Standing up during dinner conversations is one thing, and something I have done personally many times. But yelling at someone to get out of a bar just because they’re clothing signals that they’re a Nazi is another thing entirely. Now, if they’re being assholes and actively intimidating or harass someone, by all means step in and stand up to them. But if they’re minding their own business, they’re just as free to enjoy the establishment as anyone else.

It goes back to the golden rule, treat others as you want to be treated. You don’t want those same Nazi’s, or anyone, to harass you for wearing or signaling something they don’t agree with. So why is it okay to do it to them?

Further, this type of mentality can lead to a whole lot of misunderstandings. Innocent people could targeted as Nazis when they really aren’t. Take some of the iconography of the sci-fi/fantasy world of Warhammer 40K, a popular miniature tabletop war game. It has a huge following and some of symbols in its lore bear a striking resemblance to Nazi iconography. Is everyone who enjoys that game and wears patches and other clothing related to it a Nazi? Well… some of them are, but a huge portion of them are not.

The company that makes this game, Games Workshop, is squarely in the neo-liberal paradigm as a publicly traded company on the London Stock Exchange and does not support any Nazi or fascist principles. Disclaimer: I work for Games Workshop, so take this as you will. Just wanted to point out an example where innocent people enjoying a game and lore could be seen as Nazi’s, just like D&D players could be targeted as devil worshippers.

Politeness exists for a reason. However, I do agree there is a time and place to stand up. I just don’t think an open call to arms without a clear target and is warranted… yet. When is it time? Hopefully never. Let’s try to keep the battles at the dinner tables (as civil as possible) and maybe we can prevent it from spilling over into general civil unrest.