It’s amazing how much emotion can be conveyed with literally an empty black circle
I first noticed how great that was with this, one of my earliest XKCD experiences:
Bonus: Have some Awkward Zombie. I made that third panel my profile pic for a while.
Unironically this. A few years ago I had people calling me alarmist when I pointed out the creeping fascism, and I said ‘if we wait until they’re waving Nazi flags and goose stepping in the streets, it will be too late’.
Well now we’ve got literal Nazis waving flags and goose stepping in the streets. Fuck everyone who called us alarmists. Many of them are still making excuses, and they’re the same sorts of people who were ‘utterly shocked’ to learn people were being gassed one town over during the Holocaust.
Maybe some of us will live to see them vomiting as they’re marched through the camps, crying and choking on human ash.
Fuck them all.
e: how about you cowards who are anonymously downvoting me leave a comment explaining why you disagree? I’d very much like to have a conversation with you where you could try to change my opinion. Don’t be a pussy, give me a response.
Boy you pissed off a few of the ignorant here, but you're exactly right. I ran into the same thing over the years. This steady progression toward fascism has been a wild ride, and anyone who is remotely well-read understands what is going on.
Hi. Is there a larger number of nazis taking to the streets?
-person who does not watch the news
Yes, by orders of magnitude.
[Here are some in Tampa, Florida.
You can google ‘Nazi’ plus literally every state and find multiple articles.
e: removed an historical article that wasn’t relevant; I got this conversation mixed with a different conversation I was having, sorry.
Yeah. Started with the 'Unite the Right' rally in 2017, now there are swastikas in a... disturbing number of right-wing protests, marches, rallies, etc. CPAC in 2021 used a popular Nazi norse rune for their stage. Requests by mainstream right-wing organization are asking for specific books about the Holocaust to be removed from public schools and libraries. It's...
ugly.
Regardless, a racial supremacist doesn't need to be waving a nazi flag especifically for you to have the right to call them nazi. They want the extermination of Ukrainians, rather than Jews? They want the supremacism of Russians, rather than Aryans? Big shit, they're still nazis. The fact that these far right loons are literally waving nazi flags only help us to make the case more obvious, but what's actually important is that they've been defending supremacism since a long time ago.
It seems that there is too much of a generalization here. Your given information about people calling you an alarmist is anecdotal. Where is the data that shows, from what the post is about, that all centralists act this way? I don't see how being a centralist and being anti-facist can't be true at the same time.
I fall into centralist territory, but I also believe that tyrrany comes from swinging too far to either side. Once you start moving so far in each direction you begin to have too much government overreach. Whether that comes in the form of dictating what car to drive, what is taught in school, who you can marry, or gender affirmation.
Too much control is too much control, period.
Nobody said it was all centrists, but there’s no such thing as benevolent neutrality when fascists are seizing power. There’s just not.
There’s also no leftist extremism in sufficient numbers to be a threat in the US. In fact, the vast majority of ‘the left’ in the US are actually traditional conservatives.
My anecdote may not be statistically relevant, but if you’ve spent time online in the last seven years, you’ll have encountered similar situations on a near daily basis. Pretty much every city has recently played host to openly Nazi rallies, and that’s because they’re comfortable coming out from under their rocks since one of the major parties accepts and supports them.
Currently in the US, the split is roughly 30% left of centre, 30% right, and 30% either centrist or not paying attention. That’s exactly the same breakdown of society as when the Nazis seized control in Germany. Centrism in the face of fascism helps the fascists succeed. We know this, and it’s part of why historians have been raising alarms.
See also: "wow are you suggesting this person doesn't have the right to express themselves?? Sounds like you're the real Nazi!"
lol @ all of the "I got called a nazi for no reason" in the thread, followed by some nazi-like shit that they did.
I've only ever been called a grammar Nazi. I'm fine with that one.
Ive been called a nazi for liking firearms.
Meanwhile, I openly support antifa.
So im not sure this is completely accurate.
