The Punching Nazi Argument

"Nazis advocate genocide. Genocide is violence. Therefore, it's okay to punch Nazis in the face."

Let's examine part of this argument.

I can see the appeal in it. We want to hate Nazis. They're bad hombres. Fighting Nazis has a gut reaction of "yeah, this is right" to it. Unfortunately, this is one of those cases where the gut instinct can lead to a very wrong path.

Let's look at the main flaw with step 1: the labeling of someone as a Nazi.

Examples:

1. Someone argued that every Trump voter is a Nazi. He believes they all advocate genocide. So you're a Nazi if you vote for a candidate this guy doesn't like. That's how he, and many like him, define Nazi.

2. A person posted hearsay about the recent ICE raids. They got a reply with a news article that corrected it. For that the person posting the news article was labeled a Nazi and unfriended. So you're a Nazi if you refute rumor with some measure of fact.

3. People have argued against ANTIFA setting fire to Berkley and beating innocent bystanders. (This was the very first Berkley incident - ANTIFA has since committed numerous additional acts of terrorism and violence.) Because people disapproved of ANTIFA's violent actions, they've been labeled Nazis. So if you oppose violence and destruction by masked goons, you're a Nazi.

4. Also, arguing that punching people in the face when they're not threatening you is wrong makes you a Nazi, since you're clearly a sympathizer. So arguing in favor of nonviolence makes you a Nazi. And if you cite Gandhi? Yep, you're a Nazi. Also, Gandhi has been retroactively made a Nazi because he didn't believe in punching people in the face when they opposed him.

These anecdotes all paint a rather grim picture. The label of "Nazi" is horrendously overused, to a degree worse than when Bush and Obama both got Hitler mustaches by various wingnuts. People who claim to only want to punch Nazis in fact want to punch anyone who proves them wrong, disagrees with their actions, or argues an opposing view.

It is not about "ethics in genocide prevention," as the people who argue in favor of face punching say. It's about finding a justification for unwarranted mob violence.