They accused Mr Gabriel of betraying the memory of his father, who was a Nazi supporter. “Your father loved his country, and what have you done to it? You’re destroying it,” one protester said.
Mr Gabriel has previously openly condemned the fascist beliefs of his father, who he says denied the Holocaust until his death in 2012.
In an interview in 2013, Mr Gabriel said he severed contact with his father at the age of 18 after discovering his Nazi sympathies.
After being confronted, the politician laughed and raised his middle finger at the far-right group before walking away.
He said his critics should think about what they would do if faced with a group of "young, aggressive, swearing and ready-for-violence Nazis".
“I made only one mistake, I have not used both hands,” he said in the interview on German television.
i’m sorry, but sticking up middle fingers at your political opponents is not the appropriate behavior for any political representative. i support anti-nazism like the next bisexual liberally raised student who values their country’s democracy but jesus christ. those neo-nazi guys are boiling with rage and inferiority complexes. they’re not looking for discussion, they’re looking for a dirty fight, because that’s the only way they can win. by sticking up middle fingers at them and calling them names gabriel validates their anger and their methods and gives them ammunition for that precise fight.
i’m not saying you shouldn’t fight nazis in every possible way, i’m not saying open discussion is always the way to go (i understand that in this particular situation they were too loud for gabriel to say something and be heard). but especially in situations like this, i expect our elected representatives to be the bigger people and to de-escalate instead of stoking up the fire. we don’t need shit-stirrers in our government, we have enough of those among our people.
I see what you’re trying to say, I really do, but on the other hand:
1. Out in public in front of a gang of protesters is not a good time to tell people that you disagree with them. Best case scenario, they’re not interested in listening. Worst case scenario, it’s outright dangerous.
2. Engaging people in conversations makes others think that these are people with social power who need to be engaged. Look, the modern neo-nazi movement is largely disenfranchised white poor people. The disenfranchisment is something that should probably be addressed. The blaming of their problems on out-group peoples and general racist thuggery though tends to put these guys at the back of the line for good reason.
3. Yes using the finger could be construed as childish, but honestly, why the hell would this guy want to engage with Nazis? He’s openly anti-Nazi, they know that, he knows they know that, he knows they’re just there to cause trouble. Why else would they bring up the dude’s estranged father? That’s just trolling for a reaction. He has refused to feed the trolls.
4. Most of Germany has been trying really hard to put the Nazi history into the past. He’s a politician whose opinion is probably held up by the majority of his constituents, since he’s the Vice Chancellor, and got voted in. He’s acting in accordance with this policy.
5. Fuck Nazis. No really. Fuck giving them a platform, fuck giving them a fair hearing when they’re standing there yelling out racist shit.
you make very good points, especially #5. honestly, i agree with you. the only point i’d like to argue is this: you’re implying that by giving them the finger, gabriel “refused to feed the trolls” – but in my opinion “feeding the trolls” is exactly what he did. he lowered himself to their level by (not verbally, but still) insulting them. that’s him literally “engaging with nazis” but not in a way that’s productive whatsoever. that’s what i mean by shit-stirring. sure, the nazis were stirring shit first by (unfairly) provoking him, but i stand by my opinion: an elected representative cannot and should not be affected by cheap provocation. you don’t shut up bullies by responding to them, you feed them. he should’ve just turned his back, and maybe, if he felt the need to address their insult directly, have done so in a separate statement.
Germany’s vice chancellor gave the finger to neo-Nazi protesters. He regrets he wasn’t ruder
The Light in the Sky 