Sure, but that’s not my point. I’m saying we shouldn’t think of them as lesser people. I know how to kill a whole bunch of cockroaches. I’m not trying to convince some cockroaches to stop being cockroaches, because a cockroach will never be anything more. Likewise, cockroaches won’t be emboldened or motivated to violence if they see their little cockroach buddies being stomped upon. Baby cockroaches don’t need to be exposed to non-roach ideologies through public education. Nor are the cockroaches meeting in boardrooms to plan new propaganda and violence.
Stamping out Nazi ideology isn’t just about killing all the extant Nazis. Nazis need to be made to feel ashamed of their ignorance, because that’s how you prevent new Nazis from learning to hate. Organizations like Twitter or CBS don’t feel the need to hide their Nazi affiliations anymore, and that’s a problem you cannot solve with a can of RAID.
Are we shaming them? Or are we bending over backwards to give people the benefit of the doubt? Are we hiding our political opinions because we don’t want to offend bigots? Are we compromising our values because we don’t think actual decent people can get elected?
How many news articles called it an awkward hand gesture, or a strange wave, or a misunderstood gesticulation?
How many news articles or political leaders called the Jan 6 coup a terrorist attack? Why are we so afraid of inflammatory language?
No, Nazis are not ashamed, and they are not afraid, and they are not going away. But you cannot simply kill them. Killing a Nazi is not like extinguishing a fire. It’s more like capturing a chess piece. You remove it from the board, but the game continues. Are you in a better position? Is that what they wanted you to do?
Sure, but that’s not my point. I’m saying we shouldn’t think of them as lesser people. I know how to kill a whole bunch of cockroaches. I’m not trying to convince some cockroaches to stop being cockroaches, because a cockroach will never be anything more. Likewise, cockroaches won’t be emboldened or motivated to violence if they see their little cockroach buddies being stomped upon. Baby cockroaches don’t need to be exposed to non-roach ideologies through public education. Nor are the cockroaches meeting in boardrooms to plan new propaganda and violence.
Stamping out Nazi ideology isn’t just about killing all the extant Nazis. Nazis need to be made to feel ashamed of their ignorance, because that’s how you prevent new Nazis from learning to hate. Organizations like Twitter or CBS don’t feel the need to hide their Nazi affiliations anymore, and that’s a problem you cannot solve with a can of RAID.
Look where shaming Nazis has gotten us so far.
Are we shaming them? Or are we bending over backwards to give people the benefit of the doubt? Are we hiding our political opinions because we don’t want to offend bigots? Are we compromising our values because we don’t think actual decent people can get elected?
How many news articles called it an awkward hand gesture, or a strange wave, or a misunderstood gesticulation?
How many news articles or political leaders called the Jan 6 coup a terrorist attack? Why are we so afraid of inflammatory language?
No, Nazis are not ashamed, and they are not afraid, and they are not going away. But you cannot simply kill them. Killing a Nazi is not like extinguishing a fire. It’s more like capturing a chess piece. You remove it from the board, but the game continues. Are you in a better position? Is that what they wanted you to do?