Seeing Nazis on every treadmill

Bullying people for their weight is bad and should be discouraged, but the personal lifestyle choices of people at the gym harm no one.

Every now and then, I see something and I think "only a college radical could write this." And it turns out that, yes, it is from a student newspaper. If you work out, you are contributing to a Nazi ideology instead of celebrating the diversity of bodies. Do you know that Nazis were very into physical fitness as part of their idea of an Aryan Übermensch?

Yawn.

There are a few reasons why this is wrong. First, it is none of your business if someone decides to work out, lose weight and get fit for whatever reason. What people decide to do with their own time and their choice of hobbies is not something you get to control. This is literally how a cult operates, wanting to micromanage (or at least shame) personal lifestyle choices.

Second, if someone else is into fitness, that is harming no one. No one is forcing overweight, fat or obese people to eat less or work out more. No one is advocating killing or imprisoning people for their weight. If fitness is "disappearing fat bodies." it is the personal choice of the person working out. Obviously, bullying people for their weight is bad and should be discouraged, but the personal lifestyle choices of people at the gym harm no one.

Third, seeing Nazis around every corner or on every treadmill is beneficial to real Nazis or white supremacists. Over application of the "Nazi" label has caused many people to tune out accusations of fascism and racism. If we are opposed to actual fascists (and we should be) then we should be restrained in our use of the term and should be careful to use it only where it actually applies.

Why does this matter? The reason it matters is because this stuff is not confined to campus radicals anymore. Twenty years ago, one might scoff and think they will learn better once they get into the real world. But much of the most radical ideology is seeping into corporations and government. We should not dismiss this because "college Leftists, LOL." We should take it seriously today to prevent it from gaining a foothold tomorrow.