FCK NZS?
The six letters above can be seen all over Dresden and other large cities in East Germany. They are on stickers plastered over the signs of right-wing parties, or they are spray painted in amongst the other scatterings of graffiti. They stand for what would otherwise be an aggressively offensive proclamation, but since they are directed at a universally accepted monster, they are an example of positive speech.
Or are they?
This is not a defense of Neo-Nazism, ala “there are good people on both sides.” It is more a question of how we engage bad people, when in my worldview tells me, “there are bad, broken, even evil people on all sides.”
We all have a tendency towards what the Bible calls sin. We all are capable of doing the wrong thing, and we all at some point do so, intentionally and not just accidentally. (We do that even more frequently.)
The FCK NZS movement can be seen as a case of "Whataboutism" if we look at it honestly. Other suitably evil targets these days include child molesters; evil people that everyone knows are wrong, and that are easy targets to point at to help oneself feel better—like a good person—even noble.
But, while it is true that Nazis, racists, and people who mistreat outsiders are wrong—even engaging in evil behavior—we need to do something more constructive than simply condemn them. We want to change people’s outlook, not just shout at them. And as good as it might make some feel to be as offensively negative toward them, that is responding in kind and likely won’t change anything.
Or are they?
This is not a defense of Neo-Nazism, ala “there are good people on both sides.” It is more a question of how we engage bad people, when in my worldview tells me, “there are bad, broken, even evil people on all sides.”
We all have a tendency towards what the Bible calls sin. We all are capable of doing the wrong thing, and we all at some point do so, intentionally and not just accidentally. (We do that even more frequently.)
The FCK NZS movement can be seen as a case of "Whataboutism" if we look at it honestly. Other suitably evil targets these days include child molesters; evil people that everyone knows are wrong, and that are easy targets to point at to help oneself feel better—like a good person—even noble.
But, while it is true that Nazis, racists, and people who mistreat outsiders are wrong—even engaging in evil behavior—we need to do something more constructive than simply condemn them. We want to change people’s outlook, not just shout at them. And as good as it might make some feel to be as offensively negative toward them, that is responding in kind and likely won’t change anything.
Comments
Post a Comment