# Are (Were) Hitler, ObL, Idi Amin, etc. POLITE? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 23, 2002, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-were-hitler-obl-idi-amin-etc-polite/144539 "2002-12-23T13:55:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-were-hitler-obl-idi-amin-etc-polite/144539/1 "2002-12-23T13:55:49Z")
Not that I’m suggesting that being polite and/or personable excuses one from being a mass-murdering fuckhead. BUT, do we have any anecdotal evidence on what these guys (or others; please insert any mass-murdering fuckhead that you can provide information about) are/were like in person? IOW, in a private conversation between associates, was Pol Pot known to be friendly and personable, despite his insatiable thirst for death? ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-were-hitler-obl-idi-amin-etc-polite/144539/2 "2002-12-23T14:01:00Z")
Well, I don’t know if polite would be the word to use for a megalo maniac. If you think you’re the most important person on the face of the earth, occasionally deigning to be civil to an underling is about as close to polite as you’re going to get. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-were-hitler-obl-idi-amin-etc-polite/144539/3 "2002-12-23T14:02:17Z")
You will now probubly get buried with Hitler trivia, so I’ll be the first. I read that Adolph used to require that his secretaries at Bertesgarden sit around and munch little tea cakes and listen to hours and hours of historical rants and polemic. He foisted his vegatarian diet on all meals at his compounds and his flunkies were required to sneak more substantial food after hours. Doesn’t sound very polite to me. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-were-hitler-obl-idi-amin-etc-polite/144539/4 "2002-12-23T14:04:07Z")
Well, I didn’t know any of them personally, but my guess would be that you couldn’t rise to power if you were a gibbering raving lunatic, frothing at the mouth. These people must have had enough manners and political savvy to get to the top of their country, and to have loyal followers. Hitler, for instance, was able to act as a diplomat well enough for Chamberlain to sign deals trying to appease him. That takes a great deal of diplomatic ability, good manners, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-were-hitler-obl-idi-amin-etc-polite/144539/5 "2002-12-23T14:31:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BMalion \* > \*\*Doesn’t sound very polite to me. \*\* Well, he DID give them cake. I know that Stalin had a reputation of being rude and brusque. That was one of Lenin’s complaints about him. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-were-hitler-obl-idi-amin-etc-polite/144539/6 "2002-12-23T15:07:43Z")
Played golf over the summer with an older guy and his son who were from Pakistan. The old guy was an engineer, and he said ge was one of a number of Pakistani engineers Idi Amin hired. He acknowledged Amin’s murderous legacy, but was very grateful for the employment opportunity he got from him, and said he appeared quite personable and pleasant on the several occasions when they met. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-were-hitler-obl-idi-amin-etc-polite/144539/7 "2002-12-23T16:06:09Z")
I just saw a documentary about [Idi Amin](http://amazon.imdb.com/Title/ASIN=B000063N7E?0071544). He tried desperately to really nice, but if you look at the people around him, you could just see them expecting to be executed in the very near future. Nice - but insane. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-were-hitler-obl-idi-amin-etc-polite/144539/8 "2002-12-23T16:20:43Z")
Barbara Walters said that Fidel Castro is really a cool guy (my words) when you are around him privately–and loves to cook. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-were-hitler-obl-idi-amin-etc-polite/144539/9 "2002-12-23T16:35:36Z")
“When you have to kill a man, it costs nothing to be polite.” – Sir Winston Churchill ---
**Author:** ![RedDawgEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dbc845/32.png) [@RedDawgEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedDawgEsq)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-were-hitler-obl-idi-amin-etc-polite/144539/10 "2002-12-23T16:37:58Z")
My favorite Hitler joke: Question: Why didn’t Hitler drink alcohol? Answer: Because it made him mean. ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-were-hitler-obl-idi-amin-etc-polite/144539/11 "2002-12-23T20:40:01Z")
No specific cites, but from what I’ve heard about Saddam Hussein on NPR, he was extremely polite, kind, and compassionate during the 60’s, 70’s as he rose from a local administrator to dictator. Families and individuals which fell upon fard time never hesitated to contact him or his underlings to try to get help with their problems. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-were-hitler-obl-idi-amin-etc-polite/144539/12 "2002-12-23T20:50:48Z")
BTW, here’s some of the wisdom of Field Marshal Dr. Idi Amin: [http://www.fortunecity.com/campus/books/845/idiamin.htm](http://www.fortunecity.com/campus/books/845/idiamin.htm) These are just too funny to be real–similar to the “Marion Barry” quotes that circulated a few years ago–but like any apocryphal (if indeed they are) story, they’re too good to let die. