Richard Spencer is a name that has only recently become familiar for most people, especially those people who are capable of empathy and rational thought. He first attracted major attention a few weeks after Donald Trump's election, when he led a meeting of fellow white supremacists where attendees cried “Sieg Heil” and raised their arms in the Nazi salute. Though he denies being a Neo-Nazi, he is clearly a Neo-Nazi.
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The most recent incident involving Richard Spencer happened on the day of Trump's inauguration. He was giving an interview to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, denying his identification with Nazism and explaining the significance of his Pepe the Frog lapel pin when a masked protester, who has yet to be identified, ran up to him and punched him. Most recent sources say that the Washington D.C. police force has not launched an investigation, because Spencer has not pressed charges.
Since the assault, thousands of memes and remixed videos have been created and are circulating the Internet. It also had the internet asking, "Is it okay to punch a Nazi?"
Richard Spencer confirmed that he was the one who coined the term "alt-right," a term which has been used to describe an extremist branch of conservatives known for their virulent racism, antisemitism, misogyny, and homophobia. He has called for "peaceful ethnic cleansing" of minorities in America. Throughout his career, he has quoted Nazi propaganda and denounced Jewish people. His now defunct website ran an essay by Colin Liddell entitled "Is Black Genocide Right?" which included such quotes as, “Instead of asking how we can make reparations for slavery, colonialism, and Apartheid or how we can equalize academic scores and incomes,” Colin Liddell wrote, “we should instead be asking questions like, ‘Does human civilization actually need the Black race?’ ‘Is Black genocide right?’ and, if it is, ‘What would be the best and easiest way to dispose of them?’”
So, is it okay to punch a Nazi? I'll leave that to the reader. Along with a link to the video of Spencer getting punched.
