Needs Help: Adolf Hitler

Please note: I am not a Nazi sympathizer, nor am I trying to apologize for any of Hitler's actions.

We have pages on a lot of historical figures, and among them are brutal dictators and otherwise not-so-nice people like Hitler, Stalin, Qaddafi, etc. The Hitler one is different from the rest because underneath his page image is a much-too-long description about the things that he's "ruined". Reposted, it goes:

"Thanks for ruining FOREVER red armbands, toothbrush mustaches, swastikas*, the Roman salute*, Richard Wagner, the Königgrätzer Marsch, the Übermensch concept, the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche*, the office of Chancellor, the entire nation of Germany, German nationalism as a whole, the German word "Führer"*, the word "Aryan", the Theory of Evolution*, nine out of ten internet discussions, the Worms Eye View, trout with butter sauce, this tree, anti-smoking policies, vegetarianism... (list of ruined things go on for pages) and the first name Adolf* and especially the surname Hitler for us, You Monster! *. Strangely, Volkswagen cars, the Autobahn, and the emo hairstyle also haven't suffered the same fate, nor has the term "assault rifle"."

In contrast, the words under the image of Stalin (who was just as bad and arguably much worse than Hitler) are:

"Long live Stalin, he loves you; sing these words, or you know what he'll do!"

Do you see the difference? I know that Hitler and Stalin both pushed the envelope of evil into uncharted territory, but we need to be consistent. The image text for Hitler reads a lot more like an article from The Onion than what the page really should be — a page of information about the guy, which the rest of the article does admirably. It's a great source of information about him, I have to say. But the image text is far too long, jokey, informal, and not of the right tone for the page. I'm sorry — I'm not very good at articulating, but I hope you can at least understand what I'm saying. It needs to be repaired, maybe with a quote or a much shorter statement like the one we have for Stalin or other historical bad guys.

I think a simple pothole to Godwin's Law (perhaps "last sighted trolling nine out of ten internet forum discussions") would be preferable to the giant wall of Overly Long Gag there now. Is the image caption the only part you think is a problem?

Watch out. You're likely to start a Flame War with this thread.

edited 13th May '12 10:38:15 PM by spacemarine50

I liked the gag, but if others think it's too long, maybe Filia's idea is OK.

Eh. I find the caption very funny. And I'd prefer something so hilariously comprehensive (or a third option) to a caption summing up the man's influence through its effect on internet discussions.

The caption is a bit overly long, but I don't have a problem with it.

"Hilariously comprehensive" can be a problem, though. For one thing, this is the first I've heard of an association with the Worms Eye View, trout with butter sauce, this tree, anti-smoking policies, or vegetarianism.

I am not seeing the problem here.

Anti-smoking policies and vegetarianism, seriously? How often are those connected to Hitler? Why not put sugar there as well? It's along the same lines of exaggeration, much like the timeline of Transformers on that wiki and when it was ruined forever.

See here. Second paragraph in particular.

edited 14th May '12 7:06:58 AM by tdgoodrich1

Sure, put sugar there, potholing it to "Hitler Ate Sugar." Possibly as the last entry in the list.

Hitler is fairly well known for being anti-smoking and a (sometime?) vegetarian. It comes up pretty soon if you read about him, and yes, people will sometimes use Godwin's Law on vegetarianism or opposition to smoking (though in my experience it tends to be used as a joke, not an actual argument).

EDIT: Ninja'd.

edited 14th May '12 7:07:27 AM by DoktorvonEurotrash

"I think a simple pothole to Godwin's Law (perhaps "last sighted trolling nine out of ten internet forum discussions") would be preferable to the giant wall of Overly-Long Gag there now. Is the image caption the only part you think is a problem?"

I personally like this idea, and yes, I only have a problem with the caption. Look, the caption that exists right now might have been funny if it was one or two things, but it's waaay too long and it's edited constantly to put "just one more" thing. We should bring it more into line with the other pages on dictators and evil people.

@10: I know those apply. What I'm questioning is whether or not it has any serious effect on how people view them.

Am I the only one that finds this thread funny because it says "Needs Help: Adolf Hitler"?

I wonder if someone just wanting to give Hitler major psychotherapy as opposed to wanting to kill him would be an exemption to Hitler's Time Travel Exemption Act...

I liked the caption was a bit shorter. It was funny. But the currently incarnation is too long.

@15 I have to admit, I derived some Black Humor from that. My initial reaction was, "No shit, Sherlock."

The problem isn't so much that Hitler doesn't deserve this treatment... It's just that all the aforementioned other genocidal leaders do as well, and it's a bit wrong that only Hitler gets piled on like this. The easier way would be to (I can't believe I'm saying this sentence) clean up Hitler. That said, I'd personally prefer to start slinging mud at Stalin, et al.

I don't find the image caption funny, I find it so long that I don't even bother reading it.

So when can we change it?

Just too long to be funny, but that's it. It's just a caption.

edited 16th May '12 11:39:29 AM by ThatHuman

This is what it looked like on 30 May 2011:

• Thanks for forever ruining armbands, toothbrush mustaches, swastikas, the Roman salute, the Königgrätzer Marsch, the Übermensch concept, the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche, the office of Chancellor, the entire nation of Germany, the German word "Führer", the word "Aryan", nine out of ten internet discussions, the first name Adolf and surname Hitler for us, you Jerk!

Vs. what Eddie Just Erased:

• Thanks for ruining FOREVER red armbands, toothbrush mustaches, swastikas*
  which are actually much older than you might think they are
  , the Roman salute*
  Oddly enough, raising your hand has only been ruined when used in the context of a Nazi Salute.
  , Richard Wagner, the Königgrätzer Marsch, the Übermensch concept, the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche*
  said philosopher would love to have him dead, since Hitler took it all wrong; look at the Nietzsche Wannabe page if you don't believe it
  , the office of Chancellor, the entire nation of Germany, German nationalism as a whole, the German word "Führer"*
  Ironically, the word "führer" hasn't been ruined in Germany, at least not when using the word to mean "guide."
  , the word "Aryan", the Theory of Evolution*
  despite banning Darwin's work
  , nine out of ten internet discussions, the Worms Eye View, trout with butter sauce, this tree, anti-smoking policies, vegetarianism... (list of ruined things go on for pages) and the first name Adolf*
  more so when spelled as "Adolf" than as "Adolph."
  and especially the surname Hitler for us, You Monster! *
  Great. Now the word "Monster" is ruined also
  . Strangely, Volkswagen cars, the Autobahn, and the emo hairstyle also haven't suffered the same fate, nor has the term "assault rifle".

I don't see why we can't go back to a shorter version.

edited 16th May '12 12:35:43 PM by reub2000

Sure. Go back to the original, and add a commented-out note not to change it.

Supporting the shorter version.

I think it was just fine as this overly long gag, short puns are not always the best.