Even worse are the muppets who think that whenever their debate opponent mentions Hitler, they’ve somehow “won” the debate, via “Godwin’s Law”, as if it’s some kind of rule to referee debates with. Comparisons with Hitler and the Nazis are sometimes not only apt but the most relevant comparison!
Sometimes its like having someone shouting “Newtoned!” every time an apple drops. Neither law has to be called out for us to realise it’s been applied.
If you propose that it is memetics (a mutating self replicator in cultural evolution), then nature will have its way and we are powerless to stop this.
Unless you really meant that it was Godwin’s creation…
But that would require knowing a little bit about world history. It’s so much easier just to invoke Hitler or Nazis when Bush does something repellent, or you get a ticket for overdue parking.
Besides, you hardly ever see a picture of Suharto with a little toothbrush mustache.
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You know, the Nazis had pieces of flair . . .
Just as I’m feeling smug about being the first one in the thread with a tired Office Space reference, lots of people like to feel smug that they know what Godwin’s Law is and that they get to use it in a convo. We do it all the time, with all sorts of stuff. We love to feel hip and in the know and all that. Here, we’ve always loved to torture to death our little inside jokes: bring pie, Og, Gaudere’s Law, Manny’s Missing Money, etc. ad nauseum. It’s funny for a while, and as long as we’re still on the uphill slope of the gag, we’re in like Flynn. We made a hip reference in hopes of appearing kewl to total strangers.
(Catch that? I just did it there. I made a Phaedrus reference to prove that I am a hardcore Doper. Respect me, for I am chock-full of the l33t.)
Meh. Nod, smile, let it go. If it’s a useful reference to the Nazis or Hitler, it’s useful whether or not someone takes the opportunity to prove they know about Godwin’s Law. They’re special, they feel better about themselves, ignore it and move on.
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