At 05:55 PM 9/25/00 -0400, Konrad Podloucky wrote:
You got an interesting point there. Being a "latter-day euro" (from a country which has been accused of having a fascist government by most of Europe, but that's another story) I don't really get it that if I were a Jew (homosexual, guy with a non-german name, ... pick your favorite) I'd have to tolerate a group of loonies who don't grant me the right to live.
They talk big. Talk is free. If they actually become violent in deed ---smash the individuals who acted. But words are just noise. When you say 'accused of fascism' you mean accused of nationalist-rascism, no? Fascism really means state-control of everything, and its only because of National Socialism of the 30-40s' quirks that they are linked in many minds. The US, has been in the 20th century quite fascist in its control of all property and too sensitive (infringing on rights with social engineering) to race.
Sure I can't force you to like me or be nice to me, but I think there are certain very basic rules, each of us has to obey, which make living in a society possible.
In the US, those rules include tolerance for ideas (that if carried out would be infringements of others rights to be left alone). Of course there are social rules. Within the boundaries of no-nonconsensual-harm (ie, others' right to be left alone), you're free to do whatever, no matter how distasteful to others. Let's face it: Society
isn't self-regulating and as soon as an ideology, philosophy or whatever severely restricts the way of life of a group it's not worth being tolerated, IMNSHO. The very least I expect from a fellow human being is that (s)he acknowledges my right to exist.
Acknowledges your right to exist meaning what? That they not run you over at a crosswalk, sure. That they must invite you to give a speech at their private club? No. And why would you care if some scum acknowledges you or not? As long as they leave you alone, they can rant all they like.
Personally I think, burning their literature is going a step too far, but being a European, I understand why they (esp. the French) are so afraid of Nazism. But the Anti-Nazi Hysteria is the wrong way to go.
We explicitly cannot outlaw political parties here, although in the 50s that was lost in our own form of hysteria at the time. (Communist Party (tm) was officially Bad and Threatening) As far as realpsychology goes, active harassment of fringe groups is only going to make them more attractive. dh