Gall’s Law

A letter to The Independent today:

There is an informal rule in internet comments that any comparison with Hitler and the Nazis immediately closes the discussion and causes the person who made the reference to lose the debate. Perhaps we could have a similar rule to be invoked when anyone blames events today on the prime minister who, whatever she might have done, was in power a quarter of a century ago (letter on failures in nursing, 31 May*).

Julian Gall

Godalming, Surrey

*A letter from Steve Powell, which began:

Yet again nurses can’t feed and hydrate patients. These recurring failures in nursing care are directly traceable to Margaret Thatcher’s reorganisation of the health service.

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• Kernow Castellan

  Good Lord! You can’t possibly allow that.

  What would all the lefties do for an argument?

• http://www.facebook.com/people/Ron-Broxted/100000542213598 Ron Broxted

  Your views on the nazi jibes on Jody’s articles. He is heavily trolled by the police and you are not, care to share on that Field Marshall von Rentoul? He also gets more hits, that’s gotta hurt, dude.

• porkfright

  “There is an informal rule on the internet….”. You seem very interested in rules and bannings, Mr. Rentoul. While some of us give not a harridan’s curse for them.

• ZacMurdoch

  Rules and bannings aren’t all bad, Ron B – a bit more self-restraint wouldn’t do you, for example, any harm at all.  Sometimes you are quite amusing.  This time, not.

• http://www.facebook.com/people/Ron-Broxted/100000542213598 Ron Broxted

  But all I said was (censored). I take your point, I also kept “within the law”. The rich, white public school law. A Lion Is In The Streets. 

• SummerHerald

  I wouldn’t worry. Thatcher is having to share the spotlight of hatred with Blair nowadays. 

  God only knows what they’ll be saying about him in another 20 years.

• postageincluded

  Twaddle. As for Godwin’s so-called “law”, I can’t see why it’s perfectly acceptable to compare pale pinkish types to Stalin but unacceptable to compare flaming gibbering Randists to the Nazis.

  And why is Thatcher never to be blamed for anything? Wilson, Blair and Brown are apparently in permanent open season. So should she be.

• stonedwolf

  That he was the Labour Hitler, not the Labour Thatcher.

• Guest

  The key point being that Blair and Brown were in government less than six years ago…you rarely hear anyone go on about Wilson…well I don’t.