"The U.S. State Department condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the feelings of Germans, Nazis and other fascists"

Cause among other problems, it kind of can turn around the road signs of where the troops are supposed to go to fight the enemy, as happened in WW2, with Deutsche saboteurs.

Hmmmm, saboteurs infiltrating the White House?......

"...feelings of Germans, Nazis and other fascists..."

So Germans are by nature fascists? Was that a slip of the tongue or do you really believe in this Robert?

The point was the analogous comparison with the problem of Muslims in our current sociopolitical context, where the PC MC view is that Muslims qua Muslims are not the problem, only the tiny minority of extremists among them. The terms of the analogy would be:

Germans -- Muslims qua Muslims, the vast majority

Nazis and other fascists -- all the various extremist Muslims (Wahhabis, Salafis, Al Qaeda, Al Shabaab, etc.)

The PC MC paradigm erects an unasailable utterly imporous wall between these two with respect to the Muslim problem; whereas the anti-Islam movement (such as it is) in its various analyses by different individuals like Spencer, et al., tends to push the envelope of examining with an open mind the degree to which, at the very least, there are holes of crossover from one side of that wall to the other (or, for the bolder among us, exploring the hypothesis that the wall itself should be scrapped altogether).

Speaking of walls -- whether Spencer would bounce over, so to speak, to the other side of this analogy and find that particular point comparatively applicable, I'm not sure; though he did publish approvingly an essay not long ago (rather lightningly yanked soon thereafter like a thief in the night without hide nor hair of an explanation) that might seem to tend to lead some to the tentative notion that he may well believe the aforementioned.

Descendant of a Crusader wrote:

Oh that 'Good' were still good and that 'Evil' were still evil. America has somehow completely lost it's 'moral compass' in the years since the the U.S. 5th Army and the the 15th English group confidently invaded the beaches at Salerno...
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The truth is, it wasn't as different as you might think, DoC, even without today's "political correctness". This might either depress you or give you hope, depending.

National Geographic ran a fawning puff-piece on the "new Germany" under National Socialism, replete with pictures of Hitler Youth in the mid-1930s. The German-American Bund—a Nazi front group—held a huge rally in *Madison Square Garden* in 1939. The dais was draped in a massive swastika flag. There were a network of Hitler Youth camps *in the United States*, including in upstate New York and Michigan.

Mussolini was lauded for "making the trains run on time", and some Americans openly called for "efficient" Fascism in the US.

Those who were concerned about the Fascist threat were sneeringly labeled "premature anti-Fascists", as though Fascism wasn't plainly oppressive and anti-freedom from the very beginning, even before anyone could realize just how malignant it would prove.

Even after Britain was at war with Hitler, many Americans believed we should leave them to fight alone. Private programs like "Bundles for Britain" were sometimes lauded, but just as frequently were belittled.

There was even less interest, as a rule, with Japanese atrocities in the Far East.

Early films like Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" and Warner Brother's "Confessions of a Nazi Spy" with Edward G. Robinson were hardly universally well received, and the latter film almost wasn't released at all, because it was considered too controversial.

Winston Churchill is supposed to have said, “The Americans will always do the right thing...after they've exhausted all the alternatives.” This was never more true than in the lead up to WWII.

Of course, everything changed after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and America—*finally*—got her act together.

As I said, this might depress you—or it might give you hope.

America has waffled like this many times before—the fight to end slavery comes to mind, as well. That went on for *decades* before we finally committed to it.

But when we finally decide to join the battle, we can be magnificent.

I fervently hope this is still true.

And kudos to your father's service. My mother and aunt also served in WWII in England when quite young, as a teletype operator and supply-line truck driver, respectively.

Descendant of a Crusader wrote:

Oh that 'Good' were still good and that 'Evil' were still evil. America has somehow completely lost it's 'moral compass' in the years since the the U.S. 5th Army and the the 15th English group confidently invaded the beaches at Salerno...
.....................................

The truth is, it wasn't as different as you might think, DoC, even without today's "political correctness". This might either depress you or give you hope, depending.

National Geographic ran a fawning puff-piece on the "new Germany" under National Socialism, replete with pictures of Hitler Youth in the mid-1930s. The German-American Bund—a Nazi front group—held a huge rally in *Madison Square Garden* in 1939. The dais was draped in a massive swastika flag. There were a network of Hitler Youth camps *in the United States*, including in upstate New York and Michigan.

Mussolini was lauded for "making the trains run on time", and some Americans openly called for "efficient" Fascism in the US.

Those who were concerned about the Fascist threat were sneeringly labeled "premature anti-Fascists", as though Fascism wasn't plainly oppressive and anti-freedom from the very beginning, even before anyone could realize just how malignant it would prove.

Even after Britain was at war with Hitler, many Americans believed we should leave them to fight alone. Private programs like "Bundles for Britain" were sometimes lauded, but just as frequently were belittled.

There was even less interest, as a rule, with Japanese atrocities in the Far East.

Early films like Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" and Warner Brother's "Confessions of a Nazi Spy" with Edward G. Robinson were hardly universally well received, and the latter film almost wasn't released at all, because it was considered too controversial.

Winston Churchill is supposed to have said, “The Americans will always do the right thing...after they've exhausted all the alternatives.” This was never more true than in the lead up to WWII.

Of course, everything changed after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and America—*finally*—got her act together.

As I said, this might depress you—or it might give you hope.

America has waffled like this many times before—the fight to end slavery comes to mind, as well. That went on for *decades* before we finally committed to it.

But when we finally decide to join the battle, we can be magnificent.

I fervently hope this is still true.

And kudos to your father's service. My mother and aunt also served in WWII in England when quite young, as a teletype operator and supply-line truck driver, respectively.

Kilian Klaibar wrote:

"...feelings of Germans, Nazis and other fascists..."

So Germans are by nature fascists? Was that a slip of the tongue or do you really believe in this Robert?
...

I did get the point, but that doesn't seem to be an apology for this racist statement.
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With respect, I believe you are missing the point, Kilian.

Robert Spencer is positing a State Department that would assume that all Germans would have their feelings hurt if Fascism came under any criticism, and grovels accordingly.

That *does not* mean that their assumption would be the case, nor that Mr. Spencer believes that it would be.

For instance, I have seen several clueless assertions recently claiming things like 'the entire Arab world is offended by this film'—despite the fact that many Arab Christians, for instance, or Muslim apostates, for that matter, or some few "moderate" or lax Muslims, would not be offended by "The Innocence of Muslims" film in the least.

I believe *this* is what Robert Spencer is lampooning here.

To assume that he is implying that "all Germans are by nature Fascists" is just silly—as well as a calumny. He works with Anti-Jihad defenders of freedom in Germany all the time, and has covered this fact here many times.

Dear Mr. Spencer, I'm glad you replied here. I don't believe you could make things any clearer.

I think this piece by Rand Simberg is a brilliant parody of misplaced "sensitivities" and the accompanying grovelling we're seeing from our "leaders".

It seems some people are so immersed in the very culture of manufactured grievance that is being lampooned here that they are unable to understand this parody.

Incidentally, my husband's family has German roots, and my married name is ethnic-German. I also—completely unrelated, oddly enough—speak some German. I am not at all offended by this piece.

Thanks for posting it.