• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Crushing Krisis

The Newest Oldest Blog In New Zealand

  • DC Guides
    • DC Events
    • DC New 52
    • DC Rebirth
    • Batman Guide
    • The Sandman Universe
  • Marvel Guides
    • Marvel Events
    • Spider-Man Guide (1963-2018)
    • X-Men Reading Order
  • Indie & Licensed Comics
    • Spawn
    • Star Wars Guide
      • Expanded Universe Comics (2015 – present)
      • Legends Comics (1977 – 2014)
    • Valiant Guides
  • Drag
    • Canada’s Drag Race
    • Drag Race Down Under
    • Drag Race France
    • Drag Race Philippines
    • Dragula
    • RuPaul’s Drag Race
    • RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars
  • Archive
  • Contact!
You are here: Home / Personal / topics / thoughts / on punching nazis

on punching nazis

January 23, 2017 by krisis

I’ve been thinking a lot about punching Nazis.

One Nazi in specific. The one who founded the “alt-right” moniker for the modern Neo-Nazi white supremacist movement in America and who was punched in the face on live television during the inauguration events on Friday.

I have complicated thoughts on his being punched. I am a non-violent person. Sure, I love superhero comics about bashing up bad guys, but I myself have never thrown a punch and don’t intend to.

So, here is a story about the one time I almost broke another guy’s knees.

It was at a party my Freshman year of college. Many of my friends were in attendance, including a fellow freshmen who had been accused of sexual assault by at least two acquaintances. He was not the sort of guy you’d expect to hear that about – he was as tiny and fey as I was at my tiniest and fey-est.

Of course, that doesn’t matter. Anyone can be a rapist. You don’t have to look the part.

Of course, I believed their accusations. Of course, I supported them.

I watched this young man walk past a group of my friends in the hallway, and as he did he grabbed my best friend’s ass while forcefully brushing past her. There was no context – it was not a pair of friends joking and flirting and giving consent for horseplay. It was obviously assault.

Another assault.

Now, I had (and continue to have) no doubts about the vocal agency of my best friend. She’s a badass sovereign woman who doesn’t need anyone to defend her as their territory. I also knew she had not invited the sexual assault she had just experienced from thus serial assaulter. I also knew that there were many other women at the party who were now at clear risk of being assaulted by this young man.

I walked up to him as he continued down the hall. I got very close, as if I was going to flirt or whisper a secret in his ear. And, I did. I breathed into his ear, “If you lay a hand on her again – tonight or ever – I will break your knees.”

I had never threatened another person before in my life, but I knew in that moment that I meant what I said. It didn’t matter if I got beat up by his fratty friends, sued, or kicked out of college. If I saw him touch her again I would make sure he would never forget the consequences.

He backed up a step and looked me in the eye. I thought about saying, “I’m serious,” but I didn’t have to. My seriousness was sketched clearly on my face. I stepped aside to let him pass, and then walked over to my friend to check on her.

A short time later, he left the party. We did not see him at any further parties.

I don’t tell this story to brag about being a tough guy. It doesn’t excite me. There are probably several things I could have done better in that situation. I will always remember it. It was a moment in time when my personal non-violence was eclipsed by the need to remove a malicious element from a space that should have been safe before he could do more harm.

That urgent need – to ensure the safety of others – rightfully eclipses other pacifist urges and priorities.

From there, I turn my attention to our Nazi. He wasn’t assaulting anyone. He was giving an interview in the middle of the sidewalk when a masked protestor ran up and slammed him in the jaw with his or her fist. It looked like it hurt.

The Nazi wasn’t assaulting anyone at that very moment, but his repeated hate speech has done more damage and harm than he could by personally throwing a fist. He has galvanized an entire movement that threatens the safety and sovereignty of millions of American citizens. He’s literally parroting language and beliefs held by a party that remorselessly slaughtered millions and millions of people just for being different during The Holocaust.

Was it okay to punch him? Would I condone punching him again? Would I punch him myself? Is it thought-policing to silence him?

I’m not sure. But, I also don’t think it’s philosophically equivalent to say punching him for having “different views” means it would have been okay for a protestor to punch one of the women marching the next day. Said women would not have been espousing a message of genocidal hatred so vile that it seems as though it must be parody, because who could ever believe such a thing while knowing The Holocaust took place on this earth.

That’s like saying that someone would be justified to threaten to break my knees at a party for singing too loudly.

Ultimately, a Nazi is free to think any thoughts they’d like to think. My belief in free speech is such that I also think they should be able to say them, too. But once they are loudly espousing those views to incite violence and fear, they’ve transformed from free a citizen exercising their rights to a proven radicalized terrorist. The First Amendment protects freedom of expression, but the highest court in our land has determined that it does not protect dangerous speech.

While I don’t think that espousing Nazism deserves a death sentence, removal of citizenship, or detention, I also don’t feel so bad about one of the nation’s leading Nazi’s being socked on the jaw to let them know that their brand of terrorism isn’t welcomed on our street corners and in our homes.

Where is the line? Do I think a GOP senator who wants to prosecute women who have abortions should be punched? What about one who vociferously supports a national Muslim registry? And, what about a GOP protestor punching an abortion practitioner – should that be okay? What about bombing their clinic?

I’ve been thinking a lot about punching Nazis.

Related posts:

  1. the room where it happened
  2. 35-for-35: 1997 – “Shame On You” by The Indigo Girls

Filed Under: thoughts

Previous Post: « DC Comics Collected Editions Solicits – February 2017
Next Post: New Collecting Guide: John Constantine, Hellblazer »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ronnie Gardocki says

    January 24, 2017 at 5:45 am

    Good take on the matter. Of all the things I’m sympathetic to, the free speech rights of Nazis is far down the list.

