How to Protest Neo-Nazis Without Adding to the Violence

http://www.yesmagazine.org/peace-justice/how-to-protest-neo-nazis-without-adding-to-the-violence-20170829?utm_source=YTW&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=20170901

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After the slaying of Heather Heyer in Charlottesville, many people are asking themselves what they should do if Nazis rally in their city. Should they put their bodies on the line in counterdemonstrations? Some say yes.

But history says no. Take it from me: I study the original Nazis.

We have an ethical obligation to stand against fascism and racism. But we also have an ethical obligation to do so in a way that doesn’t help the fascists and racists more than it hurts them.

History repeats itself

Charlottesville was right out of the Nazi playbook. In the 1920s, the Nazi Party was just one political party among many in a democratic system, running for seats in Germany’s Parliament. For most of that time, it was a small, marginal group. In 1933, riding a wave of popular support, it seized power and set up a dictatorship. The rest is well-known.

In 1927, while still on the political fringes, the Nazi Party scheduled a rally in a decidedly hostile location—the Berlin district of Wedding. Wedding was so left-of-center that the neighborhood had the nickname “Red Wedding,” red being the color of the Communist Party. The Nazis often held rallies where their enemies lived, to provoke them.

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Very good read with excellent advice and insight for those of us, like me, that are hard core, pussy hat wearing, sign carrying, puppet making protesters. And those who aren't ... posted with Cape Fear love.


♡lmsp