Godwin's Law is that the longer any internet discussion lasts, the probability that Hitler will be mentioned approaches 1. That is, intense internet discussions eventually become extremely emotional and sooner or later, someone is going to say that such-and-such an idea or person is "just like Hitler."
What this observation has led to is the idea that the first person to mention Hitler (and by extension, the Nazis, the Holocaust, etc.) automatically loses the debate. This is because given the typical topics that arise in internet discussions, the idea that Hitler/Nazis/the Holocaust is the best and most appropriate reference point to buttress your argument shows that you don't understand not only Hitler/Nazis/the Holocaust, but also that you don't understand your own argument.
The Holocaust was a unique event in human history. This isn't to say that there haven't been other instances of genocide in the world or that the Holocaust was the "worst." It's that the specific factors that led to it and the intended scope (it was intended to be a world-wide extermination of all Jews everywhere, not just a plan to get rid of "the Jewish problem" within Germany) mean that it would be outrageously unlikely to conclude that anything we're discussing is really best exemplified by Hitler/Nazis/the Holocaust.
As an example, take a look at the Bush administration and various comparisons of it to the Nazi regime. Really? I don't see concentration camps in the US where we are systematically killing off an entire class of people. I don't see forced relocation into ghettoes, confiscation of property, etc.
In short, if one wants to talk about the failures of the Bush administration, why not look at our own history? The Declaration of Independence provides plenty of examples of what our country is supposed to be like and how we have violated those very principles. Just to provide a single example:
[referring to King George III] He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
"Signing statements," anybody?
The point here is not to go into specifics about the Bush administration. I am simply trying to give an example of how a topic of conversation could have someone make a comparison to the Holocaust and how that comparison is completely and utterly stupid. There are much better and more appropriate references. To try and compare Bush to Hitler shows that you don't understand not just Hitler but also Bush, which is the topic of conversation.
Does that help?
Rrhain
Thank you for your submission to
Science. Your paper was reviewed by a jury of seventh graders so that they could look for balance and to allow them to make up their own minds. We are sorry to say that they found your paper "bogus," specifically describing the section on the laboratory work "boring." We regret that we will be unable to publish your work at this time.