A drunken American saluted Hitler in Germany and it did not go well for him
If you see a drunken dumbass saluting the ghost of Hitler in the streets, kindly smack them in the face.
That's this weekend's object lesson from Germany, a nation that knows a thing or two about Nazis. When one such drunken dumbass, an American, started throwing out the stiff-armed Nazi salute in downtown Dresden, he got what he deserved: a swift punch.
The attacker wasn't caught, but that punch had a lingering, positive impact: the American, a 41-year-old man who was found by police to have "an extremely high blood alcohol level," according to The Associated Press, is now in legal trouble himself.
See, it's against the law in Germany to rep your Nazi beliefs. Publicly displaying symbols and slogans connected to the National Socialist group -- which is lawfully classified as an "unconstitutional organization" -- can land someone in prison for up to three years.
The drunken American may or may not face a criminal charge; according to AP, he's now under investigation.
There's a lesson here, however. Free expression is only a right until it threatens the safety of other people. Germany wisely decided after World War II that Nazi beliefs only exist for that purpose, and so they were outlawed.
That's what our drunken American is now discovering firsthand, and what a pair of Chinese tourists discovered less than a week earlier when they decided it would be a good idea to "Heil Hitler" in central Berlin.
Aligning yourself with hateful beliefs isn't a joking matter in Germany, for obvious and understandable reasons. And as the chaos in Charlottesville, Virginia on Saturday made abundantly clear, the world would probably be a lot better off if such ideas weren't permitted to take root anywhere.
Topics Activism
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
