Tuesday, October 26, 2010 at 3:05AM Rob Reiner Under ADL Fire
In a Friday Night appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher, actor/director Rob Reiner argued that the economic climate that we are now experiencing in the U.S. is the same as that of 1930s Germany that ultimately allowed for the rise of Hitler.
"People were out of work, they needed jobs, and a guy came along and rallied the troops. My fear is that the Tea Party gets a charismatic leader. Because all they're selling is fear and anger, and that's all Hitler sold. 'I'm angry and I'm frightened and you should hate that guy over there.'" Reiner said, which was shortly followed by applause from the Los Angeles studio audience.
Abrahan H. Foxman, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League, called the remarks "inappropriate and offensive" and issued a statement asking Reiner to retract the comments made.
"There is simply no comparison between followers of the Nazis," Foxman said. "A fascist regime that perpetrated the slaughter of millions of Jews and others in the Holocaust, and followers of a democratic political movement in the United States. Such comparisons only serve to trivialize the Holocaust and are deeply offensive to Jews and other survivors, as well as those Americans who fought valiantly against the Nazis in World War II."
Foxman also added, "Such Nazi analogies also demean the American political system in an election season when the rhetoric has already turned nasty and divisive."
However offensive to some, Reiner's comments came from real concern, and a seemingly educated standpoint. It is not the job of the American public, famous or otherwise, to uphold the image of the U.S. political landscape. That is the job of the politicians themselves. Celebrities can not be expected to serve as public relations officers, and I, for one, hope that if Reiner does retract his statements, it has nothing to do with attempting to polish an image that we, as Americans, have every right to question and criticize.
To see an excerpt, click here, and share your thoughts.
Reader Comments (6)
-----The 'Hitler card' is getting pretty empty
ESP. from a Hollywood that's made, and is STILL
making BILLIONS catering to history's --MOST--
awesomely genocidal regime across the Pacific.
Conservatives are playing the propoganda like so many other "regimes" and media people know it.
I thought this was a movie website?
It just goes to show how pervasive the race is this year, and probably for the next decade. We're in a very politically polarized time. Pick a side. The winner writes history. As escapist as the movies and entertainment tries to be, there really is no escaping the realities of the issues facing this country at this time, literally sitting on the precipice of history.
whoa had to do a double take thought i went to cnn.com by accident.
Everywhere is cnn this year.