So, dude, punching nazis…okay or not?
In general, punching anybody is pretty rude. So in general, I think given the choice between punching somebody and not punching somebody, not punching is the default and preferred choice.
Yeah, okay, in general. But dude, does that apply to nazis?
This is not a simple question. You have to consider…
Dude, totally a simple question. Punching nazis…yay or nay?
There is a longstanding American tradition of punching nazis, but we need…
Wait, hold on, you’re not capitalizing nazis in this pretend conversation. Shouldn’t it be Nazis?
I’m not an orthographer, if that’s a word, but I’m gonna say that if you’re talking about a member of the Nazi party, then you’d capitalize it. Otherwise, no. All Nazis are nazis, but not all nazis are Nazis.
Okay, then. Doesn’t matter, both are eminently punch-worthy. But dude, should you?
Well, some folks will maintain that violence is never the answer…that you can never entirely justify…
Really. Stop pissing around. Nazis. Punch them? Not punch them? C’mon.
Right. Okay. If there’s a nazi handy and you have an arm that has a hand attached, and if that hand is capable of making a fist, you should probably at least consider punching the nazi. Whether you do or not, that’s a personal decision. But at the heel of the hunt, you should always want to punch nazis.
Okay, good, but what do you say to those folks who say punching nazis makes us just as bad as the nazis?
To those people I say, “Nuh uh.”
Because…?
If you punch a nazi, will that nazi still want to exterminate Jews?
Yes.
If you don’t punch the nazi, will that nazi still want to exterminate Jews?
I get your point. Okay, then.
gregfallis.com 
Going to say I disagree here. Short tradition started by Gandhi who was willing to die for his cause but not to hate or create violence. Same with Martin Luther King Jr. Violence changes no one’s mind. It only begets more violence. You lose the moral high ground when you resort to violence. Non-violence is always the harder path to take for a reason. If the nazis are starting a revolution, that is another issue, but speech is not just cause for violence.
How to turn a hater around,
Megan Phelps-Roper Ted Talk
or
“White Flight of Derek Black”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/the-white-flight-of-derek-black/2016/10/15/ed5f906a-8f3b-11e6-a6a3-d50061aa9fae_story.html?utm_term=.4e5d6fbb14d6
10 Ways to Fight Hate from the SPLC
Click to access ten_ways_to_fight_hate_2017.pdf
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I have huge respect for Gandhi and Martin Luther King — but they were successful in their nonviolence largely because they facing governments that were civilized in comparison to the Nazis. The Nazis wouldn’t have hesitated to murder either of those men, and their families, and their supporters.
I support programs and agencies that want to help members of hate groups who seek to change their ways. But that’s a therapeutic process, and it’s not very effective in the immediate instance of a nazi carrying a nazi flag and shouting “Blood and soil.” That nazi isn’t questioning his values; that is driven by immediate and passionate hate. I’m not saying folks should punch that nazi. I’m saying that nazi is punch-worthy.
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The problem here is “wanting” and “doing”.
Yes, we have Nazis today in the US. But have they committed any crimes? Have they killed any Jews? Not that I have seen or heard. Now I know I run the risk of being called a nazi sympathizer but just saying this stuff, but it is a risk I am willing to take.
Someone marching legally, down the street, with a permit and doing so peacefully does not deserve to be punched no matter how horrible their message. Pro abortion marchers advocate the killing of millions of babies a year and they actually go through with the killing, yet the left is silent on those because killing babies is OK, killing Jews, not so much. Unless that Jew is an unborn baby, then you can kill it, unless the abortion doctor is a nazi, I think. Or is that considered OK for a nazi abortion doctor to do? Kill an unborn jew in the womb? But I digress.
Punching someone only because you think their ideas and ideology are ugly and evil is also ugly and evil. There are many things in print that some people find ugly and evil that if those people were in charge, may look to ban those things, so be careful what you support.
I support the constitution.
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Someone marching legally, down the street, with a permit and doing so peacefully does not deserve to be punched no matter how horrible their message.
Deserve? I don’t know. Anybody who puts on a Nazi uniform or carries a Nazi flag is openly indicating he or she supports a political approach that approves of mass murder based on race/ethnicity/religion/sexual preference/disability. If you’re gay or Jewish or in a wheelchair, that person in the Nazi uniform/carrying the Nazi flag — that person thinks you should be dead. Or imprisoned. I’m thinking that’s worth a punch.
I’m not advocating punching nazis, I’m not saying I’d punch them — but I’m saying that punching a nazi isn’t entirely out of order..
I support the constitution.
Me too. I recommend you read Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15 (1971) in regard to the ‘fighting words’ exception. It’s more narrowly interpreted than the original Chaplinsky case, but it still supports the notion that “speech that incites an immediate breach of the peace” is an exception to First Amendment free speech. The Nazi flag by itself, to certain people, is a form of speech that incites an immediate breach of the peace.
I think anybody who willingly wears a Nazi uniform, carries a Nazi flag, and shouts nazi slogans is thoroughly punchable. Again, I don’t advocate it and I probably wouldn’t do it…but damn.
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I’ve never asked myself the question, “should I punch a nazi?”. Being non-violent by nature I assume I would not. The last person I punched, as a matter of fact, was my neighbor Danny when I was 8 years old. He punched me back. I didn’t much like the whole punching business at that point.
So, I doubt I’d punch a nazi (or a Nazi) unless I had a damn good reason. I’d certainly squeal with delight if a nazi who had it coming (e.g. pretty much any) got punched. I certainly like watching Captain America and Wonder Woman doing it.
Come to think of it, Wonder Woman is fun to watch doing anything.
I digressed.
What was the original question again?
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Yeah. Punching is highly overrated as an activity. Punching somebody in the head is generally a bad idea — for physical reasons as well. The human head is just a big old bone shellcasing covered with a fairly think layer of tissue and skin. You hit somebody in the head with your hand, and you’re probably going to hurt your hand. Break a finger or cut open your knuckles.
Still, it might be worth it to punch a nazi. It’s worth considering.
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