By now you’ve seen neo-Nazi Richard Spencer get his block knocked off by a hoodie-wearing vigilante. It was the punch heard around the world. And it’s been remixed and remixed and remixed again.
There are those who feel that violence, even against a white nationalist who believes in one “pure race” and that the other races should be eliminated from the country, shouldn’t be praised. And then there are those people, like myself, who’d like a day designated for punching neo-Nazis in the face.
Last summer I had my own run-in with a Spencer-type couple. While I was at my local gas station, a white couple on a busted moped approached me and asked for some change so they could gas up their moped. At the time, I didn’t have any cash on me, and I wasn’t going to slide my credit or debit card in the pump to help them out. I kindly told them I didn’t have anything to give, and walked away to get back into my car.
“Nigger bitch,” the male moped driver said out loud.
At that moment, I stopped dead in my tracks. Turned around and walked over to their moped and kicked that shit to the ground. Walked toward my car, got in and drove off into the sunset.
Did I feel like punching the man in the face? Sure. But my first instinct was to kick his raggedy-ass moped to the ground. And that’s what I did.
When it comes to tolerating racism and hatred, sometimes it’s more about being intolerant, just as they are. I’m not going to feel sorry that some neo-Nazi got his head knocked off, or say that a person’s beliefs won’t get his or her ass kicked somehow.
Spencer is a racist asshole and should be treated as such. And if that involves him getting knocked out every day during Trump’s administration, then so be it.
In the words of Brand Nubian, “Punks jump up to get beat down.” And if anyone gives you grief for punching a neo-Nazi, just call it an alternative handshake.