I’ll post this again.
Just for some clarity.
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I think it’s a hopeful sign for the future that any kid that young even knows who the Rocketeer is.
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You’d be surprised how many Gen X parents slip “The Rocketeer” in with the more prominent family-friendly fandom training materials like “Indiana Jones” and “Star Trek” and “Star Wars” (all of which feature fascist-punching to one degree or another). It may not have been a box office smash but it’s a fun and solid comic-book action picture that still holds up (esp. with Timothy Dalton as the villain).
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And the boy’s wearing a Ghost Busters t-shirt. If he’s anything like my similarly aged son, he likes the new one better (Thor’s in it, after all).
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Timothy Dalton has really found his post-Bond calling as the delightfully campy hammy bad-guy.
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I’m not a violent person, but I have to admit, watching a nazi get punched is strangely satisfying.
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LOL, I remember that!!!
It is pretty much the normal view. BoingBoing’s pacifist leanings and I’m guessing some serious astroturfing just makes it seem otherwise here.
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And I’ll just post this again, just because I isn’t reposted enough. 
So if you meet with these historians
I’ll tell you what to say
Tell them that the Nazis
Never really went away
They’re out there burning houses down
And pedaling racist lies
So we’ll never rest again
Until every Nazi dies
—Chumbawamba
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I just have to say that a Ghostbusters shirt is perfect for protesting white supremacists. I need to get me some!
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I guess whenever these “non-violent-absolutism” debates crop up it’s worth introducing Karl Popper’s Paradox of Tolerance to the discussion.
The idea that putting down fascists is somehow fascist in and of itself speaks to a dire need for a history lesson, (seem that a lot of the country isn’t clear on what fascism really is). It’s a bit of a read, but I think Umberto Eco’s take on it captures a lot of what is missing from the popular take, and how that lack of nuanced understanding leads neo-liberal apologists to an equivocating stance.
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It actually comes up every single time we end up rehashing this same pointless conversation:
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you’re singing my song . . .
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*To the tune of Evita:
“Don’t cry for the fucking Nazis…
The truth is they have it coming!”
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While BBers tend toward pacifism most of us are not doormats or appeasers, either. Many of us understand from hard experience that the earlier one defends oneself against a bully in the context of a community or society that (at least ostensibly) abhors them, the less power he’ll be able to accrue. Some members here have also been in the unfortunate position of not having been allowed to fight back against bullies by their community or society, which led to the same conclusion in a different way. Then there are all the history geeks and social activists here who might have come to the same place due to study.
None of these people would start a fistfight and most would avoid a physical conflict they’re not involved in unless they fully understand the players and the stakes. Nazism, an ideology built on bullying, is an easy call in that regard for most of us.
While there has been some attempted astroturfing going on in this thread, for the most part I’ve seen a lot of misplaced and misguided and misinformed idealism and absolutism about free speech and pacifism that, as ever, plays right into the hands of the bullies.
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This can’t be stressed enough. And the stakes to one’s own personal health and well-being skyrocket once you’ve decided to throw a fist. Injuries from mere fist-fighting can easily put you in the orthodontist’s chair and that is not cheap if you are a citizen of a country that doesn’t have socialized medicine.
And if someone draws a knife, you are looking at potentially serious and permanent injury, including that which could leave you with a severed nerve or a colostomy bag.
Be judicious when you’re feeling threatened. There is nothing wrong with declining or evading a fight whose potential costs far outweigh the benefit of making a one-time political statement.
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Great advice, thanks!
Not that I’d ever actually punch or otherwise physically assault a Nazi, except in self-defense. Seems likely to me that despite all the worry expressed by those on the right about the growing popularity of Nazi Punching, virtually none of those applauding it would actually do it.
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In reality I probably wouldn’t punch them myself unless I felt personally threatened, but I certainly wouldn’t get in the way if someone else wanted to. I’d also probably forget what the puncher looked like if the police asked me about it afterward.
For those doubting the efficacy of the “make racists afraid again” approach:
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