When is a Nazi not a Nazi?

by Michelle . · 2009-08-13 15:19:00 UTC
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Following the recent Nazi-theme: A German court carved a gigantic loophole in the country's strict anti-Nazi and anti-defamation laws today, ruling that Nazi slogans are legal...if they are translated into English.

(Excuse me while I collect my jaw from the floor.)

According to the court, the translation of a Hitler Youth motto into English amounts to a "fundamental change," as the German language is (apparently) critical to determining a true Nazi slogan.

I agree with Joshua at FP on this one --- it's not just the words, but the ideas behind them that are dangerous. Does the slogan in English mean the same as in German? Check. Does it draw people's attention to the same affiliation? Check. How is that a fundamental change?

And, way to box your fellow countrymen into a stereotype by implying that Nazism is only a German phenomenon. Most Nazis may have been German (though many where certainly not), but Nazism is a dangerous ideology still potent worldwide. If you're going to have a law banning Nazi hate speech, don't gut it of its utility.

I predict Neo-Nazi print shops going into overdrive.

[Photo of Neo-Nazi protestors, location unknown.]

Michelle . has been involved in various activist endeavors, including the Teach Against Genocide pilot campaigns.
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