this post was submitted on 17 May 2025
210 points (99.1% liked)

politics

23557 readers
3229 users here now

Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!

Rules:

  1. Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.

Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.

Example:

  1. Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
  2. Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
  3. No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
  4. Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
  5. No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.

That's all the rules!

Civic Links

Register To Vote

Citizenship Resource Center

Congressional Awards Program

Federal Government Agencies

Library of Congress Legislative Resources

The White House

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

Partnered Communities:

News

World News

Business News

Political Discussion

Ask Politics

Military News

Global Politics

Moderate Politics

Progressive Politics

UK Politics

Canadian Politics

Australian Politics

New Zealand Politics

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

The life-size sculpture near Sevnica in central Slovenia, where Melanija Knavs was born in 1970, was unveiled in 2020 during US President Donald Trump's first term in office.

It replaced a wooden statue that had been set on fire earlier that year.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] -3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I have no desire to reason with Nazis, I believe the only kind of good Nazi is a dead Nazi, and I genuinely believe it is my moral duty to punch a Nazi on site. But I don't have to pretend their not human to do that. Evil is a human thing. No other animal does that. You have to recognize it for what it is and root it out. Calling them not human doesn't help anything.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Calling them not human doesn't help anything.

Openly displaying the attitudes they have for all other people's towards them is done as a reminder of their garbage dehumanising rhetoric.

Just like you have a duty to punch a Nazi, you have a duty to dehumanise them.

It's not because we believe anyone should ever be dehumanised —and we loudly proclaim that is our actual belief, enshrined in international human rights laws — it's because it's a rhetorical reminder of what Nazis do.

Like you say, of course they are people. In fact, the exact problem is the banality of evil. Historically pretty much a major portion of the Nazi party at it's height were completely normal "law-abiding citizens". Everyone knows what "I was just following orders" refers to. And that's exactly it.

Those people are using it as an excuse, like "no-one told me it was wrong or shocking, I was merely acting like any reasonable person would".

Had there been someone constantly yelling in their ear, about what cowardly shitbags they are, for not putting their life on the line, to resist the rhetoric coming from the actually fucked up psychopaths at the helm, maybe they couldn't have reasonably used the "I'm just following orders" excuse.

So yeah. We need to dehumanise them all. I wouldn't dehumanise like a 100 year old granny who was a member in 1942 or anything, obviously, but as far as rhetoric on the internet goes? They're not people. Anyone directly supporting actual Nazi rhetoric deserves to be dehumanised for that reason until they change their views.

Evil is a human thing. No other animal does that.

Quite a philosophically naive argument, no offense. Animals eat their kids. Dolphins rape fish. Mushrooms take over ants make them zombies. Chimps even have wars.

But since you don't think they possess the capacity to understand it's "evil", it's not?

So... a dumb Nazi isn't an evil Nazi? Or if you dehumanise a Nazi, it makes their actions acceptable? I don't really get where you're going with that particular point. (Sorry, I've a pet peeve about the naturalistic fallacy.)

[–] [email protected] -1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Ugh 🙄 internet "philosophers". I'll see you in the front lines, dude. We'll have a good laugh about how unnecessary this argument was once we're there

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

No, you won't.

My war time posting is not in the front lines. It's about ~30km behind them. In a leadership position.

(Yes, that's the backside of my dogtags. I'm hardly going to dox myself by filming the front.)

Edit also, most communication is online nowadays, even academic. Everyone is constantly online. You can just call me a philosopher, no need for the "internet" or the quotations.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

An "Internet philosopher" is a particular type of person. If you're serious about ending fascism, then our petty little back and forth will not matter when it really comes down to it, then right?

Because, historically, dehumanization comes in handy when it comes to elimination, but not so helpful when it comes to the part that comes next. It seems like an excuse to not feel guilty for killing, and that seems like a dark path to go down.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

You know, trying to explain your already bad joke isn't making it any funnier.

then our petty little back and forth will not matter when it really comes down to it, then right?

Ofc it will have. Everything matters. Some things more than others.

It seems like an excuse to not feel guilty for killing, and that seems like a dark path to go down.

"Oh please, won't someone think of the Nazis?"

I don't think you've actually read anything I've written. That too, is an exaggeration, I don't literally mean that. I mean to say that you've not understood it for some reason. I'd like to point out that in my experience, the people who think calling someone an "internet philosopher" or "a fucking SJW" or "a keyboard warrior" (harder to call me a "keyboard warrior" when I'm actually part of the Finnish Defence Forces?) are usually slightly cognitively lazy and/or poorly educated people who just don't have the attention-span nor the skills to actually engage in such discussion. So you mock it as being too fancy, meaning it's too fancy... for you.

I can promise you not everyone share's your view.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

It wasn't a joke?

And the only thing I want people to think about when it comes to Nazis is stopping them.

I genuinely just don't have the energy to go around and around in the same argument for literally years. So when I see somebody say something like (and I'm paraphrasing here) "If animals can't do evil then does that mean that dumb Nazis can't be evil too!?", it seems like the kind of gotcha moment that is built on a foundation of watching a lot of YouTube videos and then deciding that that's your whole personality.

Maybe the naturalistic argument your pet peeve, but it doesn't really change the point.

So in case you haven't been reading what I've been trying to lay out, it's this: Nazis are human beings. Not all human beings deserve your sympathy. In fact, some of them deserve your hatred. Nazis are amongst that group. If you can't realize that, then you are missing a HUGE thing about the capacity for great evil (and great good) that human beings have.

It's like when somebody call a serial killer a "monster". It's like, "No, monsters aren't real. That's a made up bed time story thing. That serial killer is a human being working within the capacities of a human being".

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago

Still doing it.

You have to try and mock me a pseudointellectual, since you lack the intellect to engage with the arguments, so you mock it, while now writing a longer comment than mine.

Seems that you're projecting pretty strongly with that

deciding that that's your whole personality.

I'm the guy who's been inspiring those YouTubers since the 90's, lol.

Did you forget the part where I'm in the Finnish Defence Forces?

People who decide to identify as actual Nazis in the 21st century literally lose their personhood.

really change the point.

"My rhetoric being fallacious garbage means nothing"

Yeah see before where I said you lack the intellect to understand let alone engage with my argument.

If you can't realize that, then you are missing a HUGE thing about the capacity for great evil (and great good) that human beings have.

"No, monsters aren't real. That's a made up bed time story thing. That

Monsters are very real. They just look exactly like everyone else. See before; "fallacious garbage".

You are missing the point and supporting Nazism, even if you can't understand the half a page argument with one link you need to check out (since you obviously haven't actually read 'The Banality of Evil').