Is a Neo-Nazi Worse Garbage Than Someone Who Callously Weaponizes Them?

So here's the story: not long ago, James Raggi, the publisher of Lamentations of the Flame Princess (that is to say, the most successful and innovative OSR publisher in the world) made a post where he noticed that neo-nazi murderer Varg Vikernes is apparently an RPG blogger.  I suspect he even knew about Vikernes in the first place on account of Raggi being into the kind of death-metal music that this guy once played. Whatever.  The post where he brought it up was very clearly in the style of just saying "this is happening", and included the description of it as "surreal".  In response, the usual suspects of the Pseudo-Activist Outrage Brigade have claimed that Raggi has "endorsed a neo-nazi", and YDIS' goons have posted one of their slander-pieces suggesting that if Zak S doesn't denounce Raggi as a neo-nazi it's proof of.. something (I can't quite get what their idiotic incoherent point might be, probably it has to do with Zak not wanting to work for the Escapist anymore, and that somehow the "fact" that Raggi is a neo-nazi invalidates.. again, what? the truth of Zak's feelings about not wanting to work for the Escapist? It's insane conspiracy-theory-logic level rambling at this point)

Now, there's a wide range of comments one could make about Raggi posting this. There's a legitimate argument, for example, to say "why would you even bring this asshole up"? I don't think it would even be wrong to say to Raggi "but you condemn this guy's neo-nazism, right"?

Because there are some things that need to be condemned.  And neo-nazism is one of them.  This guy Varg is a racist piece of shit. IS. His writings make it very clear that even though he's trying to mask in some folksy 'i'm just a euro-pagan' bullshit, he continues to hold views where he'd qualify large numbers of people (probably myself included) as inferior or sub-humans just by virtue of 'blood'.  That other bullshit tribalism of "blood", that is inherent racism, and given this guy's past, it's pretty clear that he's not actually honestly rejecting any neo-nazism.

The thing about Neo-Nazis is that they're almost always living walking talking proof against their very theory that they belong to a 'master race'. They're always the most pathetic, moronic examples of their race and culture (and it makes sense, because of course one of the things that draws them to the tribalism of 'racial identity' is that they can just 'identify' with the greatness of actually great human beings who happened to be of their race, as a way to avoid having to actually personally ascend to any greatness as Individuals).  But this guy is in fact a slightly more dangerous kind of neo-nazi because he's trying that trick of sounding like a 'friendly nazi': "I oppose colonialism, everyone should just live in their own places", "it is important that we preserve the diversity of all humanity (and not water it down by mixing races)".  He phrases his filth in such a way that an idiot might find it reasonable.  And he has the added appeal that in spite of being a moron who spent the prime of his life in jail, he had some minor success in a notoriously stupid and naive subculture full of people already inclined to be drawn to that kind of ideology as a kind of sophomoric expression of social-rebellion.

That makes him dangerous.

So yeah, I have no problem condemning him.  I'll condemn this guy early and often to anyone who'll listen.  He's human garbage.

What I can't immediately come to a conclusion about just yet, is what's worse human garbage: this neo-Nazi asshole, or the pseudo-activist shithead crowd (including the goons at YDIS) that are using this guy as a tool, a playing piece, in their efforts to attack Raggi.  Not because they give a flying fuck about neo-nazis but because of how intensely they care about trying to stop Raggi, who has made incredibly successful games of a style they despise.  So they're using a Neo-Nazi as a living-godwin, a cheap rhetorical trick to try to score points in their stupid shitty little pathetic war of spite against someone more talented than they are (and these are the same profoundly untalented people who have been engaging in the same war against myself, and against Zak, who they were hoping to manipulate into fighting with Raggi over this).

An even cursory glance indicates that, as usual, they're LYING about Raggi's actual initial statements about Varg, and about just what he was saying.  They essentially lied about a guy endorsing a neo-nazi... but really, why should that surprise me? It only still does because it's so utterly abhorrent, so despicable, and it seems so reckless and stupid: they have to know by now they'll be caught in the lie.  It's also so callous, because every time they do this sort of thing (be it with racism, homophobia, sexism, rape-endorsement, and now neo-nazism) they actually end up damaging and watering-down real efforts and concerns about real actual problems. They are literally giving ammunition to the neo-nazis by doing this, all to just make a stupid cheap shot at James Raggi because he's the most successful and innovative OSR publisher, and taking down the OSR is clearly more important to them than worrying about whether neo-nazis will benefit from their lies.  But I really should stop being shocked: these are people who've blatantly made-up lies about anyone they see as being in their path, and disgusting lies, and boldly and openly where they don't seem to care even a little bit that there's not a grain of truth in what they're saying.  They did that when they accused James Desborough of endorsing rape, they did it when they accused Zak of being a misogynist stalker, they did that when they accused me of being a transphobe.  And really, when you have the brass balls to accuse the guy who publishes the first RPG with a transgender hero on its cover of being a transphobe, it shouldn't surprise anyone anymore in terms of what you're capable of lying about or stooping to.

Raggi's surprised mention of Varg may have given him a signal boost of sorts.  But what the Pseudo-activists and YDIS-goons did for purely self-serving reasons that have fuck all to do with any kind of anti-nazi activism gave him a much BIGGER 'signal boost' by generating a fake controversy out of it.  And they didn't care about that even a tiny little bit, while pretending to be outraged about Raggi's (non-existent) "neo-nazi endorsement) a lot.

I think in spite of all that, the neo-nazi is still slightly worse, only because in his heart of hearts I'm pretty sure he feels that it was a good thing that four of my great-grandparents died in nazi concentration camps.  Whereas the pseudo-activists and YDIS-goons when really pressed probably wouldn't; though they wouldn't hesitate to try to use the guy, or my dead great-grandparents, or nazi concentration camps or anything else at all, and even lie about any and all of these things too, without the slightest scruples, to try to score the cheapest slightest of points in their fight for the elfgame hobby.

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