There are some who believe since these neo-Nazis thrive on publicity and conflict, the best thing to do would be to not show up at the rallies. Let them march and chant their slogans and ignore them completely.
I'm not sure about this. Refusal to confront might be seen as tacit approval which would embolden them. But it's worth thinking about. My reaction to these Nazis is one of anger and confrontation – when I see them marching and chanting Jews will not replace us, my instinctive reaction is to pick up a large stick and slam them in the face.
But that absolutely is counterproductive. Passive, non-violent actions, even to the point of not fighting back, are tactically far superior. But I'm not really cut out for that sort of thing. So maybe it really is best to stop feeding the troll, as it were. If nobody pays them the attention they crave, they might just lose their energy and purpose.
I'm torn on this too. Unless we can have a MLK-style leader who unifies the left
in non violent opposition to these rallies, showing up gives the haters the fuel they crave.
An alternative might be for the left to have rallies of their own, on the same day and in the same towns (and in more towns), but in a different park or whatever. And have those be completely non violence and focused on what the left stands
for, rather than focusing specifically on the haters and their message (they love the attention and playing the persecution card and claiming the left is trying to "shout them down.") If every time the White Nationalists have a rally, the left has one that draws ten, or a hundred, times more, it should send a message to politicians who aren't already blatant racists etc. themselves.
It also makes it harder for the right-wing haters to make the case that they're the silent majority.
They've really crawled out from under their rocks lately, first with the internet, and now they're taking to the streets. They have an ally in the white house, and it's made them bolder.
