Did the Holocaust Happen? Gee, That's a Tough One

Amongst the nominees for “Best Weblog” in the “2006 Weblog Awards” is The Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington’s latest attempt to show the world that she’s important because she married money. With few exceptions, the Huff Po is a beacon of defiant paleo-liberalism and many of its readers—if the comments on its “posts” are indicative of its appeal—hail from the loopier precincts of the Left.

Accordingly, like many other ideological “weblogs,” the Huff Po tends to dismiss stories that don’t fit its overarching political goals. Whilst, for example, the right-wing “website” Little Green Footballs fails to mention earnest instances of anti-Muslim bigotry, the Huffsters tend to ignore stories highlighting the threat of Islamist terrorism and appropriate responses by the Bush administration to this menace.

One might have thought, however, that the recent Iranian conference on the Holocaust would be a giant exception. After all, the Iranian government—whose president has repeatedly waxed menacing about his desire to wipe Israel off the map—sponsored an event that aimed to discuss whether the Holocaust happened.

We, the crack young staff of “The Hatemonger’s Quarterly,” understand that our non-Israeli friends in the Middle East are a little behind-the-times on some of the latest advances of civilization. You know: Stoning, the beating of women, honor killing—these sorts of things may be hunky dory in Tehran, but most Westerners actually frown upon them. Except, of course, our feminist pals, who simultaneously champion gay marriage and the sovereign rights of the Taliban.

But a conference on whether the Holocaust occurred? What’s next: Does gravity exist? Was Stalin a Communist? Is Hillary Clinton a bit mannish?

We earnestly hoped that the Huffsters would have discussed this outrageous conference, given its appalling racism. Any colloquy bent on discussing the Holocaust and attended by legions of anti-Semitic kooks and Klansmen deserves descrying no matter what your politics, we thought.

Apparently not. After all, bringing up this disgraceful event makes Iran look bad, which, apparently, the Huffsters want to avoid. Perhaps, they think, it’ll compel their readers to infer that George Bush seems okay by comparison.

To this end, we could only find one discussion of the event at the Huff Po, penned by the comparatively reasonable Adam Hanft. Sure, it chiefly concerned itself with the Iraq Study Group’s findings and American foreign policy. Still, at least Mr. Hanft was willing to call a spade a spade and castigate the execrable Iranian conference.

Ah, but most of Mr. Hanft’s delightful Huff Po readers would have none of it. Faced with sanity, they decided—mirabile dictu—to run away. Why, just take a look at this charming response to his piece:

Interesting how there is so much outrage in the western press about the "denial" conference, when the foreign ministry has made it clear this conference is not about denying anything. Just a discussion. What is wrong with a discussion? We are allowed to discuss anything but the holocaust? Why be afraid?

By: sunshineonthebay on December 12, 2006 at 12:59pm

Ah, yes: Why should anyone be upset that a deeply anti-Semitic regime with dreams of acquiring nuclear capabilities and eliminating Israel would host a conference chock-a-block with Jew-haters that discussed whether the Holocaust happened? Gosh, we can’t think of a reason either.

We suppose the author of this charming “post” would love it if some government that aimed to kill all blacks sponsored a discussion for assorted Klansmen on whether slavery occurred. What would be troubling about that? You complete dipstick.

Come on, people on the Left: Enough of the “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” garbage. This is a simple matter of morals: If your ideology compels you to defend the government of Iran, you really ought to rethink your positions.