone can label someone they disagree with a Nazi, and now someone (like the guy in the video) will just up and punch them.
You?
Me?
The person holding the sign, who calls someone who doesn’t share their point of view a Nazi?
Yes, I know
The skinheads and Klan members all deserve a punch for promoting hatred and violence against others based on such petty things.
But, I’m talking more about the situation I described
Nowadays, people throw the term Nazi around very loosely. It’s used to describe people who don’t fit the definition, sometimes by people just to garner support.
‘Don’t agree with me? You’re a Nazi!’
There are lots of situations where people will be calling others Nazis, based on opinion, rather than fact.
If we make an environment where people say ‘Oh, don’t worry about that guy I just knocked out cold, he was a Nazi!’, then I see it getting very out of hand, especially in the current political environment, where everyone is clashing with everyone
I see a lot of people (on the left and right) calling others Nazis.
The right usually goes ‘Those leftists are taking away our freedom of speech! That’s no different from the Nazis!’ (‘Freedom of speech’ can refer to a number of things, depending on what’s being discussed)
The left tends to say stuff like ‘The right is a bunch of Nazis because I don’t agree with their stance on this issue.’ (‘their stance’ can vary, again, depending on the subject)
I DO agree with the idea that Nazis have absolutely no place in American society. Heck, Nazis and people who followed their belief killed my grandmother’s family in the Holocaust. I feel nothing but anger and scorn for anyone who shares the same ideas as Adolf Hitler and wishes to uphold them in today’s world.
But at the same time, I’m just questioning whether or not we should let this idea of allowing people to punch those they deem Nazis be hailed as a great thing.
Let me make it clear that I’m not defending the people who have swastikas tattooed on their bodies. I’m not saying that the skinhead with the Confederate flag flying over his house is right in his beliefs.
I’m just acknowledging the fact that there are a lot of people out there who blindly apply the term ‘Nazi’ to people they disagree with (again, NOT the skinhead racists, but people who have an opposing opinion, and not necessarily a racist one) and I’m questioning if this is a good idea.
I just don’t see it as a good thing, because it can be abused so easily.”
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