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The best way to fight white supremacists: Parody
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-shore-right-parody-20170824-story.htmlZachary Shore
Are so-called alt-right protesters coming to your town? Here’s the best strategy to defeat them: Steal their limelight. When they come for a parade, offer parody instead.
There is a debate across the country over how to handle neo-Nazi marches. Some say that we should fight them, insisting that the only thing that white nationalists understand is force. But if Charlottesville proved anything, it is that violence is not the answer. If we fight and innocent people die, as in Charlottesville, decent people can only view it as a tragedy. And if it’s white nationalists who are beaten, battered and arrested, they will win as a result. They will present themselves as victims of a liberal elite who would silence their free speech. And with such claims they will attract more members.
In 1928, the Nazis won their first 12 seats in Parliament on just 2.6% of the vote. No one took them seriously. Four years later they had become the largest party in Germany. How did they accomplish this? They campaigned as law-and-order candidates who would bring an end to the violent clashes between left and right. This one aspect of Nazi strategy attracted moderate Germans who wanted civic peace. In February 2017, when black bloc protesters stormed the Berkeley campus, smashing windows and instilling fear, they played perfectly into the same old far-right playbook.
We don’t need a show of force. What we need is a defiant show of fun. .......
There is a debate across the country over how to handle neo-Nazi marches. Some say that we should fight them, insisting that the only thing that white nationalists understand is force. But if Charlottesville proved anything, it is that violence is not the answer. If we fight and innocent people die, as in Charlottesville, decent people can only view it as a tragedy. And if it’s white nationalists who are beaten, battered and arrested, they will win as a result. They will present themselves as victims of a liberal elite who would silence their free speech. And with such claims they will attract more members.
In 1928, the Nazis won their first 12 seats in Parliament on just 2.6% of the vote. No one took them seriously. Four years later they had become the largest party in Germany. How did they accomplish this? They campaigned as law-and-order candidates who would bring an end to the violent clashes between left and right. This one aspect of Nazi strategy attracted moderate Germans who wanted civic peace. In February 2017, when black bloc protesters stormed the Berkeley campus, smashing windows and instilling fear, they played perfectly into the same old far-right playbook.
We don’t need a show of force. What we need is a defiant show of fun. .......
3 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
Americans knew how to make fun of nazis in the 1940s. Watch the singer's finger at the 30 second mark. 
