Random thoughts post 'em

[Shadow Step]

The problem with Godwin's law is that it's very easy to draw connections from Hitler to other things. Not just on a factor of, "NAZI'S WERE EVIL!" but the way he did things, the repercussions on laws, etc. I actually think, outside of academia, that it's silly to negate an entire argument just because someone brought up Hitler. There's a lot of guys in control of nations doing very similar stuff, but the moment you bring that up it's all, "Hitler was the worst, don't compare anyone to him ever because he's bad guy number one til the Earth implodes."

The reason why Godwin's law is a thing isn't due to the lack of applicability in drawing parallels between Hitler and other things, it's the fact that it's done all the time, that it's lost most of its meaning. "Mom making you take out the trash? She's worse than Hitler!" is an example of this "reductio ad Hitlerum."

But that's tossing out the best comparison. When you talk about something that's a literary classic, people will always draw comparisons to it. I hate Tolkien, but even I describe my favorite fantasy author as "Tolkien lite." And that happens all of the time, every fantasy book is compared, at some point, to Lord of the Rings. Does that mean we should stop comparing everything to the largest event in fantasy in several decades? Probably not. Do all of these comparisons suddenly lose impact because they're being held to an often used standard? Not at all.