A man who disrupted a college classroom to yell slurs and give Nazi salutes learned about the paradox of tolerance the hard way.
This week, multiple videos have been circulating showing the saga that ensued after a man later identified as Sam Polyak interrupted a psychology lecture at the University of Washington.
According to one studentโs account, the first time he entered the lecture hall, he gave a Nazi salute and used a racial slur. But he then returned roughly 40 minutes later to cause more trouble.
โHe came in again and started calling us degenerates for learning the material, a bunch of slurs, basically a lot of harmful rhetoric,โ Ashlyn Anderson, a student from the class, told KING 5. โA lot of us werenโt going to tolerate that.โ
University of Washington students chase down Nazi disrupter
And thatโs where the viral videos kick in. One clip shows Polyak standing at the front of the classroom while the students overwhelming boo him and tell him to get out. Two students finally get up and chase him out, and others start to follow them, one by one.
After that, Polyak can be seen outside, filming the throng of students as they continue to yell at him to leave. A woman who appears to be the teacher takes the lead, stepping out in front of her class, flipping Polyak off, and leading the march towards him. The video from Polyakโs perspective shows just how many of the students were gathered to see him off.
Polyak can be heard complaining that there are 30 of them and only one of him (although the actual ratio seems significantly higher), and claiming, โYou keep teaching these kids degenerate nonsense.โ
Eventually, Polyak began to run, although the crowd caught up to him and reportedly surrounded him until security arrived to escort him off campus.
What happened to Sam Polyak?
One student is seen pepper-spraying Polyak before the chase started, and another appeared to grab at his hair when they finally caught up to him. Somebody pushed the guy grabbing at his hair away, and after that, they all simply stood in a circle around him and waited.
Itโs unclear if anything else happened in the brief moments Polyak was off camera. He appeared unharmed, but later told KING 5 that he had cuts and bruises.
โAre you guys f**king serious?โ he protested. โI thought you guys were the party of peace. What the f**k is this?โ
Unfortunately for Polyak, just because a group of people advocates tolerance for all doesnโt mean they wonโt stand up to somebody disrupting the peace with their own violent and degrading rhetoric. Thatโs not how it works.
According to KING 5, Polyak copped to being a neo-Nazi and said he wandered on to campus and into the lecture just โto troll.โ
People celebrate shutting down Nazis
In this particular moment in time, seeing people stand up to Nazi garbage and refuse to just turn the other cheek or agree to disagree is rather refreshing. Despite the occasional disclaimers that violence is never the answer (and the occasional tears from Nazi sympathizers), the overwhelming response from folks online was to cheer on these students for how they handled things.
โthe discipline of this crowd is incredible to hold back from just beating his a**. they just form a wall and humiliate him until he gets escorted off campus. absolute master classโ
โFAFO never hit so hardโ
The University of Washington confirmed that Polyak, who is not a student, has been banned from campus, and criminal charges against him may follow.
โThe incident on Wednesday in which an individual interrupted a lecture in Kane Hall while apparently making Nazi salutes and hurling insults at the instructor and students is completely unacceptable,โ a spokesperson said. โThe UW is committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment and will continue to do everything possible to ensure our communityโs safety.โ
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