Reply #17: It's simply not an effective argument tool, mentioning Nazis.

[Neil Lisst]

First of all, one shouldn't use the Nazi comparison because it is not effective. It elicits a negative response in so many, it automatically distracts from any point being made.

In recent years, the vogue has been to say "the first person to use a Nazi analogy loses." That's a convenient way of not having to think about the very real comparisons between attitudes and behaviors which are found in this administration and were also found in the early days when the Nazi movement was developing.

When one says "Nazi," I want to know WHEN?

1928? 1933?

Those years are a lot different than 1939 or 1943.

The problem with even mentioning Nazis is that the mere mention makes any discussion intended secondary to the cacophony of protests that follow because you've gone to the Nazi card.

I never use them because they're not effective, not because they're not accurate. This administration is by far the most fascist administration we've had in the past 50 years. They still don't approach the Nazis in any sense, but there are valid comparisons to how they lie, use propaganda, and use party goons to enforce their will. Of course, the same can be said for just about any despotic regime.

I stay away from Nazism because there is no such thing as thoughtful discussion about the nazis online. One side is overstating the analogy, and one side is overreacting to the use of Nazi.

How hard is it to simply refute absurd overstatements or comparisons? I don't favor the OH NO YOU DIDN'T! shout down as a means of argument.

This is the first and last time I'll talk about the Nazis here. I've never mentioned them for a reason, and never will again. Real life, thoughtful people who are knowledgeable about Nazism from its start to its finish - great. Message board - it'll never happen. A majority of posters in every venue simply cannot discuss Nazism rationally, as a topic. Almost all the overreaching analogies can be dismissed with little effort, but that is not the reaction that follows. Otherwise sane people suddenly lose their rational gene and start chunking rocks and calling names.

If I never see the word "Nazi" here again, it'll be too soon. Let's talk about what Bush is doing NOW to us, without getting sidetracked on an argument that is simply irrelevant to our discussions.

I hope I don't offend anyone on either side of this issue, but I figure to say what I think about this topic once and leave it behind forever.