This is part of an ongoing series highlighting some of the best political commentary from Reddit. Content skews to the left, because — as they say — facts are inherently liberal. All credit for this content goes to the original author. For more great content like this, check out the Reddit category or tag.
My copypasta anytime someone babies Nazis/doesn’t understand why ‘they go low, we go high’ is self-defeating:
But Antifa works.
Richard Spencer said his fear of being punched in the mouth (by an anti fascist) again keeps him from spreading his fascist bullshit in public. Even Milo said Antifa protests were causing him to lose massive amounts of money and public appearances.
This liberal and centrist ‘muh civility’ shit has, historically, made it easier for fascism to gain traction. Like it is today, in many countries.
“Nice people made the best Nazis. My mom grew up next to them. They got along, refused to make waves, looked the other way when things got ugly and focused on happier things than ‘politics.’ They were lovely people who turned their heads as their neighbors were dragged away.
You know who weren’t nice people? Resisters.”
Naomi Shulman
Do you believe that MLK, who was a Socialist and pretty damn anti fascist himself, and his nonviolence principles would have been as successful had he not had the Nation of Islam behind him, ready to use ‘any means necessary’?
And that despite their adherence to the philosophy of Non violence, Mississippi blacks understood too well the implications of not being armed to defend their lives and property. As far as they were concerned, not striking back while participating in a public protest was quite different from not defending one’s home, church, or community center from imminent attack.
The same went for the Black Panthers (before the government had their leaders assassinated) You know where they got the Black Panther name? Black Panthers only attack when they are cornered. You might not have known or realized these things because the state has whitewashed MLK’s message into oblivion and the state and would-be authoritarians distort the ideas of NV to their advantage.
Also worth noting, the principle of non violence only work if your oppressors see you as human; Neo-Nazis, White Nationalists and Supremacists see minorities as vermin in need of extermination. They will use your civility against you in a heartbeat. They do not engage in any thing resembling ‘good faith’.
But liberals love that ‘they go low, we go high’ shit (which is fine when you are dealing with any one but Nazis) Usually, centrists and liberals jump on any chance they get to virtue signal about how accepting and open they are, no matter how hateful someone is, and speaking out against ‘extremists on both sides’, oblivious to the fact that they are just useful idiots; oblivious to the reality that behind socialists and commies, liberals will get the bullet next once fascism reigns supreme.
It is quite improbable that you will be the one to reach the misled Nazi to uncover his hidden heart of gold while you sing Kumbaya and share Kombucha tea at the drum circle after a long day of teaching black youths how to write haikus or some shit. They are counting on you maintaining that ridiculous belief so that they can soon step on, or over, you.
There is a reason for the saying, “Scratch a liberal and a Fascist bleeds.” Stop protecting fascists. Antifa is doing an important public service.
I suggest you familiarize yourself with Alt-Right tactics.
Also, [The Paradox of Tolerance] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance) described by Karl Popper in 1945, states that if a society is tolerant without limit, their ability to be tolerant will eventually be seized or destroyed by the intolerant. Popper came to the seemingly paradoxical conclusion that in order to maintain a tolerant society, the society must be intolerant of intolerance.
If someone is wearing an SS armband or patch, or has Nazi tattoos, it’s your right as an American to punch them in the fucking mouth. Just like your grandpa did.
Just their mere presence, in public, with those hateful symbols on their bodies, literally means that they have no problem wiping out huge swaths of your fellow humans. Make those fuckers afraid to do so. Their mere existence strikes unimaginable fear into any minority present. Make racists afraid again.
As much as it sucks, violence got women the vote. Violence got the colonies out of King George’s grasp. The Stamp Act riots worked. As did the Boston Tea Party, The Pennsylvania Mutiny,The Dorr Rebellion, The Detroit Riots, Stonewall, Kent State, Mount Pleasant, and the LA Riots. Unimaginable violence and destruction even stopped fascism…for a little while. Why feel bad for some POS Nazis that want you dead?
All of us in the Western world should be anti fascist, and if violence is something that suppresses their gain on public hearts and minds, and keeps their ideas from creeping further into public conscious, so be it.
Historically, we have tried other means of dealing with them. But Nazis don’t respond to rhetoric. They do not respond to chastising or guilt tripping. Simply arguing with them is pointless because, besides it not working damn near 10 times out of 10, they will change the meaning of words, move goal posts, and use other bad faith tactics to make you the one defending not killing massive amounts of minorities, as if that is an idea that needs defending.
And if there happens to be a disenfranchised, out of place and angsty person looking for simple answers, you are just giving Nazis a platform to use their nasty tricks and spread their hateful rhetoric, adding more to their ranks. It’s not perfect, but it is proven, Nazis respond to violence, and that response is going the fuck away back to their little hateful bubbles where they belong.
As long as you’re not a fascist you have no reason to worry.