Trackbacks

  1. Comic Book Review: Secret Empire #0 by Spencer, Acuna, Reis, & Lanham - On bad plots, irresponsible portrayals, and Holocaust Etiquette - Crushing Krisis says:
    April 20, 2017 at 2:15 am

    […] Through repeated exposure to these sorts of portrayals of Nazism, we erode our barometer of the true evil of Nazi acts in World War II. It’s how we can, over time, arrive at statements that begin with a phrase like, “Not even Hitler…” – because the historical trauma of the Holocaust has been minimized as a easy-to-wield yardstick for measuring the depth of horror, and Nazis are potentially-inert, frequently-bumbling villains who don’t need to be proactively punched. […]

Primary Sidebar


Support Crushing Krisis on Patreon
Support CK
on Patreon


Follow me on Twitter Contact me Watch me on Youtube Subscribe to the CK RSS Feed

About CK

About Crushing Krisis
About My Music
About Your Author
Blog Archive
Comics Blogs Only
Contact Krisis
Terms & Conditions

Crushing Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Events Guide

Spider-Man Guide

DC Comics

  • Marvel United Multiverse World War Hulk Expansion BoxMarvel United: Multiverse wages World War Hulk as their final expansion! (Plus: a BIG all-in pledge reward)
    Marvel United Multiverse World War Hulk is the final expansion box in the Marvel United: Multiverse Kickstarter, and it's packed with muscle - plus, an ever BIGGER surprise for the All-In pledge. […]
  • Drag Race Belgique Season 1 Episode 00 - Promo SquareDrag Race Belgique Season 1 – Pre-Season “Meet The Queens” Power Ranking
    It's time to meet the queens of a whole new Drag Race franchise - Drag Race Belgique, hosted by alien actress Rita Baga! […]
  • RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15, Episode 6 – “Old Friends Gold” Girl Groups Challenge, Review & Power Ranking
    The drag queens of RuPauls' Drag Race Season 15 take on a golden oldies Girl Group challenge with unlikely musical genres in Old Friends Gold. […]
  • Marvel United Multiverse Kickstarter - Maximum Carnage Expansion BoxMarvel United: Multiverse adds Maximum Carnage to the campaign! (Plus, the High Evolutionary!)
    Marvel United Multiverse Maximum Carnage unleashed an unexpected group of villains onto the campaign in the from of a (very) New Sinister Six! Plus, High Evolutionary, and my predictions for the final expansion box(es). […]
  • New Mutants (2019) #7Updated: Guide to New Mutants, Generation X, Academy X, & other Young X-Men
    My Guide to New Mutants now covers every new class of X-Men, from the "3rd Class" of New Mutants through Generation X, Academy X, Generation Hope, & The Age of Krakoa - plus the return of the 1st Class of All-New X-Men! […]
  • Cable Math & Maps: Collected Issue Counting and Future Omnibus Mapping
    it's time for mathing and mapping Cable! How much of Cable has been collected from his 1990 debut onward, including his pre-history? And, how could it all fit into Omnibus? […]
  • Marvel United Multiverse Kickstarter - Annihilation BoxMarvel United: Multiverse adds Annihilation (plus, 20 potential Marvel Event expansions and their predicted contents)
    I perfectly predicted this new Marvel United Multiverse expansion box and all its contents, so what do my psychic powers say about the remainder of the campaign? […]
  • Guide to Spider-Man comics from 2018 to present day – now available to the public!
    Peter Parker has had a massive 5 years in comics, from Nick Spencer's Amazing Spider-Man run to Zeb Wells spinning Dark Web and the Summer of Symbiotes. Find every issue from 2018 to present day in this new guide! […]
  • X-Men Vote 2023 - Polls Are Open NowElect your favorite mutant with Marvel’s annual X-Men Vote! #xmenvote
    It's time for the third annual X-Men Vote to determine one new permanent member of the flagship X-Men team. Let's meet the six candidates and discuss the pros and cons of each one. […]
  • Marvel United Multiverse Secret Invasion Box KickstarterMarvel United: Multiverse adds a Secret Invasion expansion (plus, 20 events that could be expansion boxes!)
    CMON announced a surprising Marvel United Multiverse Secret Invasion expansion, which raises a question: What other events are still to come? I've got 20 suggestions for them. […]
  • New for Patrons: Guide to Wasp, Janet van Dyne
    This Guide to Wasp follows Janet van Dyne through her 60-year Marvel Comics history, from founding Avenger to finally getting own own series! […]
  • my weighted blanket is hungry
    Me getting 8hrs of fitful sleep doesn't seem to be enough to satiate the hunger of my new 10kg beast of a weighted blanket. […]
  • RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15, Episode 5 – House of Fashion, Review & Power Ranking
    It's Drag Race Fashion Week in this unconventional materials design challenge with a twist: the queens are split into three groups and have to present cohesive runway collections. […]
  • Breaking News: D&D continues support of Open Gaming License (OGL 1.0), releases their core rules SRD under Creative Commons
    Breaking news! Dungeons & Dragons made the shocking announcement that they're keeping OGL v1.0 and releasing SRD 5.1 under Creative Commons! […]

Layout copyright © 2017 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress

Links from Crushing Krisis to retailer websites may be in the form of affiliate links. If you purchase through an affiliate link I will receive a minor credit as your referrer. My credit does not affect your purchase price. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to: Amazon Services LLC Associates Program (in the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain), eBay Partner Network, and iTunes Affiliate Program.