PHILADELPHIA ā Last week, a local Indiana chapter of Moms for Liberty attracted attention for quoting Adolf Hitler in its newsletter. After the local paper reported the story, the group added additional ācontextā but kept the quote. Eventually, after it faced even more scrutiny, the organization removed the quote and apologized in a statement posted to its Facebook group.
That, however, was a big mistake, according to advice at the Moms for Liberty national conferenceās media training session Friday.
āNever apologize. Ever,ā said Christian Ziegler, the chairman of the Florida Republican Party. āThis is my view. Other people have different views on this. I think apologizing makes you weak.ā
He advised the attendees to instead make it clear that the Hitler comment was āvileā but to immediately pivot to make the point that Hitler indoctrinated children in schools and that thatās what Moms for Liberty was fighting against. Ziegler warned that any apology would become the headline, so that should be avoided.
You read that right. He said to not apologize for quoting Hitler. Thatās what weāre dealing with now.
I may be butting into a topic I donāt understand. I donāt know much about these Moms for Liberty except that I thing Iāve heard that they support trump.
The quote in question is: "He alone, who OWNS the youth, GAINS the future.ā
Itās pretty ambiguous in its meaning and intent. In the context where it was used: advocating for parents to have more control over their childrenās education: aka decentralize control of children.
But let me point you to a less catchy but far more horrifying quote:
It has 2 upvotes and Iām the only downvote ā¦
You talk about bad faith actors using shitty strategy to derail the debate. Theyāre affirming that parents should have more control over their childrenās education, they unwisely used a Hitler quote without enough context in one of their publication and now thatās all you want to talk about.
I havenāt looked into it but Iām pretty sure that the greater context here is that these parents donāt want their kids to be taught that āitās ok to be gayā and ākill the transā is a bad thing to say. They probably wonāt say it publicly, but thatās what I suspect is really going on.
And if I see them on the fediverse making these kinds of statements I might call them out on it. If I see them accusing the other side of acting in bad faith by acting in bad faith themselves, I might call them all on it. And if I see them almost directly calling for armed conflict, you bet your ass Iāll DEFINITELY call them out on it.
But guess who it is that I see acting in bad faith right now? You.
And guess who it is that I see kinda, ābut really just jokingā, advocating for armed conflict / quasi genocide? Someone on this thread getting upvoted that I wonāt even give the respect of directly responding to.
Do you think maybe if youāre going to quote Hitler and not want to be seen as a Nazi, you shouldnāt use a quote which is ambiguous enough to make people think youāre a Nazi?