Quote Originally Posted by Lewkowski View Post
And some are just edgy shits who really shouldn't be called Nazis. I'd be willing to be that 95% of the keyboard warriors claiming to be Nazis wouldn't have the balls to actually witness a Jew being killed let alone actually carry something out.
One could do a whole lot of evil without ever witnessing it in person.

Quote Originally Posted by wiggin View Post
I think that some of the criticism of the NYT piece is overblown. Obviously there were some deep flaws in the piece, but I read it as an attempt to show the banality of evil rather than an attempt to normalize it. I do think they failed - by skirting around the fact that the ideology he supports if entirely, completely, evil and unacceptable, they strayed into 'normalizing' territory. But anyone with half a brain would realize that this impression was despite the best (fumbling) efforts of the reporter, not because of them.

I think it's really important that the press takes a long, hard look at the drivers of the Trump wave - not just the crazy Nazis (which are, still, thankfully few) but also the broader disaffected multitude who don't really mind being fellow travelers with Nazis. It's important to understand where they're coming from and how to peel off their support. Obviously this piece was not successful in its goal, but it didn't incense me as much as it seemed to have done to others.
The story got the banality, but forgot the evil.