What Price Pays The Pacifist

Lots of old news and old stories have come up recently, maybe because distance somehow makes them more palatable than new ones.  On one hand, a discussion of the life and values of Utah Phillips, storyteller and pacifist, on the other, another Nazi being punched in public.  Well, at a concert, so not exactly public.

The story is that six years ago, at a Dropkick Murphys concert, members of the crowd surged up onto the stage to dance along with the last songs.  One of those songs was "Skinhead on the MBTA".  So one, apparently only one, man started sieg heiling in time, the band's bassist noticed, whipped of his bass and socked the man a few times before having him ejected from the stage and the venue.  Then, he announced to the crowd that Nazis were not fucking welcome at their concerts!  The crowd was most pleased.  When the story surfaced again on Pharyngula, many fully supported the action taken.  But, there were several people who voiced discomfort, of the same type that there was when Richard Spencer was punched in the face while giving an interview on the street.

The two cases do not seem very similar on the surface.  The concert goer was actively showing his support of a violent and hateful ideology at that moment while Spencer was just having a talk.  Spencer, however, has made his opinions known in other interviews, and his white nationalism is not in any doubt.  Even though he was not actively threatening any particular person at that moment, his ideology is a constant threat.  The concert goer is actually some random man, who we know nothing about, including his actual politics.  He may in fact not be a complete Nazi.  On Pharyngula, and on the linked story, most comments were supportive of what had happened.  The concerns on the original story were about other songs and their possibly rapey content, while there were concerns about fomenting indiscriminate violence on Pharyngula.  While we should be mindful of "stooping to the level of our enemies", it seemed that some oddly felt that Nazis were not by nature violent and dangerous people, made all the more bold by the backup of a group (really, a gang).

It shouldn't be any surprise that there is rough and tumble activity at a punk show.  Maybe it got out of hand, but that's not any sort of news in itself.  On the other hand, what would the pacifist's reaction be?  I can imagine Utah Phillips, who said that the pacifist not only will not punch back when knocked off their stool but offer to shake hands, would probably invite dialogue.  He might ask the guy on stage, if he was just in the audience, express curiosity in his ideas and values and allow an explanation to be given.  It sounds like a mature, generous and fully human reaction.  Unfortunately, for many people it might not be an option.  Phillips himself recognized the privilege he had as a white man of a certain age, privilege that many people who work against Nazism and fascism do not have.  It is all well and good to say that we should try to uphold the values of pacifism and tolerance, but individuals also have to protect themselves.  They have to send a message of what is acceptable and what is not.  While wondering about the humanity of people who do not look like you is impolite, just wondering is not necessarily a threat.  We should be clear on the fact that Nazis and like-minded groups are not wondering.  They are completely sure and feel perfectly justified in using violence at every turn.  Sometimes the right answer is a punch in the face.  And sometimes, just sometimes, it is also the right statement.