Yesterday, I received a comment in regards to an article I wrote about the Nazi-inspired clothing line Hoelzer Reich and how the neo-Nazi imagery being worn into the ring/cage reflects horribly on the sport of MMA and is unacceptable.

A racist fighter who has been finding it hard to find a fight because he has SS lightning bolt tattoos has taken exception to what I wrote. His comments are relevant to the article and although I find them morally reprehensible, still worthy of printing. If nothing else, it demonstrates that the original article is relevant and the issue of neo-Nazi imagery in the cage is not going to disappear.

I decided to publish his comment within this post and not in the comments section because I do not want to provide a forum for his beliefs without making sure the position of FightingWords.ca is fully addressed. This is not a censorship issue but an editorial standard. It is our blog and we can do with it as we please. The racist fighter can post his opinions on any number of “white is right” sites and even start his own blog if he so desires. Here is the comment verbatim:

“I HAVE WHAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED A RACIAL TATTOO. AS AN AMMATURE FIGHTER I DO FIND IT HARD TO FIND A PROMOTER WITH BIG SS LIGHTENING BOLTS ON MY RIBS. THE PROBLEM RELATED TO THIS IS THE FACT THAT “NON RACISTS” ARE BIGGER BIGGETS THAN RACISTS ARE. IN MY LIFETIME I HAVE FOUND THAT PEOPLE OF COLOR TO BE MORE RACIST THAN ANY WHITE MAN. WE ARE BLAMED FOR COLOR’DS RACIAL PLITE. WE CANT GET A JOB BECAUSE WHITEY HOLDS US BACK. THIS IS 2010. THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR ANY RACE TO NOT BE PRODUCTIVE TO THEIR COMMUNITY. MY TATTOO SIGNIFIES MY FAMILY HISTORY AND THE WHITE MANS STRUGGLE FOR RACIAL FREEDOM AND PURITY. NO DIFFERENT FROM ANY OTHER RACE. YES, WE WENT ABOUT IT IN A SOCIALLY UNACCEPTABLE WAY, JUST REMEMBER THIS, THE WINNER OF WARS CREATE HISTORY IN THEIR OWN VIEW. EVERYONE IS ENTITLED TO THEIR OWN OPINION, AND THOSE WHO EXPRESS THEM OPENLY DESERVE MORE RESPECT THAN THOSE WHO DONT REGUARDLESS OF RACE, COLOR OR CREED. A FIGHTER IS A FIGHTER. REGUARDLESS OF WHERE THEIR HATE IS FROM, ALL FIGHTERS HAVE SOME FORM OF HATE. IF NOT, THERE WOULD NOT BE A UFC.”

I’m a huge believer in freedom of speech, even when people refer to the Holocaust ( the death of six million Jews including millions of women and children) as “A SOCIALLY UNACCEPTABLE WAY.” No one here at FightingWords.ca is denying you your opinions. We are just saying that there are ramifications and consequences for those opinions. In this case, fight promoters (and others) will be horrified by your politics and will not want to give you time inside the cage. It is their opinion (which I hope we both can agree they are entitled to) that while in their employ, you represent their company.

We will have to agree to disagree on everything else. This is fine. The sound of conflicting ideas (no matter how morally reprehensible I find them) is the sound of freedom and to me it is one of the most beautiful sounds in the world.

I do agree with you on one thing: “EVERYONE IS ENTITLED TO THEIR OWN OPINION, AND THOSE WHO EXPRESS THEM OPENLY DESERVE MORE RESPECT THAN THOSE WHO DONT REGUARDLESS OF RACE, COLOR OR CREED.” This is why I sign my name to my work. Meanwhile, I know you only as redbullktm1212@yahoo.com.