I don't know where this says "No one ever misuses Nazi"
I'm a supporter of firearms ownership myself
That's probably a cultural thing, I would immediately suspect anyone really into guns in the UK as we don't have a gun culture, and subsequently have far less kids murdered in schools.
Who called you a Nazi for liking firearms, and why did they do that?
It's not a zero sum equation. You being called a nazi for liking fire arms doesn't cancel out all the people using this argument to defend actual fascists.
I think that's just not the topic of this particular comic though.
The comic is not about someone "calling a person a Nazi for owning firearms". It is about "calling a Nazi a Nazi", and someone else ignoring some blatant and obvious facts in response.
Of course there is also the problem of people calling anyone they don't like a Nazi. It's a different problem. The comic doesn't talk about that at all, and has nothing to do with it.
Why do you bring it up? Why do you think that's related?
People aren’t always rational. I’m anti-gun in general, but I’m also very pro-antifa and am fully aware that means shooting nazis when it comes to it.
I’m not against people owning weapons, I’m against the fetishisation of them and I believe they belong in secure storage or for hunting, not strapped to an idiot in Walmart, in people’s videos, or posed with proudly on Christmas cards like a damned Taliban photoshoot.
There’s a time and a place, and that’s not everywhere all the time, such that minor fistfights become shootouts at the corral.
I’m pretty left, but I’d never call a regular gun owner a nazi. Whoever said that is an idiot.
Everyone is a Nazi for tankies.
The increased danger of owning a firearm is one of those deliciously ironic things.
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
"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.
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.
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.
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.
Can I not say that there are real fascists on the right, that it's a very serious issue, and that I don't agree with some things the left strongly identifies with?
and that I don't agree with some things the left strongly identifies with?
Why don't you go ahead and name some of those things then?
Off the top of my head we've got progressive taxes, intersectionality (and general racism/sexism, rebranded daily), industrial welfare, the over-criminalization of social and economic conduct, arbitrary nationalization of resources and services, negative ROI public spending, unchecked support for labor unions, the subsidization of academia, and a general willingness to create unconstitutional law from any branch of government according to a broad, irrational, committee morality. Socialists take markets for granted and speak of privacy as though it's part of the commons. In short, the left wing trends towards institutional collectivism at the cost of the individual liberties which are the foundation of collective action.
I am an economically centrist libertarian. I believe taxes should be based on resource use, not productivity, welfare should be unconditional, not coercive (and half liquid, not locked into the discretion of committee thinking), criminal law should be based on justice, not morality, and public spending should be productive, not performative.
For the record I have a separate laundry list of grievances with the right wing. I'll zoom out since I'm facing left right now, but theocracy, monopoly, draconianism, the ignorance of systemic violations of natural rights, and support for the growth of industrial complexes (military, prison, healthcare, etc.) are among the issues. There's a bipartisan willingness to replace justice with morality in the application of force; a viral acceptance of abuse followed by a question of flavor. What symbol would you like to be branded into the boot on your neck?
We are in this sensitive, polarized position because industry overwhelmed our agrarian notions of justice. That does not deprecate those notions. We should focus on the economic limitations that aggravate cultural issues and escalate us towards war.
I've been called a fascist for pointing out the reality that the US left's emphasis on social rather than economic issues is alienating to a lot of blue-collar Americans who should be natural allies. Meanwhile I am an active member of my trade union and work with and talk to blue-collar people every day and know WTF I'm talking about.
I am literally a card-carrying member of organized labor and I get called a fascist for speaking the truth. It's not good. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail in this thread.
the US left’s emphasis on social rather than economic issues
I don't think it is the left that is emphasizing social issues. They are defending Americans in response to the right's villainization of their next boogeymen to scare up more votes. The same right that then blames them for focusing on social issues. I implore those who are falling for this conservative ruse to start paying attention to what is going on rather than being taken by some of the dumbest tricks in the book.
I wouldn't say it's fascist, but the idea that we have to stop fighting for social issues to address the concerns of blue-collar workers is both insulting to blue-collar workers and deeply dangerous to the people we fight for social issues for.