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-were-hitler-obl-idi-amin-etc-polite/144539/13 "2002-12-23T21:26:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by threemae \* > No specific cites, but from what I’ve heard about Saddam Hussein on NPR, he was extremely polite, kind, and compassionate during the 60’s, 70’s as he rose from a local administrator to dictator. > > Families and individuals which fell upon fard time never hesitated to contact him or his underlings to try to get help with their problems. From [_The Atlantic Monthly_](http://www.theatlantic.com)’s fascinating [profile of Saddam](http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2002/05/bowden.htm) by Mark Bowden: > [@](#): > > Saddam’s desk is always immaculate. Reports from his various department heads are stacked neatly, each a detailed accounting of recent accomplishments and spending topped by an executive summary. Usually he reads only the summaries, but he selects some reports for closer examination. No one knows which will be chosen for scrutiny. If the details of the full report tell a story different from the summary, or if Saddam is confused, he will summon the department head. At these meetings Saddam is always polite and calm. He rarely raises his voice. He enjoys showing off a mastery of every aspect of his realm, from crop rotation to nuclear fission. But these meetings can be terrifying when he uses them to cajole, upbraid, or interrogate his subordinates… > > General Wafic Samarai, who served as Saddam’s chief of intelligence during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war (and who, after falling out of favor in the wake of the Persian Gulf War, walked for thirty hours through the rugged north of Iraq to escape the country), concurs: “It is pleasant to sit and talk to him. He is serious, and meetings with him can get tense, but you don’t get intimidated unless he wants to intimidate you. When he asks for your opinion, he listens very carefully and doesn’t interrupt. Likewise, he gets irritated if you interrupt him. ‘Let me finish!’ he will say sharply.” Of course, in most respects the article describes a ruthless megalomaniac. People–even evil dictators–are complicated. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-were-hitler-obl-idi-amin-etc-polite/144539/14 "2002-12-23T21:34:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mjollnir \* > \*\*These are just too funny to be real–similar to the “Marion Barry” quotes that circulated a few years ago. \*\* Too funny to be real and it makes fun of “dem funny black men”. Just he was a genocidal lunatic doesn’t excuse racial stereotyping. Actually, he was very well spoken and quite eloquent. The insanity was what he actually said - For instance his masterplan to liberate the Golan Heights using his crack paratroop regiment (Uganda didn’t have an airforce). Oh, did I mention the genocide? ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-were-hitler-obl-idi-amin-etc-polite/144539/15 "2002-12-23T23:22:40Z")
From a [biography of Pol Pot](http://www.dithpran.org/PolPotegacy.htm): > [@](#): > > Scholars will long debate what drove a man described by those who knew him > as gentle and unassuming to create a system under which family life was > erased, children became torturers, and even loyal followers of the regime > were bludgeoned to death in their thousands. > > …he was remembered for his mild,affable manner and his knowledge of French literature. He apparently became a bit bonkers during his time in power. I have read elsewhere descriptions of him as courteous and personable. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-were-hitler-obl-idi-amin-etc-polite/144539/16 "2002-12-24T00:44:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mjollnir \* > \*\*Barbara Walters said that Fidel Castro is really a cool guy (my words) when you are around him privately–and loves to cook. \*\* Fidel’s a mass-murdering fuckhead? Nevva hoid a dat. I did read once that Idi Amin was a real sweatheart. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-were-hitler-obl-idi-amin-etc-polite/144539/17 "2002-12-24T01:19:23Z")
i don’t think that anyone can become powerful unless he has charm out the wazoo. of course, consider the viet cong…they were probably wondering if anybody on earth thought that eisenhower/kennedy/johnson/nixon were polite. i think that that’s about how it goes in politics. howsomever, in john toland’s ‘adolf hitler’ and other history on the nazis, it is pointed out that most of the high circle were charmers and, contrary to popular opinion, of a fairly high quality. ---
**Author:** ![stockton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@stockton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stockton)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-were-hitler-obl-idi-amin-etc-polite/144539/18 "2002-12-24T01:26:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mangeorge \* > \*\*Fidel’s a mass-murdering fuckhead? > Nevva hoid a dat. > \*\* Nicely done, **mangeorge**. I was about to question that inclusion myself. However, regarding the esteemed **C K Dexter Haven’s** assertion: “Well, I didn’t know any of them personally, but my guess would be that you couldn’t rise to power if you were a gibbering raving lunatic, frothing at the mouth.” …well, you probably don’t want to know who I was going to prop up as an exception to THAT rule… ---
**Author:** ![Daoloth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/82dd89/32.png) [@Daoloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daoloth)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-were-hitler-obl-idi-amin-etc-polite/144539/19 "2002-12-24T01:28:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mangeorge \* > \*\*Fidel’s a mass-murdering fuckhead? > Nevva hoid a dat. > \*\* Well, he did put about 5,000 people in front of the firing squad, without trial. Oh, and then he also has a tidy system of labor camps… ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-were-hitler-obl-idi-amin-etc-polite/144539/20 "2002-12-24T01:32:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Captain Amazing \* > **I know that Stalin had a reputation of being rude and brusque.** I’ve heard the exact opposite. According to his daughter, “in little things he wasn’t hard to please. On the contrary, he was courteous, unassuming and direct with those who waited on him.” Albanian prime minister Enver Hoxha wrote that Stalin was “modest and very kindly and considerate towards people, the cadres and his colleagues.” German writer Lion Feuchtwanger wrote, “It is manifestly irksome to Stalin to be worshipped as he is, and from time to time he makes fun of it. Of all the men I know who have power, Stalin is the most unpretentious.” (Cited in “Stalin and the Personality Cult”, [http://www.geocities.com/redcomrades/pers-cult.html](http://www.geocities.com/redcomrades/pers-cult.html)) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-were-hitler-obl-idi-amin-etc-polite/144539.md?page=2)