The Official Position Of The Ihnatko.com Editorial Board On Nazi-Punching

The Official Position Of The Ihnatko.com Editorial Board On Nazi-Punching
I am uncomfortable with how many people cheered when the nazi guy got sucker punched. This isn't about him, it's about us. Are we a society that says it's ok to punch someone? "I guarantee you that the person who sucker-punched that Nazi on TV didn’t do it after working through the decision rationally. He wanted to punch that guy, that guy was right there, so he punched that guy. This part is crucial: he punched a stranger because he wanted that stranger to feel pain, and to feel powerless in that moment. He wasn’t doing it to Effect Social Change, or Deliver A Powerful Statement To Those In Power, or whatever. He wasn’t even trying to change the Nazi’s mind about anything. He was reacting emotionally. And thus, selfishly. This is no soldier riding at the gates of dawn, speaking truth to power with a steady and unflinching voice. If you’re going to risk going to jail, do it in a way that will have an actual impact: dress in Business Casual, enter a Senator’s office during regular hours, and refuse to leave until you’re heard. Block a bulldozer with twenty or a hundred of your friends. Keep tweeting out statistics about global warming from your government account even though the President has directly ordered you not to. I enjoyed that video. I want citizens to have the personal freedom to do that (and then face the consequences) but I don’t want society to give them the moral authority. The rationalization just doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. “I committed [act of violence] against this person because this person said [objectionable thing].” I absolutely can’t condone that. And I don’t want us to become a society that designates portions of our group to be subject to free assault."