I Guess I'm Taking Time To Post This

Wasn't what I thought I'd be discussing, but it's been at the forefront of my mind for days. 

There's been a lot of discussion in the last few days about punching Nazis. Since this is a country that is supposed to be about free speech, there are some concerns about punching people because you don't like what they're saying.

I support punching Nazis. I understand the arguments people are making against it, but when dealing with a group that is advocating genocide of other groups, there isn't room for reasonable discussion. The Nazis think they should be able to kill entire groups of people, simply because they exist. What are you going to discuss or compromise with them, that they can only kill some of that group?

The world tried compromising and negotiating with Nazis in the 1930s, the parts of the world that weren't studiously ignoring them, anyway (the U.S. would fall in the latter category). You might recall how successful that was. Time and again, the other powers gave way, figuring maybe this time it would be enough to satisfy the Nazis. Let them retake control of the Ruhr Valley. Let them take Austria. Hand them the Sudetenland on a silver platter. It was never enough. They kept trying to take and take, and were only stopped by fighting back. Years of fighting back, by a vast array of peoples, many of whom died in the process. Because the Nazis will kill or grind beneath their heels everyone else if they can, if they are allowed to do so.