Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Why Do Republicans Always Misquote Adolf Hitler?

Good Day World!

Why do Republicans like to misquote Adolf Hitler so often?

You'd think if they were going to use historical quotes to make an important point that they'd at least fact check them.

But nooooo......

Let me give you two prime examples of what I'm talking about:


#1 Adolf Hitler didn't say that the best way to control a people is to "take a little of their freedom at a time." He didn't even think that.

Aside from the fact that this quotation does not reflect something Hitler ever said or wrote, it's also false if simply considered as a shorthand version of what Hitler thought and/or did. 

These words reflect a misperception that Hitler's political maneuvers on his way to seizing dictatorial control over Germany were akin to the legend of the boiled frog, that Hitler supposedly made a series of small, gradual changes in German law and government that chipped away at the rights of the citizenry over an extended period of time, avoiding any single large changes that might provoke resistance from the people until it was too late for them to effectively oppose him.

In fact, this is the historical opposite of what happened. Once he gained a position of political authority in Germany, Hitler quickly headed down the road of consolidating power by making very large changes in a short period of time.
#2  Adolf Hitler never said, "To conquer a nation, you must first disarm its citizens." 
This purported quote from Adolf Hitler about the disarming of citizens being essential to "conquering a nation" is frequently cited by Republicans (and the NRA) in discussions about gun control in the United States, but... 
No one has ever turned up a source  documenting that Hitler literally said this (or something very similar). 
Despite the fact that both of these quotes are patently false they've been circulating for years. The only thing I can think of is no one using these quotes ever bothers to verify them.
Like propaganda sound bytes, these Hitler quotes aren't meant to convey reality, but only to further political aims.
Time for me to walk on down the road...

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