First of all, a single person has stated that they were wearing a "neo-Nazi or white nationalist symbol on the back of his jacket." That is a far cry from them being actual Nazis. A lot of people wear shit on their jackets, they might be actual card carrying Nazi party members, or they may be idiots who think it's cool to be edgy, or they may be idiots who don't know what an iron cross means to some people, they could be a lot of things that are not pro gas chambers.

Also, and more importantly, my inclination to give people the benefit of the doubt is not limited to accused Nazis. I have broken bread/played hoops/played cards/shared pitchers of beer/coached kids sports teams with dudes of all colors who have held strong beliefs and sported conspicuous tattoos supporting some pretty damn alarming racist ideology. And what I have found is that just about every one of them, once we talk and get to know one another, is just another human trying to eek out a living and raise their kids. The tattoos, the jackets, the racist words that come out of their mouths,,, that's not who they are at their core. That is often what they foolishly bought into at an impressionable age, and for many folks, any age is impressionable. Just because they might be 40+ does not mean they are impervious to influence of others.

I have spent a lot of time with folks from many walks of life whose first impression might show them to be ultra liberal hippie dippy or militant black guy who thinks he hates Jews or white skinhead who thinks hilter had a good thing going, and every kind in between, and I have learned that giving someone a chance, or the benefit of the doubt, often results in finding out that they are not that serious about their supposed hatred, if at all, and making a new friend who I can learn from and teach. Sometimes we learn that the other guys (Jews, blacks, honkeys, whatever) aren't so bad. Sometimes we learn to weld, or a new skateboard trick, or a new card game. At the end though, we are humans who are enjoying each others company and sharing laughs and stories over a game or a bottle of suds.

And our kids see us doing this, which hopefully impresses upon them that people of all ilks can get along, even if one dad has his head shaved and a swazi tattoo and his card partner is a black guy who uses the word cracker more often referring to a person than a snack.

You can spend years carrying your banner and screaming in the faces (or punching) those who's ideals are opposed to your own and you will never, ever, convert any of them to your way of thinking. Not a single person will ever respond to confrontation or punches by realizing that maybe their hateful ways are the wrong path. And I equate that with zero victories.

So u/hotandtiredanddy, if you are content with zero victories and a dislocated shoulder from all the patting yourself on the back, then good luck to you sir. But if you want to actually make some real change for the future, maybe skip the fantasies of punching brownshirts or whomever has offended you, and talk to one of them and maybe offer to buy the next round. One of those options might feel better at first, but the other one has a better than zero chance to make the world a better place.