Sorry about the length, it's a detailed subject. First, thank you for talking to me in good faith - that means a lot to me. I'm trying to make good faith arguments. It's really difficult to give a hard line about where violence is just because I'm sure ambiguity exists.

• Talking about the military: a declaration of civil war to save the country is a lot different than "his house is flammable" or "it would be a real shame if he was dealt with at night" which are exactly the kinds of things being said about Fuentes right now, on Lemmy. He's undeniably a piece of shit, but vigilante killing isn't alright. There are good reasons why soldiers killing others in the context of anti-fascist formal war would be treated differently than mob justice. If soldiers took it upon themselves to kill Fuentes without a declaration of civil war or something similarly legal, that would just be a crime or deployment of troops against American citizens. E.g. Lincoln didn't tell Northerners to head South and start indiscriminately killing to end slavery, it was a war with rules like the chance to surrender, etc.

• Things like actual rape and murder should merit at least an attempt at justice within the bounds of law. And as far as I know, Fuentes hasn't done either - people right now want him dead because of his words. As an example, people didn't kill the January 6 protesters - they got put through the legal system and were punished. I don't think it would have been a proud and just moment in US history if those hundreds of rioters were identified and murdered back in 2021, by other civilians, without trial. I know Trump might release them - does that possibility mean they should have been murdered by a counter mob back then? The J6ers weren't just talking like Fuentes either, they straight up attempted a coup.

• It's the election loss that seems to be fuelling the rapid escalation of rhetoric here on Lemmy. I saw lots of bullying before, but not many people calling for actual killing. Why is it that the election loss, alone because nothing else has happened yet, made vigilantism ethical?

• As far as I know, people are not being killed or imprisoned yet on mass scales. Women are definitely being threatened, but those instances are being investigated and there's a growing pushback against that behavior. People are preparing legal opposition to proposed prison camps for undesirables. What I'm saying is the incitement I am seeing is based on possibilities, with no willingness to see if society figures out less radical solutions like legal challenges and societal pressure. If those measures fail, and they might, I'd probably feel differently about rescuing people by force if need be.