I'm somewhat puzzled about why some Nazi references are OK and others are right next to hate crimes.
What got me pondering was an article about the B'nai Brith in Canada making an issue of the Quebec student protesters using the Nazi salute to antagonize Quebec police.
B'nai Brith boss Frank Dimant claims the use of the Nazi salute, even in an obviously ironic or satirical context, "defiles the memory of the Holocaust and reminds us how quickly anti-semitism and the manifestations of hate can venture into our public discourse."
One of the problems I have with Mr. Dimant's take on this situation is that not so long ago Stephen Harper stood in the House of Commons and drew a comparison between the opposition NDP and the Nazis.
This was not problematic for B'nai Brith.
In the US any number of prominent commentators have compared Obama to Hitler.
This is not problematic for B'nai Brith.
And there's no politician anywhere in the world who is a bigger fan of Hitler analogies than Benjamin Netanyahu.
This is not problematic for B'nai Brith.
But when anti-capitalist protesters in Montreal mock the goonish Quebec cops with the Nazi salute, it's a problem?
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ReplyDelete1- Harper: In a debate on whether or not Canada should pull out of Afghanistan, Harper mentioned that the NDP (or the CCF as it was then) was even against Canada's involvement in the WWII war effort in fighting the Nazis - not exactly comparing the NDP to the Nazis.
ReplyDelete2- The "number of prominent commentators": I do not know which commentators you're referring to but I'm sure if they did compare Obama to Hitler B'nai Brith would be against it. B'nai Brith Canada is a separate organization from their counterpart in the US, but I'm sure on the Internet you could find plenty on B'nai Brith or the ADL criticizing instances like that.
3- Netanyahu: Although I don't necessarily agree with everything he says, it does seem slightly more appropriate to compare Islamic dictators to Hitler than comparing police officers just doing their job to Nazis. That is the reason there is an outcry - because it is completely ignorant (not to mention uncalled for) to compare the "oppression" of the student protesters to the brutal murder of millions of innocent people at the hands of Nazis.
I hope this helps you understand why these Nazi salutes upset some people.