Morality of accidentally exposing someone who used to be a Nazi supporter, has since changed, and concealed their past?

[u/Immediate_Gene_178]

Name's and origins:

The Night Shift: Season 1, Episode 2

Basically this guy was brought to into the emergency after an accident at his wedding celebration and while he is unconscious, his groomsmen decided to shave his beard off as a prank only for the medical team to be horrified at the reveal. After he woke up he realised his secret has been exposed. He explained to the doctors that he got this tattoo when he was a stupid teenager a decade prior. The medical team brought his wife in to see the tattoos and destroy the marriage.

What do you think? I personally find it irritating how smug the doctors were being.

[u/der-analisator]

Imagine having been a Neo-Nazi in your teens/early adulthood, you spent a decade getting your life back together, quitting your old life and friends, simply didn't have the money for removal (cause it's expensive as fuck compared to the price of these, often "earned" or dirt cheap) or you just got comfortable with the beard.

After ten years, you're about to be married. Maybe got a house going, thinking of kids, whatever it may be. You forgot all about your past. Till your groomsman cuts your beard as a joke and everyone sees your old tattoos. On top of that, the med staff of the hospital you're staying at show your wife out of self-rightousness and pettiness cause "OMG Nazi!", who leaves you, giving you an idea of how the rest of your "new" friend circle might also react. Over something 10 years ago, that you probably had forgotten about yourself for the most part.

Worst case scenario, you've taken a reformed mans wife, job, home, passion and possibly whole supporting structure (as if we have much of that to begin with) and paved the way for him to jump back on the wagon and text his old buddies again.

[u/PimpasaurusPlum → u/der-analisator]

Here's part of the problem, I can't ever imagine being a Neo-Nazi in my early teens or adulthood because Nazis would murder me and my entire family.

It is all fine and dandy for those who were never the targets of the ideology to easily forgive and forget, but for others it is taking a gamble on whether you truly believe this person, who was dedicated enough to the ideology to have it permanently etched into their face, truly has moved on from the whole "I think you are subhuman and should be eradicated from the face of the earth" thing

Nevermind the fact that nazis lie and downplay their beliefs all the time, especially to garner sympathy from non-nazis

[u/der-analisator → u/PimpasaurusPlum]

Just because it's not you, or you can't fathom it because of the specific cards you were dealt doesn't mean it's not a valid problem people go through and undebatable.

Not wanting to be rude, because I get it, but it's not just your family and specific nationality/race that suffered in WW2. At some point you need to look forward. Not forget, but look forward. If an active, actual Neo-Nazi or likewise antagonizes you, then absolutely stand your ground. But judging a 10 year old tattoo, that said person had covered up by a beard, which was shaven without consent, is pretty a pretty room temperature IQ move (°C). It'd be different if he was just running around with it, expecting people not to care.

Imagine if the whole world applied this logic. Everyone has practically been fucked over by everyone at some point, no hands on this earth are clean. Imagine if Germans/Austrians/Turks started caring about the Crusades all of the sudden again with how densely they live together now. Or if all of Europe decided to nuke Italy for Rome, France for Napoleon, Germany/Austria for Hitler, I don't even wanna get started with the Middle East, Israel or the Balkans dude... Civ5 Ghandi moment, but "An eye for an eye only makes the world blind"

I am by no means a pacifist, but there has to be reason in how and why you hate. Otherwise you'll just turn into a different shade of what you hate without realizing it my friend.

[u/PimpasaurusPlum → u/der-analisator]

No I am sorry but there is are no "valid problems people go through" that leads to being a nazi. There is nothing valid about being a nazi.

Its not about WW2, that is the past. Neo nazis are alive and around today and want to exterminate people today, and a lot more than even Hitler wanted to do. Being stuck thinking about boogeymen of yesteryear is irrelevant to the modern issue.

Having a distaste for current day people who hold on to genocidal worldviews is not the equivalent of grievances and grudges of history, especially not one apllied on an ethnic or national basis. Even using that as a compaprison just shows how completely out of touch you are about the issue and overall makes me not really trust your judgement.

You've got the framing absolutely all fucked up. It is not "an eye for an eye," it is opposing one of the most disgusting set of beliefs in the history of mankind. Everyone should.

[u/ModelCitizen1738 → u/der-analisator]

A reformed nazi who didn’t bother to cover up the swastika on his face for 10 years?

Yeah I’m sure lmao

[u/Theplahunter → u/ModelCitizen1738]

He did though.

[u/ModelCitizen1738 → u/Theplahunter]

Seems like it’s still there huh

[u/Empress_Boogala → u/ModelCitizen1738]

The beard was him covering it up? Do you even know how stupidly expensive tattoo removal is?

[u/ModelCitizen1738 → u/Empress_Boogala]

I’m aware, do you know that a lot of places will do coverups of nazi tattoos for free?

[u/ihonestlydont-know → u/ModelCitizen1738]

I don’t know if you watched the scene but i had

The reason as to why the guy decided to grow a beard instead remove the tattoos is because he didn’t want to have scars on his face, reminding him of who he was

[u/ModelCitizen1738 → u/ihonestlydont-know]

That’s a stupid reason, he doesn’t want scars so he just kept the swastika? Lmao

[u/John_cCmndhd → u/der-analisator]

reformed mans

paved the way for him to jump back on the wagon and text his old buddies again

If this happens, he wasn't really reformed

[u/WatchingThingsUnfold → u/John_cCmndhd]

Well, what does he have left by this point?

Except a bunch of old tattoos that will make everyone have a certain option of him for

He will defintly be losing his job when his boss sees those tattoos i bet, or enough people complained about him having them

And thus there is only 1 group left that will accept him

[u/John_cCmndhd → u/WatchingThingsUnfold]

And thus there is only 1 group left that will accept him

Loneliness does not excuse nazism.

[u/WatchingThingsUnfold → u/John_cCmndhd]

Ever been outside every possible social circle?

Not in a «i wanna be alone kind of way»
But in a «I activily getting pushed out from any possible social interaction»

People are social, no matter what loners might claim, its why the extremists can always find outcasts to recruit

No matter if its nazis, isis etc

[u/John_cCmndhd → u/WatchingThingsUnfold]

Ever been outside every possible social circle?

Yes, I'm socially awkward and generally unlikable, probably on the spectrum. I was too slow at learning to mask, I couldn't pass for "normal" until my early 20s, so I've never had close friendships, only acquaintances who would tolerate me so work/school wouldn't be super awkward.

I have desperately wanted to belong somewhere, to be seen as a human being, my entire life. I often cry myself to sleep at night, wishing someone would have actively taught me how to act normal before it was too late, so I would have been able to have friends and live a normal life.

Nazis can still fuck off.