"We should be better than this. We should believe that we are better than this, although this doesn't appear to be the case, if recent events provide any indication. There is no possible Christian defense for the horrific events in Charlottesville, Virginia.
These abhorrent acts are as godless as they come--and the people who committed them, who proudly lifted them up as 'patriotism' and still tote them high? Criminals. Terrorists. Murderers. Three innocent protesters lie dead and 19 more suffer severe trauma because of their hate. This is unjustifiable, and I cannot possibly fathom a legitimate explanation.”
I wrote this down in a passionate, irate fervor this past Sunday as I thought about the terrifying events that shook Charlottesville—and by extension, much of America—to the core. Of course, my opinion on the whole tragic affair hasn’t changed whatsoever. If I see that two groups are protesting and that one of them is toting Nazi flags, you’d better believe that you’ll find me on the front lines of the opposite side in a heartbeat.
Even still, there has been a surprising amount of backlash against the counter-protesters in Charlottesville who did their best to combat the martial neo-Nazi forces that were protesting the removal of the Confederate monuments. Right now, I’m going to focus on one thing—the very fact that anyone at all was carrying a Nazi flag. There are those who would try to protect the American rights of anyone who would wear such a symbol to show that they believe in it, all done in the name of free speech. I believe the following comic states a response to this far better than I can.
I shared this on my personal Facebook page several days ago, and recently got a rather thought-provoking response. I provided my reply below, and I hope that the text of this exchange suffices to close out my beliefs on this topic.
Commenter: "if this is true, which i have a problem with because it is equating the displaying of a symbol to a call to action, then the wearing of Che shirts is also a call to murder (i believe also ethnic cleansing but i can't confirm right now. I do know he was a horrid racist), the showing of any image of Lenin is a call to slaughter the bourgeoisie, the image of the Colosseum is a call to kill Christians, the symbols of any black supremacist group is the inciting of racial violence, and the burning of the american flag is the inciting of a revolt against the republic.
Nazism is sick and demented. but equating displaying symbols and incitement to violence can have huge issues and implications that reach far beyond dealing with nazis. and it will lead to the political suppression of not just them."
Me: "You bring up some excellent points and counter-examples. The only thing I can possibly add to this as a final counterpoint is that no other symbol in recent modern history is so inexorably linked to such human horror and genocide as the Nazi swastika. No other notorious image in the past 100 years has more "blood on its hands" than this. Less than a century ago, this symbol became synonymous with the blood of millions of lives shed across the world for the sake of a few men's sick and demented demands on humanity itself. Your other examples, while excellent, remain mostly hypothetical by comparison. Perhaps this simply means that wearing a Che shirt is in as poor taste as wearing a Third Reich symbol. I realize that my logic isn't perfect here, but immediate cultural significance and impact also has to be taken into account. While I am all for personal expression and the right to do so, wearing certain symbols in such a way as to declare belief in what they stand for is inexcusable--they are practically an innate call to violence, something that cannot be protected. Germany has categorically outlawed Nazi symbolism for a reason."
Simply put, Nazism is far too dangerous to be given even the slightest bit of credence or freedom in a free and peaceful society. It must be removed wherever it is found. Period.
Any questions?
