Please, No More Nazi References

Holocaust references have become ridiculously common in America’s political discourse, and it’s got to stop, writes Jewish activist Marvin Hier in the LA Times. In the past month alone we’ve seen Nazis invoked to decry everything from Barack Obama’s handling of the BP crisis to Meg Whitman’s campaign spending. It’s gotten so bad that Elie Wiesel won’t use the word “Holocaust” anymore. “Whatever mishap occurs now, they call it a ‘holocaust,’” he complains.

Hier finds it ridiculous and offensive. “The Holocaust was a total eclipse of humanity,” he writes. “It is not healthcare, it is not Arizona law, it is not the attack ads of Meg Whitman, it is not abortion.” It was an attempt to exterminate a race. If you tried to scream the names of 2,000 Holocaust victims every day, it would take you eight years to run out. “That’s what a holocaust is.” (More Godwin's Law stories.)