Theodore Dalrymple - Our Culture, What's Left of It - June 2005 (2 of 5)

[aldoreshgaramok]

It is perfectly fine to compare someone to Hitler or a concept to Nazism when the comparison follows logically. The problem for most people is that "follows logically" is a non-starter. Political correctness is to blame for this in my opinion. The enormous contempt for national socialism among the left has immortalized Hitler as the "Ultimate Evil." The very existence of this Ultimate Evil begs for it be converted into political capital - which more often than not, results in strained analogies.

[shaqdaddy11]

Lol education can indeed sometimes make people overlook the obvious. Every heard the joke about the economist? An economist loses his penny and point X. So he goes to point Y and starts searching for it. When someone says to him "hey why are you searching at point Y when you lost your penny at point X"? The economist says "because the light is better at point Y. lol.

[godno1god]

Underground906 sounds like an anti-life, sadomasochistic, suicidal contradiction! Go wank over your keyboard; you grammar deprived banana!

[AlanTTT3]

Not this old saw again! Godwin doesn’t prohibit the mentioning of Nazism ever again . It would be an astonishingly stupid law that prohibited mention of one of history’s most important and tragic periods.

Godwin’s law isn’t in fact a law at all. Godwin called his observation, that the probability of Nazism being mentioned increases with the length of the debate, a law but he was just using hyperbole for humorous effect.

Besides Godwin applies to the internet not speeches.

[Pittounikos]

Godwins justly celebrated law states that as an online debate grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving the Nazis or Hitler approaches one. Anyone who engages in reductio ad Hitlerum instantly loses the argument because he or she begs questions and makes false comparisons. It is a handy measure that unlike most laws costs nothing and saves you time and effort you could better spend elsewhere. Poor Theodore!

[Underground906]

@Pittounikos Cretinous retard. Learn to think for yourself instead of slavishly adhering to the latest internet meme, you twat. No comparisons were made between Woolf and Hitler. Just a point made how Woolf disigenuously equated Britain with Nazi Germany in the dishonest and puerile way all leftties do. And as you tried here with you silly mention of Godwin's law. Christ you people are godawful.

[stephenbmassey]

@Pittounikos Poor Woolf, you mean, for it was she who compared Britain to Nazi Germany. Theodore was merely refuting the comparison.

[modigviking]

This man is simply BRILLIANT!!!

[Jitpring]

@modigviking Yes, he's today's greatest essayist.