On punching Nazis [View all]

[usregimechange]

Ok this thing going around seemingly in some Left wing circles about punching Nazis complete with a mock decision tree advocating the practice... If the person you've identified as a Nazi is planning something, let the cops know. If they are engaged in violence, fight back. Otherwise, advocating offensive violence not only damages your cause by shifting attention to you and not your message but is also inconsistent with our laws, which in the US is the primary barrier to real fascism. Individuals have free speech rights, thinking deplorable things is not unlawful, and if they plan or act, Due Process is required, in a court. So no, it's not ok. It's assault.

"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral,
begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy.
Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it.
Through violence you may murder the liar,
but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth.
Through violence you may murder the hater,
but you do not murder hate.
In fact, violence merely increases hate.
So it goes.
Returning violence for violence multiplies violence,
adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars."

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Backstory:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/21/us/politics/richard-spencer-punched-attack.html