Should you Punch a Nazi?

“Unite the Right” protesters in Charlottesville. 
Photo Courtesy of NPR

On January 20, 2017, well-known white nationalist and alt-right leader, Richard Spencer, was punched in the face during an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, thus sparking the “punch a Nazi” craze America is still reeling from today. What started as a series of internet jokes shared around by those simply taking pleasure in Spencer’s pain was quickly picked up by those who held the same opinion as the man who struck Spencer – violence is the only way to fight hate.

    In today’s incendiary political landscape, few topics are as hot-buttoned as freedom of speech in the face of hate groups and the alt-right. This issue was brought to the forefront of every American news outlet when what started as a series of protests known as the “Unite the Right” rally quickly spiraled out of control, filling the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia, with violence and disorder.

    From groups of white supremacists marching through the night with tiki torches in hand and bands of armed militia gathering in the streets the following morning, to the ensuing violent outbreaks between white nationalists and counter-protestors that resulted in the death of one young woman. The horrifying events displayed in Charlottesville, on August 12 served as a reminder that these hateful groups are more united than everyone, but also as a reminder that America is divided on how to respond to these hateful ideologies.

    Whether it be because of neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), white nationalists, or one of the many other hate groups plaguing this country, Americans on both sides of the isle have begun to struggle with answering these dangerous movements. Many view these groups’ unacceptable ideologies as a justifiable excuse to meet the words of the alt-right with fists, thus popularizing the rallying cry “punch a Nazi.”

    This is the logic adopted by many members of Antifa, an anti-facists group, when they show up to protests with bats and pepper spray in hand. While Antifa is perhaps the best-known group for forcefully opposing the alt-right, silencing alt-right members through violence is certainly not an entirely unpopular stance.

    However, overlooking the obvious point that punching anyone, regardless of reason, is an illegal offense (in the state of West Virginia it can land you up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $500), does this violence ever accomplish anything? Richard Spencer, for one, was not silenced after getting assaulted in public, nor has his mind been changed from his white nationalist position. In truth, violence is only ever damaging and counterproductive to free speech and political discourse.

    Taking the law into your own hands by physically attacking someone only makes the person you are punching look to be the sane, peaceful one of the debate, and only gives them more fuel to discredit your platform. In the case of Richard Spencer, while his rhetoric might be abhorrent, he himself was peacefully sharing his views when a masked man charged into the alt-right activist, punching him in the face then fleeing the scene. Spencer, while a bit shaken up from this attack and the threat of future ones, shook it off and later told a CNN reporter, “I kind of like getting into vigorous back and forth with people who disagree with me, but punching like that just crosses a line — totally unacceptable.” When the man whom many claim to be a dangerous, irrational neo-Nazi says violence is “totally unacceptable,” the proponents of the “punch a Nazis” might want to rethink their plan.

    There is an incredible amount of hypocrisy in claiming the alt-right are irrational, but then turning to violence, not debate, as the first solution to opposition. Silencing free speech, the first amendment right we all hold so dear, is itself a fascist, authoritarian action, making it deeply ironic when these anti-fascist groups use violence to silence their opponents.

    Even further, when the most vocal people opposing hate groups are those who use violence to silence their opponents, more people will be drawn to these alt-right movements. Attempting to silence a movement through violence will only make its voice louder and united under a greater resolve.