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I have thoroughly enjoyed your point-by-point rebuttals regarding the historical facts and their many interpretations, etc. However, the crux of your argument i

I have thoroughly enjoyed your point-by-point rebuttals regarding the historical facts and their many interpretations, etc. However, the crux of your argument is essentially, "Well, you guys (Brits, Americans, et al) admire bad people too and we don't say anything!" And frankly, it misses the mark entirely. This isn't a question of whose 'wrong' is right or even whose 'wrong' is a little more right. It is a question of 'is it wrong at all?' And it is. It just isn't possible to argue that Hitler effected a positive (or even net neutral) change on the world - hence he is worthy of no admiration, regardless of what nation it comes from. That's basically what it comes down to - 'Is X praiseworthy?' If X is not, then ultimately it doesn't matter a bit where the praise comes from. To say otherwise is to be an apologist for evil men and evil actions (as being evil makes an X not worthy of praise.)

plinkplonk 17y ago
"the crux of your argument is essentially, "Well, you guys (Brits, Americans, et al) admire bad people too and we don't say anything!" No that is not my point at all. I said explicitly I think Hitler is an evil person. I am not trying to defend Hitler at all. My point is what is "good" and "bad" varies from person to person and country to country and is rarely a binary judgement (and history is rarely "black and white" wrt good and bad) and where it is , it keep shifting with time. Germans cringing because Pakistanis(!) don't see Hitler as completely evil makes no sense to me. Their historical "experience" of Nazism is too different to expect a consensus. Complete with a picture of kids making a swastika (the Swastika is a Hindu symbol of good fortune btw) that article is ignorant and supercilious. Germans don't cringe about "bigger" murderers. Why should they hold Pakistanis to an unattainable standard? Rank Hypocrisy and sensationalism(imo).
- eru 17y ago
  > Germans don't cringe about "bigger" murderers. Yes. But they should.
- lispm 17y ago
  'really bad' is 'really bad', independent of country. What we fear is that there are people in other countries who see him positive for example based on looks and fashion. That would be stupid. What's worse is if there are people who adore him for what he stood for. He stood for death, killing, torture, slavery, war, racism, race struggle. There are no positive values or positive motives to learn from him. 'bad' cannot vary from country to country - Adolf Hitler cannot be seen anything but pure evil. That the Swastika is a symbol from India, Germans know already.
- najirama 17y ago
  Moral Relativism leads directly to logical contradiction - how can an action be both evil and not evil at the same time? Imagine if our judicial branch worked that way, would that lead to a sustainable society? Absolutely not. You couldn't legitimately punish anyone for a crime because what is a 'crime' to you may not be a 'crime' to the perpetrator. And so on, and so on... Bottom line, if an action is evil, it is fundamentally evil. The nature of an action doesn't change according to who commits it. The day humanity stops "cringing" when faced with apologist behavior is perhaps the day when humanity dooms itself.
  - bhseo 17y ago
    Descriptive relativism is merely the positive or descriptive position that there exist, in fact, fundamental disagreements about the right course of action even when the same facts obtain and the same consequences seem likely to arise.

plinkplonk 17y ago

"the crux of your argument is essentially, "Well, you guys (Brits, Americans, et al) admire bad people too and we don't say anything!" No that is not my point at all. I said explicitly I think Hitler is an evil person. I am not trying to defend Hitler at all. My point is what is "good" and "bad" varies from person to person and country to country and is rarely a binary judgement (and history is rarely "black and white" wrt good and bad) and where it is , it keep shifting with time. Germans cringing because Pakistanis(!) don't see Hitler as completely evil makes no sense to me. Their historical "experience" of Nazism is too different to expect a consensus. Complete with a picture of kids making a swastika (the Swastika is a Hindu symbol of good fortune btw) that article is ignorant and supercilious. Germans don't cringe about "bigger" murderers. Why should they hold Pakistanis to an unattainable standard? Rank Hypocrisy and sensationalism(imo).

eru 17y ago
> Germans don't cringe about "bigger" murderers. Yes. But they should.
lispm 17y ago
'really bad' is 'really bad', independent of country. What we fear is that there are people in other countries who see him positive for example based on looks and fashion. That would be stupid. What's worse is if there are people who adore him for what he stood for. He stood for death, killing, torture, slavery, war, racism, race struggle. There are no positive values or positive motives to learn from him. 'bad' cannot vary from country to country - Adolf Hitler cannot be seen anything but pure evil. That the Swastika is a symbol from India, Germans know already.
najirama 17y ago
Moral Relativism leads directly to logical contradiction - how can an action be both evil and not evil at the same time? Imagine if our judicial branch worked that way, would that lead to a sustainable society? Absolutely not. You couldn't legitimately punish anyone for a crime because what is a 'crime' to you may not be a 'crime' to the perpetrator. And so on, and so on... Bottom line, if an action is evil, it is fundamentally evil. The nature of an action doesn't change according to who commits it. The day humanity stops "cringing" when faced with apologist behavior is perhaps the day when humanity dooms itself.
- bhseo 17y ago
  Descriptive relativism is merely the positive or descriptive position that there exist, in fact, fundamental disagreements about the right course of action even when the same facts obtain and the same consequences seem likely to arise.