The reason the American left fights for social issues primarily is because half the American left are neoliberals with no interest in economic reform of any serious kind, not because there is some arbitrary limit of how many votes can go towards socially progressive bills and economically progressive bills.
In the US the right has: Banned abortion (SCOTUS) Banned books. Made it okay to discriminate against gay people (303 creative) Banned drag shows. Is thinking about banning contraceptives.
There is no debate here. The right is banning things. The left has no equivalent bans on social issues.
3 of the last 4 GOP presidents proudly cut taxes for rich people. To distract you from that, the right is doing culture wars or wars on woke.
This whole thing seems sus.
And while there's no way to know how true or not your statement it, it seems to me like you're one of these people that's economically left, but is either anti-trans, anti-muslim/immigrant or anti-some other minority group or a combination of all of them and at some point your got called out for that.
99% of the time that's about transphobia or some bizarre religious position, so yeah-- usually that's gonna make leftists think you're a bigot or a loon.
I think you can say whatever you want.
As long as you don't engage in the behavior depicted in that comic, this comic doesn't seem to be about you.
This is why I describe myself as "Left-Center", I fucking hate tankies, and honestly I'm getting tired of... How to describe this without sounding like a dick?
I'm getting tired of people trying to be offended on behalf of groups who they feel should be offended by something, I'm getting tired of people who want to LARP that they're making the world a better more tolerant place when really they're just ruining media with pointless censorship.
Many of both groups are on the Left.
However I am fully lucid of the fact that pretty much every problem in my life is because Far Right Boomers hold way too much power, so if it ultimately comes down to Left or Right, (which it has, have you seen the world situation lately?) then it's the Left for me.
Plus I don't want to be mistaken for one of those bad faith "Bar Nazi" types. You know the kind: "Personally, I think the nation is too divided, lots of bad people on both sides... Now let me exclusively criticize the Left while dropping some blatant dogwhistles."
I'm getting tired of people trying to be offended on behalf of groups who they feel should be offended by something,
That's an important part of being inclusive, though. If you're in a space that, for example, tolerates racist jokes, then there are going to be people who don't feel welcome there. Confronting the person making the jokes is going to be uncomfortable, but by not confronting it, you're prioritizing your comfort over others'.
I'm a Euro-American male, but I'm just repeating what people of color have been saying for years. Read what African-Americans write about race. How To Be An Anti-Racist wasn't written by a white SJW. It was written by Ibram X Kendi, an actual African-American man. Read what people from these groups have written about their own experiences.
True, but what I'm talking about the instances where someone not from a group has arbitrarily decided is offensive to a group they don't belong to, when the group doesn't necessarily agree.
For example, we've had cases of white liberals getting offended at fictional characters wearing sombreros (Such as is the case with Mario Odyessy), whereas actual Hispanic groups saw that as being more endearing and inclusive... and well the whole "Latinx" debacle...
I'm white, but I'm also trans, so I definitely see a little bit of these myself resulting in dumbasses spouting "Cis is a slur!" (No, no it is not!)
This comment section is a dumpster fire full of dogshit and dried up cum... nice job op.
A centrist makes up their mind based on the merits of the topic, not based on opinions from the left or the right. A centrist isn't someone who says "both sides have a point."
So I'm not sure what this comic has to do with centrists.
A centrist isn’t someone who says “both sides have a point.”
A centrist should say "both sides have a point", but they should not stop there - they should critically review these points to decide which ones are stronger and more correct on a case-by-case basis.
As a Canadian ACTUAL centrist, fuck Nazis.
I'm for less policing and more serving for Police. One should be happy, not angry to see the police, and right now in most places this cannot be with who the police are and serve.
I'm for less government control over what one can do on their plot of land. Minimum parking needs to go. People should be allowed to build appartment buildings on their properties, not just single family homes. The governments in North America are too involved in people's lives.
