𝓝𝓪𝓽𝓪𝓵𝓲𝓮 𝓦𝔂𝓷𝓷  💎

Premise one is that physically attacking your political opponents is inherently illiberal and uncivilized and an absolute last resort.

I realize Nazism is itself the very extreme of illiberality and incivility. But don't confuse attacking an idea with attacking a person.

You might argue that we need to "make racists afraid again" and that punching Richard Spenser "worked" because now he's afraid to go out.

So he's afraid. But he's still a Nazi. Racists don't stop being racist because they're afraid. They go underground & encrypt their rhetoric.

You might argue that Nazis are irrational and can't be persuaded. So our only option is to beat and intimidate them into silence.

This to me sounds like the forsaking of liberal democratic values—do you have so little faith in public rationality, in your own principles?

Liberal, tolerant society will always have fringes of illiberalism. I'd rather face those fringes head on.

We can't do that if they're forced into secrecy by violence and intimidation. I'd rather let them spout their ugliness unfiltered.

That way we can directly expose it for what it is and subject it to public opposition and critique.

I believe that public critique can work because I believe democracy works.

If you admit that violence and intimidation are the only way to win, you sound to me like you've given up on democracy.