This is a sticker that I saw on a subway train yesterday; I've obfuscated web links that were on the sticker, but I can say that one was down and the other was built by an idiot. Also, doesn't "join your local nazis" sound like a hefty jaunt, like somebody enticing you to do something completely without critically thinking about the matter beforehand?

I have this friend; or sooner: I had this friend.

The friend in question had deleted our friendship off of a social network, I recently discovered. I checked this because of a very specific reason.

Yesterday, I received a kind message from a friend who wondered whether I was friends with the aforementioned friend. I said why, yes, although not really now. Why do you ask?

I was then presented with an image where a Swedish (autonomous) antifa organisation presented headshots of persons who have been visiting NMR rallies; NMR is an acronym for Nordiska motståndsrörelsen ("Nordic resistance movement"), a nazi political party that's fairly well known in Sweden due to their nazi politics and inability to keep their minds unamazed.

Among the headshots I immediately recognised the friend I once had, one that I once proudly boasted to be close to.

The antifa organisation was looking for identifying information on who was who in their leaflet.

Upon searching for information about this specific antifa group, I found out that they had outed identified nazis. For example, one nazi who was trying to hate jews and act for the destruction of all "volk traitors" completely anonymously, is studying law. Having identified him, the antifa group had posted fliers all over his campus; his face, name, and nazi identity was quickly all over the place and probably known to all.

While I, on a deeply visceral level, understand the arguments that are in place where an anonymous antifa person outs the identity of a low-level nazi, I don't think it's good idea. At least not right on that level. Action must be taken, I believe things should be done in other ways.

First, I believe that attempts to try and speak with a person who is currently identifying themselves as nazi is a good thing. They often live in a sectarian atmosphere where the non-nazi world is verboten and outside relations are seen as daft and a betrayal of their world. I shan't go into the moral, ethical, nor other values that they espouse, as that wouldn't be interesting, but I will say this: if you believe that any living creature is really more or less worth (however you may define that word) that another living creature, I firmly believe that you're on a clearly slippery route towards mental oblivion, in a bad way.

Second—almost prior to my first—I think that publicly outing a low-level nazi can be detrimental to their health in a variety of ways, few of which I subscribe to as doing any good; mainly, can this outing lead to their leaving their nazi world behind? Or could it lead to their isolating themselves further, in sectarian fashion? I mean, when sects are attacked, their leaders often point to the attack as proof of the outside world being evil and nasty, and as a receipt of sorts that clearly states that you were right in hiding from the outside world from the start.

I remember Ingo Hasselbach, who was once a neo-nazi leader in Germany. He broke off with that in 1993 and has subsequently worked actively with Exit, a group that "provides support and rehabilitation for neo-Nazis wanting to leave that subculture, as well as support for parents and those whose work brings them into contact with (usually young) people involved in Nazism." Here's a slightly inspirational video about the matter:

The funny actions of Exit aside, I firmly believe that displaying warmth, love, and affection towards friends who have become nazis or nazi sympathisers is the way to go; otherwise, I think we're trodding along the same wayward path as they are. We're not better than them - we're the same as them, albeit with completely different world views.

And world views can change.

To be frank, I'm not a "tree-hugging hippie" in the sense that I believe one shouldn't oppose nazis; if NMR could, they would either turn me into soap or try and send me abroad as soon as possible, so I will resist them in what I think are sound ways. Having stated that, I think nazis are their own worst enemies; if you believe persons are non grata due to facts like where they were born, what languages they speak, or what their sexuality is, you're off your rocker; however, argumenting against that in a sanctimonious, and/or frenetic way, will most likely just defeat your own purpose.

To finish, I quote the great Bill Hicks in a tree-huggin' hippie way:

Here's what we can do to change the world, right now, into a better ride. Take all that money we spend on weapons and defense each year and, instead, spend it feeding, clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would do many times over -- not one human being excluded -- and we can explore space together, both inner and outer, forever. In peace.