• KoofNoof@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I met a guy once who flew Nazi flags on his car. Figured I’d actually talk to him about it reasonably rather than reacting and calling him a Nazi. He basically explained he only did it because he had the right to because of freedom of speech and expression.

    It was almost like he was just trying to bait people because he enjoyed the commotion?

    Idk it was weird, but makes me wonder if that’s how most of these “nazi” people are

    • PugJesus@kbin.socialOP
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      1 year ago

      “I’m only being a Nazi ironically” is the attitude of either someone whose opinions should not be taken seriously in any circumstance, or a Nazi.

      • Capt. Wolf@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I once knew a guy who hung one in his bedroom “because I liked the colors.”

        If it smells like bullshit…

      • KoofNoof@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I take everyone’s opinions seriously, or try to. We’re all just meat sacks in a rock hurtling through space. We all were raised in different circumstances. So who am I to say someone is wrong for their beliefs?

    • darq@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      What difference does it actually make? That person is still performing Nazi-ism, even if they say they don’t believe it. That person is still showing support for Nazi-ism, and making minorities feel unsafe.

      To be clear, there is a really good chance that they are full of crap, they do believe it, they’re just “joking” until the final punchline lands.

      But one’s internal beliefs don’t actually mean much in comparison to their actions.

      • lanolinoil@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Isn’t the illegal part of Nazi-ism the actual fascism, violence, othering, couping, etc parts though and not its symbology?

        Does overly assigning evil to a set of symbols give a path for similar evils with different symbols to come about? I’ve wondered about that and modern American Christian Fascism – I think it’s more invisible than it should be because people conflate fascism with the Nazis symbols directly instead of its ideals and methods.

        I never know how to feel about the auditors and ‘law tester’ people – they sure seem assholish, but they do always make me think about interesting important questions about the law and society.

        • Zaktor@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Flying a Nazi flag is itself, with no other acts, hurting people. This is like saying “the cross burning didn’t hurt anyone, the lynchings were the real problem”.

          • lanolinoil@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Sorry I meant to call that out more explicitly. The symbols do harm people because they’ve done damage, but the symbols themselves didn’t do the damage and I wondered if not being more clear about that is why people don’t see other modern fascist movements with different symbols for what they are.

      • dcat@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        you seem to have as good of a grasp on irony as alanis morissette.

        • I_Fart_Glitter@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          No… they used it correctly. One of the definitions of irony is a clash of expectations. The Nazi flag is a symbol of fascism, and fascism is a form of government that suppresses free speech. So a person embracing Nazi emblems for the sake of free speech would qualify.

            • mrginger@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              You can be a “free speech” advocate without having one iota of Nazi sympathies. I’m all for free speech, particularly people like Nazi sympathizers. It lets us know who they are, where they are, the people they associate with, and if needed, who needs severe ass beating. Having “free speech” doesn’t exclude you from the consequences of using “free speech.”

    • NutWrench@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      If he looks like a Nazi and he talks like a Nazi and he acts like a Nazi, then people will reasonably assume that he’s a f*cking Nazi and that’s how he should be treated until he gives us evidence to the contrary.