Re: ChicagObama Rejected for 2016 Olympics - Violence Fear???

M forever wrote:
On Oct 4, 9:40 am, Kip Williams <k...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
O wrote:
In article
<c0482268-b412-41d8-ada2-a2943fd83...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, M
forever <ms1...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

and they not only allowed, but fueled the extremist right wing
propaganda. Republicans should be ashamed that some of their followers
go as far as likening Obama to Hitler, but they don't really speak out
against that, because it serves their purposes.
I think you just invoked Godwin's law.
[quote begins]

One of the most famous pieces of Usenet trivia out there is "if you
mention Hitler or Nazis in a post, you've automatically ended whatever
discussion you were taking part in". Known as Godwin's Law, this rule
of Usenet has a long and sordid history on the network - and is
absolutely wrong. This FAQ is an attempt to set straight as much of the
history and meaning of Godwin's Law as possible, and hopefully encourage
users to invoke it a bit more sparingly. Of course, knowing Usenet, it
won't do an ounce of good...

Read more:http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/legends/godwin/#ixzz0SyPMAtPf

[quote ends]

As I understand it, "Godwin's Law" describes the use of these words as
an insult to another poster, or as a comparison intended to make the
comparee (is there such a word? if not, I just inventedit) look bad.
I don't think it applies when you are discussing actual historical
events related to or involving the Nazis, or when you are discussing
the fact that other people, in this case extreme right wing groups in
America, make such comparisons (like in the post I made *about* those
people - I did not call a participant in he discussion a "Nazi" nor
did I call the subject - Obama - one; I referred to the people who
did).

Godwin's Law is the observation that as a Usenet argument goes on, the odds of one participant comparing the other's side to the Nazis approaches unity. In many people's minds, this translates to "You said Hitler! You lose, and the argument is over!" I was trying to set this straight by the link to the authoritative explanation of what Godwin does and does not mean.

Owen's use of "invoke" was incorrect (and I suspect his knowledge of Godwin was as well). Perhaps "pointed out" would have been more accurate, but I don't know what was in his head when he wrote it. I've been posting the link to the FAQ lately when I see people thinking they know what Godwin's Law is. My way of trying to be helpful.


Kip W
.

Relevant Pages

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