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So we should be allowing holocaust denial here and now, because otherwise people in the future might turn out holocaust deniers? Holocaust denial has been refu

So we should be allowing holocaust denial here and now, because otherwise people in the future might turn out holocaust deniers? Holocaust denial has been refuted again and again. The reason why it keeps surfacing is not because of academics are still arguing about the facts. The facts don't matter: holocaust denial is one of the ways in which a very dangerous ideology searches for an entry point into the mainstream.

tomp 11y ago
> Holocaust denial has been refuted again and again So has been the "flat Earth" theory. Yet we don't ban it. I think the reason it keeps resurfacing is precisely the fact it is banned - unbanning it would make it much less interesting. Also, although you and other commenters keep repeating how "dangerous" it is, noone has been able to actually articulate as to why it's dangerous.
- felipeerias 11y ago
  Holocaust denial is a form of Nazi apologism. It keeps resurfacing because there are still many neo-fascist groups trying to bring their message to the mainstream. Lifting the ban would only help them reach a wider audience. (Do you really need an explanation as to why Nazism is incompatible with democracy?)
  - tomp 11y ago
    Evolution denial is a form of Church apologism. It keeps resurfacing because there are still many religious groups trying to bring their message to the mainstream. Lifting the ban would only help them reach a wider audience. (Do you really need an explanation as to why theocracy is incompatible with democracy?)
  - Latty 11y ago
    Then we fight it by continually showing them to be wrong. We can't ban Nazism without opening the flood gates - any government that comes into power can claim that whatever their rival party supports is 'incompatible with democracy'.
- hussong 11y ago
  The key difference is that denying the Holocaust is a couple orders of magnitude more hurtful to a lot of people than denying "flat Earth", creation, of evolution.
  - tomp 11y ago
    So? Imagine how hurtful denying rape is (e.g. for someone who's rapist was found guilty in court). But it's still not illegal (AFAIK).

tomp 11y ago

> Holocaust denial has been refuted again and again So has been the "flat Earth" theory. Yet we don't ban it. I think the reason it keeps resurfacing is precisely the fact it is banned - unbanning it would make it much less interesting. Also, although you and other commenters keep repeating how "dangerous" it is, noone has been able to actually articulate as to why it's dangerous.

felipeerias 11y ago
Holocaust denial is a form of Nazi apologism. It keeps resurfacing because there are still many neo-fascist groups trying to bring their message to the mainstream. Lifting the ban would only help them reach a wider audience. (Do you really need an explanation as to why Nazism is incompatible with democracy?)
- tomp 11y ago
  Evolution denial is a form of Church apologism. It keeps resurfacing because there are still many religious groups trying to bring their message to the mainstream. Lifting the ban would only help them reach a wider audience. (Do you really need an explanation as to why theocracy is incompatible with democracy?)
- Latty 11y ago
  Then we fight it by continually showing them to be wrong. We can't ban Nazism without opening the flood gates - any government that comes into power can claim that whatever their rival party supports is 'incompatible with democracy'.
hussong 11y ago
The key difference is that denying the Holocaust is a couple orders of magnitude more hurtful to a lot of people than denying "flat Earth", creation, of evolution.
- tomp 11y ago
  So? Imagine how hurtful denying rape is (e.g. for someone who's rapist was found guilty in court). But it's still not illegal (AFAIK).