PHILADELPHIA — 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 “context” 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 conference’s media training session Friday.
“Never apologize. Ever,” said Christian Ziegler, the chairman of the Florida Republican Party. “This is my view. Other people have different views on this. I think apologizing makes you weak.”
He advised the attendees to instead make it clear that the Hitler comment was “vile” but to immediately pivot to make the point that Hitler indoctrinated children in schools and that that’s 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. That’s what we’re dealing with now.
Show some kind of respect for the truth
Respect for the truth does not involve giving endless benefit of the doubt to obvious astroturf groups that spread lies and try to ban books.
But a group is composed of individuals. If you treat the misguided members of that group the same as their disingenuous leaders, especially if you’re playing fast and loose with the facts, then you’ll be pushing them towards their leaders and towards extremism.
That said, I also understand the value of discrediting an entire group as a whole. From a strategic and deterrence perspective where you’re trying to reduce the effectiveness and power of the group and you’re trying to cause people to second guess lending their support to that group by attacking their reputation. But also from a moral perspective if you’re going to lend support to a group that has nefarious objectives and produces harmful results, you have some responsibility for that regardless of your intentions.
But again, I’m most upset about seeing so much support and no pushback to someone sorta kinda jokingly advocating for genocide.
But also the irony of a person B grandstanding about how it’s not ok to derail a conversation. When really they’re trying to keep it on the derailed topic of the group’s original topic.
It’s like “oh nos what bad faiths piece of shits these Moms for Liberty are! We derailed the conversation fair and square to this Hitler quote that we may or may not have intentionally misinterpreted and now they want to derail it back to talking about your original grievance, we can’t let them get away with this kind of sneaky debate tactics”
I’m obviously exaggerating and paraphrasing here.
But also from a moral perspective if you’re going to lend support to a group that has nefarious objectives and produces harmful results, you have some responsibility for that regardless of your intentions.
Yes. Perhaps you should withdraw your support.
But again, I’m most upset about seeing so much support and no pushback to someone sorta kinda jokingly advocating for genocide.
That comment is gone. I haven’t defended it. You keep defending the Hitler quote.
