My Take | Apples and oranges: how historical analogies can backfire
Comparing the plight of Hong Kong’s police force to that of the Jews who suffered during the Holocaust has crossed the line of decency
If you want to have a sensible discussion about most things, try to avoid making comparisons, or drawing analogies, with the Nazis, Adolf Hitler or the Holocaust. To do so will immediately kill the conversation; all hell is guaranteed to break loose.
There is even something called Godwin’s law – or Godwin’s rule of Hitler analogies – to describe this destructive phenomenon.
Unfortunately, that was exactly what happened when a hapless police officer compared the plight of his colleagues to the Nazi persecution of the Jews during a mass gathering by current and retired officers and their families. Understandably, both the Israeli and German consulates felt duty-bound to respond.
The officer in question had displayed profound cultural insensitivity and historical ignorance. But there is absolutely no reason to think it was done out of malice or prejudice.
The same cannot be said of a liberal studies teacher. In a commentary run by several news outlets, the teacher indirectly compared participants of the mass gathering in support of seven jailed policemen to Nazi soldiers. This prompted a second response from the German consulate.
Comparing Hong Kong police to the Nazis is arguably even more outlandish, and the teacher could hardly claim ignorance. One wonders whether the same teacher is morally or intellectually fit to teach liberal studies.