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Mike Godwin Interviewed
theshowmecanuck writes CBC Radio in Canada has just posted an interview with Mike Godwin, the originator of the famous Godwin's Law. Unbelievably it comes after a week where Canadian politicians started flinging the H word at each other. Part of the interview reads: "I really wanted people not to make silly or glib comparisons that really show no awareness of history... and I think that to that extent Godwin's Law has succeeded."
For those who aren't aware of what was said, in the case of Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau's comments, I don't think Godwin is being appropriately applied.
Mr. Trudeau didn't compare the government to that of the Nazis. He didn't compare it to Hitler. He didn't claim that a government policy was as bad as the Holocaust.
What he did say is that current anti-Muslim government policies are akin to the Canadian policy just after World War II of "none is too many" when it came to Jewish immigrants to Canada, which the Government of Canada has since admitted was wrong.
In essence, it compared a current policy to a previous policy that the Government had admitted was wrong. I don't see why everyone is so upset, other than that the government would like to try to make this into a Godwin-like comparison in order to score cheap political points. For the record, according to the interview (for anyone who doesn't RTFA), Mr. Godwin agrees with this analysis.
Minister Blaney, however, seems in my mind to have skirted the line much more closely, specifically bringing up the Holocaust as an example to try to prop up support for an unpopular bill. His specific statement, that the Holocaust didn't begin with the gas chambers, but with words is correct -- however I have to agree with MP Randall Garrison (FWIW, he represents my riding, although admittedly I didn't vote for him in the last election) who said that this was "over-inflated rhetoric".
So in essence we have one instance worthy of invoking Godwin against, and another that had nothing directly to do with the Holocaust, but instead a Canadian policy that happened around the same time, and affected the same people, which mirrors in some respects what the current Government is attempting to do with a different population, for which Godwin shouldn't apply (but which is being brought out in some corners in an attempt to score political hay).
Yaz
Godwin's law is a usenet phenomenon, intended to describe the period when a usenet thread could go on and on for weeks. So a thread woud be 'officially ended' by Godwin's Law when someone invoked the hitler mentioning.
On today's modern web, i.e. on Slashdot, theads never last more than a few days because blog site operators close down the comments after a few days or a week has passed. The agenda of discussions is driven by the operators by means of throwing up new 'articles' all the time.
Essentially, Godwin's Law is obsolete and doesn't pertain. Certainly not in the context that it was created to operate within.
It's just a meaningless meme now that people use to shut down discussions even more prematurely than blog operators like Slashdot do by shutting closing off comments and adding new topics.
And yet that's exactly how most Godwin invokers act. It's enough for you to mention Hitler, no matter the context, and they'll immediately scream "Godwin's law, you lose the argument" like little spoiled brats.
If you post as an AC, don't expect me to spend a mod point on you.