Yesterday I learned that someone has been displaying a giant Nazi flag two blocks from my house. The offender is apparently getting evicted over the display and it made the news. And now, if there was ever any doubt, we know that there are Nazis in my neighborhood. Like, the kind that fly swastika flags.
Minneapolis has been infested with hate groups for as long as I can remember. They used to hide out in the dark corners of the punk scene, mostly keeping to themselves and doing crappy graffiti when they thought no one was looking. It's also likely that law enforcement has been infiltrated by hate groups here in Minnesota, given the wholesale infiltration of policing and corrections by hate groups that's been uncovered in other states. But my diverse urban neighborhood always seemed like the kind of place where racists hid their true colors. I guess that's not true anymore.
At the coffee shop where I hang out, displaying Nazi symbols invites conflict. Or it would, if anyone dared to do it. In our local bars, showing a swastika can get a person beaten or shot. As a strong proponent of free speech, I'll defend a person's right to display whatever symbols they want to. But speech has consequences. As a pacifist, I can't advocate violence, even against Nazis. But realistically, if someone set a Nazi on fire next to me, I'd just move upwind to avoid the stink and consider those consequences delivered.
When I was much younger, I had a job describing and authenticating holocaust documents for collectors and museums. One type of document I dealt with was letters from prisoners in concentration camps. These letters all said the same thing. They said what the Nazis wanted them to say, that everything was fine in the camps and that the prisoners were being treated well. In reality, of course, the prisoners were being tortured and killed by fascists.
My neighbors may not fully understand what they're supporting by flying a fascist flag. And yet, the only possible result of flying this flag is conflict. They're very likely part of an online community that encourages open displays of hate. And I'd be willing to bet that they buy into antisemitic conspiracy theories, which are common enough that they show up in friends' Facebook comments regularly.
Online, fighting fascism with logical arguments rarely changes minds. Offline, if a person is so far gone that they're adorning their house with swastikas, telling them to disavow their hateful ways probably won't have much of an impact. Still, people can change. Even people who espouse despicable beliefs.
Taking a step back, I recognize that participating in hate groups may give group members a sense of purpose and belonging, in the same way that participating in any gang does. The people who come back from living the hate group lifestyle are often only able to do so because they have some form of social support. There are organizations like this one in Chicago that help people to give up their hateful ways. If such an organization exists in Minneapolis, they have their work cut out for them.
(Feature image from Pixabay.)
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