Do Neo-Nazi's Have Rights?

For a lot of reasons, this is a really weird thing for me to actually write about. Not so much because I'm discussing Nazi's, or the fact that I'm dealing with a really odd topic.

No, its because I'm asking if a group of American's actually do have rights.

Now, let me set something straight now: I'm not a fan of Neo-Nazi's. In my personal experience with them, they tend to be quiet. The last time I encountered one was at Ozzfest in 2008. One thing was clear; we both were there because of our love of the music, so personal hatreds and differences aside, that's all that mattered.

That being said, Neo-Nazi's still have rights... right?

On April 23rd, Murphy's Law played the Khyber here in Philly. On Tuesday the word was out around town that 3 men dressed in Nazi attire went to the show. Now, mind you, Murphy's Law has played around with Nazi imagery in the past, but they haven't touched it in a long time. They show up to the show, and the crowd largely ignored them, periodically making fun of them. They wound up leaving the show and going down 2nd Street.

A crowd of 50 people attacked the 3 men.

Straight from Philly.com:

He said the crowd kicked and punched the Nazi-wannabes and used weapons that included beer bottles and cue balls, although postings on other online- message boards describe the attack as more tame.

The only information police have on the incident is that they responded to a report of a disturbance on 2nd Street at 11:33 p.m. No arrests, hospitalizations or assaults were reported, a police spokeswoman said.

That's pretty interesting to hear. Post and comments on Philebrity say the guys basically got their asses kicked and left with bloody noses. The photos and police reports say otherwise, and the entire thing amounted to people stealing their hats.

But as you can see from the comments, the sentiment is that they deserved what they got.

Did they?

The reports indicated that the men didn't do anything during or after the show other than to wear what they wanted. One account says they wore "camouflaged combat pants; woolen, WWII-era coats adorned with SS emblems and authentic Third Reich hats with Nazi insignias emblazoned atop them." Other than that, they were basically just going to a concert to have a good time. Once they leave the place, they're attacked by 50 people.

So, lets go over this again: 3 men were attacked for no reason by a crowd of 50 people simply for standing at 2nd and Chestnut.

In this country, everyone has the right to do and say whatever they want as long as they don't interfere with your rights. To be clear, no, you do not have the right to not be offended. If anything, it's a right to be allowed to be offended. If these guys wanted to stand around and look like SS troopers, they have every right in the world to do so. If you want to stand across the street from them, give them the finger, and tell them to fuck off, you have every right in the world to do that, too. You don't have the right to physically harm someone, though, unless they're actively are trying to kill you.

Isn't going around and beating people who look, act, or think differently than you a Nazi-esq thing to do?

Again, I don't like Neo-Nazi's that much. I also hate racist pricks in general. There's a group of black men who stand on Market Street every Saturday preaching hatred and racism, about how "white people are evil". Yet I'm not allowed to hurt them, no matter how much I want to. These guys are actively preaching hate, but all I can do is fight back by yelling at them and flipping them off. And, in the end, sometimes that's all you can do to stay a little ahead morally.

Photo courtesy of The Fifth Column.