12-29-2009, 01:48 AM
While I find the opinions of naz.is offensive, they do have a right to voice their opinions, within reason(that is if their speech incites violence in that moment or will put people in immediate danger). I know that sounds terrible, but freedom of speech also means we have to listen to the words of those who are bigoted, hateful, and completely full of it. I've seen KKK meetings in the south and while I always cringe inside at the thought, they technically are not breaking the law in any way, even if I find them distasteful. These type of groups never go away, they only morph into new hatreds, new fears.
For example, after 9-11, suddenly the US went into super crazy "I hate Muslims/Arabs" mode, which I think is ridiculous. It bothers me when these people are targeted just because of their ethnicity when that doesn't automatically make them terrorists(just like me being white doesn't automatically make me a part of the Aryan Brotherhood or the KKK). It used to be that the Jewish were the target of every ounce of hatred. They were per.secuted in witch hunts, blamed for plagues and failed crops, and all manner of ridiculous things. Catholics were per.secuted in the US when they immigrated here because we were a predominantly Protestant country. The Irish notoriously could not get a job when they came and had to work the worst jobs, similar to how we treat Mexicans today.
Its a matter of education. When people are uneducated, they simply associate a skin colour or ethnicity with certain traits without any further consideration of the actual person behind it all.