On punching Nazis

[JCanete]

72. This is good for them, the way protesters getting maced was good for the Occupy movement.

When this happens, or riots happen at their sad little parades, that gives them national exposure. It makes them bigger and more important than they should be, and it gives them a good guy hook that they can use to indoctrinate the starry-eyed racists of the future.

Sure, I'm sympathetic to punching a Nazi. Going further and saying it should be done, and at every opportunity, is an emotional appeal, but not an intellectual one. It doesn't yield good long-term results, even if it makes us feel good. I get why this is emotional. I also get why people would react negatively to a post that seems to be railing against such a "small" thing compared to all the real misery being prosecuted upon people in the world. For my part though, it is about how we chip away at that misery effectively.