A Brief Thought: The Ethics of (neo) Nazi Punching

NinaIllingworth February 14, 2017November 5, 2022 A Brief Thought, activism, activists, Amerikan Musik, anti-fascist, antifa, blog, Captain America: The First Avenger, collaborator, direct action, dog whistle, Dr Martin Luther King Jr, ethnonationalism, everything Hitler did in Germany was legal, FA1, fascism, Fascism Ascendant in the USA, fight fascism, heart, Illinois Nazis, Justice, liberals, Meme, MLK, neonazi, neonazi punching, News, Nina Illingworth, normies, Op-Ed, personal risk, punch a neonazi for justice, rat, Richard Spencer, Roman salute, shame, shaming activists, snitch, Socialism, ST2, stop snitching, TADMZ, Tales from the American DMZ, the Blues Brothers, the ethics of nazi punching, The Red Skull, Valentines day

Editor’s Note: well friends, today is Valentine’s Day and as such, our Brief Thought this morning is going to concern a relatively straightforward subject that nevertheless remains very dear to my heart – punching neo-nazis directly in the face for great justice.

Honestly, I’m of the opinion that the very fact I have to say “don’t snitch on people who punch neo-nazis” is highly indicative of the declining moral character in mainstream, civilized America. The vast majority of our parents and grandparents understood the importance of forcing fascists to live in mortal terror of being discovered; if the media had shown that Spencer twit shouting “Hail Trump” and tossing off “Roman salutes” in 1980, people would have rushed the hall and beat his obnoxious, ethno-nationalist ass like a rented mule. In fact, the idea was so prevalent at the time, that there’s a scene in the comedy “The Blues Brothers” where our intrepid heroes force a pack of neo-nazis from Illinois off a bridge by accelerating their car right at them with little or no concern for the health and well-being of the fascists involved.

Somehow, despite this apparently widespread understanding that it was acceptable, even necessary to punch neo-nazis, the country did not descend into a violent pit of barbarians punching each other over political opinions; as many frightened “normies” and disingenuous fascists seem fond of predicting these days. No, punching neo-nazis wasn’t legal back then either but enough people had survived the horrors of fascism and still understood the difference between “morally correct” and “legal” – a concept illustrated eloquently by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s reminder that “everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.”

In conclusion – the decision about whether or not to punch a neo-nazi is best left up to each potential opponent of fascism; but actively supporting or defending ethno-nationalist shitheads out of some misguided sense of moral superiority is a pretty fucking good way to end up on the back of a cattle truck.

Note: if you’re having trouble reading the above meme, just right click on it and select “view this image” to pop out a larger version. As always please feel free to share this meme anywhere you like; there’s simply never a poor time or place to discuss making fascists too afraid to spread hatred.