We asked a philosopher if it's okay to punch Nazis in the face

After white nationalist Richard Spencer was attacked on Inauguration Day, the phrase “punching Nazis” started trending on Twitter.

The “alt-right” leader was being interviewed on Friday in Washington when a masked man ran into shot and smacked him in the face.

Obviously the assault was illegal and ugly, but do different moral rules apply because of Spencer’s white-supremacist views?

It is worth noting that Spencer, 38, denies he is a neo-Nazi.

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We asked Tom Stern, a philosophy lecturer at University College London, about the ethics of violence and what could happen as a result of the episode.He said: “Spencer’s view are not merely white nationalist. He deliberately uses German national socialism tropes explicitly, like saying ‘Hail Trump’.“In the great chain of extreme right wing views he’s occupying quite a high place.

“One thing that makes violence relevant to Spencer is that national socialism thrives in presenting an appearance of power and control.

“He’s calling on a tradition that tells its supporters they will bring about order through force.

“He said he supports ‘peaceful ethnic cleansing’ for example, but you cannot do that without violence.

“In a sense, his authority derives from an image of being unpunchable.”

Spencer has said his dream is a “new society, an ethno-state that would be a gathering point for all Europeans” and said he supports “peaceful ethnic cleansing”.Giving a speech to the alt-right in December, he referred to mainstream media as the “lugenpresse” – a term the Nazis used to attack critical newspaper reports.His speech was greeted with Nazi salutes and applause, captured by this chilling Atlantic footage.

Stern went on: “A very small number of people would really think that violence is always wrong. Most think it’s unpleasant, a regrettable last resort. “Once you’re agreed on that then you can move on to individual instances.“Spencer showed up on the streets at the inauguration and was happily doing a media interview.

“We want him and his ideas to disappear: Is it by punching? Is it by arguing? Is it by leaving him alone?

“From the protester’s point of view, he’s thinking ‘what’s going to achieve my goals best?’

“A lot more people will have heard of Spencer after this, I suspect.

“The real question is what his supporters take him to be and what they think he’s advancing.”

Stern stresses that assault is always criminal in civil society, and that widespread sharing of isolated incidents online could be seen to encourage violence more generally. But he said those willing to use violence are likely to remain a minority. “The attacker looked part of an organised protest, he had a covered face,” he said. “That’s not mainstream and hasn’t taken over. “That kind of protest, where people cover their faces and do things considered illegal, is always likely to remain a small number of people.”

Since the attack Spencer has posted videos online saying he’s “worried about going out to dinner…because these kind of people are roaming around.”

He also said he would need bodyguards at further protests or conferences.

He said on periscope: “I’m afraid this is going to become the meme to end all memes … That I’m going to hate watching this.”

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