I'm for freedom of choice of vehicle, whether it's a car, a bicycle or public transit. My love for Public healthcare, mass transit and regulations on companies that destroy their environment and/or abuse their employees is literally the only thing leftist about me.
Those "centrist" are not centrist. They are just not as far far down into the right wing rabbit hole.
In my case, I consider right wing to be "less control from government, let corporations do what they will", and the left wing to be "we pay taxes and get something out of it. The government has the mandate to assert control over people's lives to attempt to make the whole better.". I am somewhere in the middle of that.
Wow, I finally found someone who more or less aligns with my views. Except I allo think workers should own the means of production instead of billionaires.
I don't know how that would work, my knowledge is just lacking on the subject but I don't think I'm against the concept, so long as people can decide to go in business without too much oversight.
sounds like you're a social libertarian, which is leftist politics.
Nothing wrong with being a fact seeker. I consider myself a centrist with left leaning values. It's not about fence sitting, it's learning the facts of both arguments and coming to a conclusion based upon those facts.
I don't conform to any single party because I fully know that they have their own issues and choose whoever aligns with my values the most at the time of voting.
Which annoys me, because I honestly believe that should be what politics is. Not about choosing Red Team or Blue Team 100% of the time and being against the opposition for the sake of being against them. Politics isn't a team sport, I want a country with the best quality of life possible.
That said, I live in the UK where politics is different to US and where we don't have to feel so forced to vote for the main 2 parties
And to comment on the meme. If it walks like a nazi, talks like a nazi. It's a nazi. This isn't a controversial take to say. It shouldn't be, ever.
Leftists literally call my whole country Nazi, when we have a Jewish president. Then they go and justify an invasion by the empire we were ruled by as "anti-imperialism"
Honestly, this site is just either: BE AGGRESSIVELY INCLUSIVE ABOUT EVERYTHING EVER OR YOU'RE A NAZI or DIE COMMI SCUM.
Y'all need some fucking critical thinking in your life. None of you are making the world better on this website.
Maybe I just don't like being angry all the time and just vote in elections and forget about politics otherwise? Hate us cause you aint us B)
Ignorance is bliss
... That is, of course, until it isn't. Blissful ignorance has a tendency to come back to bite you in the ass.
So I'm supposed to be in a perpetual state of political suffering and agony? I read up on news in the month before elections and look at policies based on their party sites and that's my civic duty. Politics has become such a crabs in a bucket issue and so many people are lacking the creativity to see the world in a non-political way
It's funny that tankies have conglomerated in such a shitty website that's down half the time, soon you guys will be rationing server time amongst one another, in true tankie fashion.
So much for the tolerant left
You should never tolerate intolerance. The nazis basic philosophy boils down to intolerance. If you let that shit continue then you end up with genocide. So fuck those nazi shit heels. And if you're sympathizing with a cartoon nazi maybe you should reevaluate your life choices.
Virtually nobody in the western, developed world is a Nazi. Not even the people who want to take away trans rights, as horrible as they might otherwise be.
In Ukraine, this seems to be a different story.
“But are there not many fascists in your country?"
"There are many who do not know they are fascists but will find it out when the times comes.”
I have no time for such cretins.
Most people have the ability to go along with horrible things and to convince themselves that they are right. Look at any authoritarian regime, not just the Nazis. That doesn't mean 90% or humanity is horrible or people that you don't have time for.
Or maybe it does. It which case , how sad for you.
In Ukraine, this seems to be a different story.
Wagner left Ukraine so at least it has been slightly reduced, and it's being further reduced every day. :)
"Every nazi carries the nazi flag and does the nazi hand sign thing followed by SIEL HEIL everytime they finish a sentence."
- OP
“Every nazi carries the nazi flag and does the nazi hand sign thing followed by SIEL HEIL everytime they finish a sentence.”
how on earth did you get that out of the comic
This is what happens when the public school system fails us. Absolute stupidity on every level.
Shit you’re dumb
OP might be an idiot, but even he’s not as stupid as you are.
