On the same weekend the Neo-Nazi march and terrorist attack took place in Charlottesville, Virginia which led to violence, injuries and the murder of Heather Heyer, an American tourist was beaten up in Germany by a passer-by after the American gave the Nazi salute outside a cafe in Dresden. The Washington Post reports:
The incident occurred about 8:15 a.m. Saturday as the man left a cafe called Europe in the Neustadt district of Dresden, police said in a statement. The district is known to be a liberal part of the town and a popular meeting spot for students.
The tourist was identified only as a 41-year-old American man who was “severely drunk,” according to police. He suffered minor injuries, while the stranger who assailed him fled the scene, police said.
Police said the U.S. national is under investigation for violating German laws prohibiting Nazi symbols and that they are still seeking the passer-by for causing personal injury, according to the Associated Press.
Unfortunately, our country has no laws prohibiting hate speech, Nazi symbols and Neo-Nazi/white supremacist marches unless they clearly incite lawlessness and violence, but the law is rarely enforced. I don’t condone violence of any kind, unless one is in imminent/life-threatening danger and needs to defend themselves. It’s is ironic that across the world on the same day, the same type of person who marched, terrorized, injured and killed counter-protesters in Virginia was attacked himself in Germany.
Here’s to the fight against hate speech and hate crimes in these United States.
To read the full story in The Washington Post click here.