I think you two are talking past each other. “People wearing swastikas” is not a class of people because nazism isn’t a religion. They are just people making a choice to wear a shitty and offensive armband. Classes are about things people either couldn’t possibly help; such as nationality, race, sex, disability, color…or things so closely tied to their identity that they should never be expected to change; such as gender, sexuality, and religion.
Then there are some outside of the standard discourse as well, like prisoners are a protected class when it comes to psychological research.
Politics are an interesting issue, although not a class. California, for instance, prohibits employment discrimination based on engaging in certain protected political activities. So if you attended a Nazi rally, you might be legally protected in California from having your employment terminated.
I think you two are talking past each other. “People wearing swastikas” is not a class of people because nazism isn’t a religion. They are just people making a choice to wear a shitty and offensive armband. Classes are about things people either couldn’t possibly help; such as nationality, race, sex, disability, color…or things so closely tied to their identity that they should never be expected to change; such as gender, sexuality, and religion.
Then there are some outside of the standard discourse as well, like prisoners are a protected class when it comes to psychological research.
Politics are an interesting issue, although not a class. California, for instance, prohibits employment discrimination based on engaging in certain protected political activities. So if you attended a Nazi rally, you might be legally protected in California from having your employment terminated.