I want to share two personal stories of how to handle (or not handle) nazis, from someone who has been very close to punk rock, a subset of which is oi, which tends to be a favorite of nazis. Examples of how, if you give them an inch, they will take a mile. Every fucking time.
First, I worked in a record store many years ago. We bought and sold all manner of new and used records, cds, tapes, and videos. People would come in constantly to get some cash for some pile of cds or vinyl they had. One day, I came into work, and there was a Skrewdriver record behind the counter (they are one of the more well-known skinhead nazi bands). My boss, being somewhat of an asshole and admittedly apolitical, bought it in a collection and knowing how rare it was (nazis know they’re a niche market and don’t do big runs of records), planned to sell it for a hefty profit. His defense being why not take money from other assholes.
He had it on the shelf, on display. My coworker and I immediately threw a fit and told him that it was us or the record—he could get it out of the store, or he would be down two employees (from a total of 3). He took it down, and I don’t know what he did with it, but it left the store. It was up in the store for maybe 3 hours.
We started getting phone calls and people asking in the store about records by certain nazi bands and from certain nazi labels. Most people spoke in whispers or thought that what they were asking about was obscure enough that we wouldn’t be aware of the content, though my coworkers and I knew and did not answer kindly. It took months of us hanging up on people and telling them to leave and making it ABUNDANTLY CLEAR THAT WE WERE NOT THAT KIND OF STORE DESPITE WHAT THEY MAY HAVE HEARD for it to die down. I was personally horrified at the amount of nazis that came out of the woodwork. I had not been aware that there were so many, in blue northern NJ, minutes away from NYC.
The point here is that the news of ONE RECORD, on display for a FEW HOURS, spread like wildfire among the white power community. One record, and they all thought that they were welcome in my workplace.
Second story: I live in a small midwest town that has historically had an absolutely awesome music and art scene. It is why I left the shadow of NYC to live here. My experience here has been fun, creative, and accepting, with the added bonus that there have always been a lot of women doing cool things here. It is a community that did not happen by accident. Intentional decisions and actions have kept it as awesome as it’s been, and yes, that includes running nazis out of town.
I’ll admit, some of my memories of story specifics are a little rusty now. But I remember being told over 20 years ago when I moved here that any time skinhead punks (which are usually nazis, and even the ones who claim to be anti-racist are often violent, misogynist, and nationalistic) showed up to shows, or were even just seen around town, they were thoroughly shunned and told they were not welcome. I saw it happen over my time here, sometimes in bigger ways than others. We got a reputation as “PC punks”, but you know what? Every time, they eventually gave up and just left, and we got to keep our nazi-free community. Because also, every time, they came with the usual excuses and arguments:
We’re just trying to have a good time like everyone else!
We’re not doing anything to hurt anyone!
We’re being so reasonable! It’s you all who are making a big deal out of this!
It has been up to us to define the values of our community and protect those values. Despite being a tiny island in a sea of Trump flags, we still don’t have any nazi punks. I know, from traveling and being around lots of different scenes over the years, that the places who don’t chase them off, get overrun. If you see more than 5 skinhead punks, and you look close enough, one will have a swastika tattoo or an iron cross ring. If you see 5 skinhead punks, next time you will see 10. And then their bands will be asking you for shows. And then they will cause a scene and cry about free speech when you don’t let them play shows (even if that show is in your basement and the idea of being arrested for your views is a long way away from letting nazis into your literal house). And then you’re too busy arguing with nazis to make the art and music you were able to make before. Because any time they are given space, they will take over like the shittiest goldfish ever. They will grow to fit whatever space you allow them.
We have the option to not let them in the tank to take over and poison the water. But we have to take it and use it and defend the values we define for ourselves and our communities. Nazi punks (ok, not just the punks) fuck off. All of ‘em.