very.soft.particlesIt happened... A kid at school started advocating for H*tler to me... He didn't know about the treaty of Versailles... Guys idefk... I have another kid in my class with a swastika tattoo...
How do I approach this? Plz help
Spoiler@very_soft_particles assuming these are teenage boys, they fall into this world because it’s an inviting space that treats them like adults who matter. Try to do the same. Speak to them about it from a place of interest in them, ask questions and don’t be dismissive of their answers. Try to get them talking about their emotions behind their beliefs rather than debating the talking points. If you’re able to build some kind of rapport with them you might eventually be able to show them there are other communities where they would be valued and respected. It’s a lot of work and I wish I knew of other ways but unfortunately “gentle parenting the Nazi children” is the only thing I’ve seen get actual results (if we’re talking about adults that’s a very different story)
@spoiler I'm gonna try being kind and friendly with them, which has been my general vibe so far and I have a good rapport with most of them although like I said a bunch of them still just pretend I don't exist and don't acknowledge me when I talk to them.
@spoiler when the kid/guy brought up Hitler I said that he didn't have all the information and told him that Nick Fuentes is probably taking advantage of him... He said it after saying he was gonna go to the middle east to get a bunch of *racial explicatives* to salute him and respect him.
@very_soft_particles for some reason I interpreted your initial post like you were a teacher dealing with kids in your class falling into this stuff but now I’m realizing maybe you are a student and these are your (younger) peers, if that’s the dynamic it’s a lot harder. I agree kindness and building rapport is still the best option but yeah I’d be a lot more tempted to consider… less constructive routes
@spoiler I can see why that would be your interpretation... I've dealt with this shit so much in my 20s too with work when I came into my queerness etc... Trying to be their friends and educate them and show them patience definitely didn't work out in those contexts. I actually got assaulted and tried to tell my bosses about it and they blamed me for it and then in the end I had to quit (I should have quit much sooner)... The guy who assaulted me moved up the ladder and his career got quite successful and mine now basically no longer exists... Thus I'm at trade school.. I mean I don't think I was going to make that career work as an out trans person anyways so I kinda needed to leave
@spoiler I'm sorry I'm feeling really activated and upset about this interaction tbh... After it happened that group of dudes kept smirking at me and cackling to each other... Ugh ...
@spoiler the other thing is that these Nazi guys are always the ones who cheat on their exams by stealing other peoples' work... It's been extremely frustrating because they often steal my work or try to buy it off me to hand in as their exam pieces. I'm tempted next time to say "classic.. you pass exams like the Nazis fixed their economy: by stealing other peoples' shit"
@very_soft_particles this all sounds a lot more devious and severe than I was imagining and I’m so sorry you’re dealing with these assholes. Are there other ppl in your class who are aware these guys are Nazis and could maybe be convinced to do something about it or at least put them in their place?
@spoiler yeah we got a good crew of ppl in the class as well, and some good profs too. We have a group chat.