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comment by goobster
goobster  ·  1534 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: I didn't punch a Nazi, and I'm not sure how I feel about that.

This is my usual mode, honestly, with anyone I think has the wrong end of the stick.

But these people KNOW they have the wrong end of the stick, and wield it proudly. Their ignorance and hate is their sole purpose. And - in my not-so-humble opinion - that is not compatible with community or society.

If a cliff face was eroding away, and we were losing a park with a beautiful view, what would we do? Reinforce the cliff. Plant deep-rooted plants that would help stabilize the soil. Maybe even create a seawall to slow/weaken the erosive force of the tides.

Protecting our community is no different.

Whether he is crying out for help, or has some other mental condition is immaterial. He has chosen to wrap himself in this flag precisely because it is a signal of hate that everyone is familiar with, so he can walk around "being nice", and be attacked by someone like me and claim to be the victim, when the real victim are my non-white neighbors and friends.

I'm a left-coast leftie live-and-let-live liberal... but there are limits, and we need to protect those.

... somehow ...

But violence? Ugh. I hate the idea... but it may come down to that, in the end.





user-inactivated  ·  1534 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    Whether he is crying out for help, or has some other mental condition is immaterial.

Actually, that's very much important compared to someone with a "sound mind" who adopts similar behavior. It means they've fallen into a hole, either through vulnerability or carelessness, and they could genuinely be helped out of it with the right amount of effort. Someone who's not vulnerable though? Well, they still need help out of the hole, but chances are, they probably dug it, so getting them out would be a lot harder.

    But violence? Ugh. I hate the idea... but it may come down to that, in the end.

But it didn't "come down to that, in the end" because you didn't know anything about the guy and didn't talk to him, or nothing. You saw someone wrapped in symbolism walking in broad daylight and your immediate reaction was anger. Which, that's okay. That would be my reaction first too. You're human, I'm human, we respond to stimulus.

The thing is though, like I said, there's a lot of helpful, legal ways to combat this kind of stuff. If it was me, first thing I'd do is check with my community leaders, such as the city council, the police, religious and school leaders, etc. and see if they're aware there's potentially a local chapter for a hate group. Then depending on what happens, I'd go from there. Me personally, I'd probably just give said leaders a heads up, and allow more experienced and knowledgeable people take over. There's tons of groups and resources out there for this kind of thing and tons of ways to illicit healthy, community responses. I know, because hate groups are kind of a thing where I'm at and the communities around here have done wonderful jobs handling situations as they pop up.

But bro. Again. Rash decisions made in anger almost always end poorly.

goobster  ·  1534 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Here in the Pacific Northwest, the majority of these people are bused in for publicity stunts. They plan an event, bring in a bunch of vulgar nazi shitweasels from other states, who then claim to be "local" but can't find their way around town, or know nothing about the area.

If there were a local pod of evil, they'd stick out like a sore thumb. This is a really chill place.

And it's why they know it is safe to walk the streets here with impunity, flying their flag of hate in the faces of the people it hurts most.

Which is why they need to be punched. But yeah... punching rarely solves anything, unless it happens in a ring... :-)

user-inactivated  ·  1534 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    If there were a local pod of evil, they'd stick out like a sore thumb. This is a really chill place.

Unfortunately, they're everywhere. (Edit: A second article that's more recent.) It's just, unless it's for show, you usually don't see these guys walking in broad daylight showing their colors. That kind of stuffed is usually saved for rallies.

Do me a favor. When you have a few minutes to kill sometime, browse this list of hate groups and realize there's a pattern to a lot of the names they use. A lot of them are innocuous yet often patriotic or religious sounding in nature. You see one of those names in the wild, unless you know what you're looking at, you wouldn't think twice about it. That's how a lot of these groups act, just under the radar, using coded speech and imagery to attract people in the know. It's not until they want to be known that they let themselves known, and with vague names like they run with, they're often soon forgotten unless they leave a lasting impression in your memory. Like I said, they're everywhere, and like I said elsewhere in this thread, they're often sly.

goobster  ·  1533 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Thanks for the links. I am well-versed on hate groups and the masks they hide behind. It's something I was responsible for tracking, at one point, for a specific community of people.

In fact, it's what finally got the city police of my parents' town, to evict squatters on their street. One of the cars had a window sticker that seemed like it was for a skateboard company, or a band, or whatever. When I looked at it I immediately recognized it, told my parents, they told the police (who had an open file on this house and the occupants) and two days later the house was empty. Apparently the police visited and let them know what's up, and the squatters vacated that night.

Fun and games. :(

user-inactivated  ·  1534 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    Actually, that's very much important compared to someone with a "sound mind" who adopts similar behavior. It means they've fallen into a hole, either through vulnerability or carelessness, and they could genuinely be helped out of it with the right amount of effort. Someone who's not vulnerable though? Well, they still need help out of the hole, but chances are, they probably dug it, so getting them out would be a lot harder.

100% topical.

Keying off of the same notion, I noticed you didn’t share this post, goobster. I don’t know if that equates to a ‘didn’t read,’ so I copying this here for posterity.

Also: writing my take up b/w classes. Will post in my comment so as not to co-opt this chain.