[user104658]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

True, this word 'hate' is banded about too easily I don't hate those who make those comments in the mail and other areas. It is a shock when you see them there in as much as the mail is seen as the 'average' paper read by 'average' people. It's the normalisation of such extremist language is what I feel is the creeping rot, nobody is shocked or even surprised that people in need would be castigated and vilified for doing nothing but attempting to survive. I'm not surprised in the slightest the term nazi is used regularly to describe these standpoints.

Yes, the thing is too, the German population at large did of course not have such actively extreme views as the actual Nazi generals and SS members physically carrying out the things that they did... The normal people would never have been able to actually go through with it... But it was the general mindset, and acceptance of such a mindset, that had crept in slowly (like rot, as you say) and allowed those things to happen.

Personally, I fully believe that these ARE the opinions that the DM would absolutely love to print. They know they can't get away with that, so they allow it to be present alongside their articles in the form of reader comments, as a form of deniability. "Opinions expressed in the comments are in no way representative of blah blah blah..."

It's not Facebook or Twitter or a forum like this one, it's a major news source (supposedly) and as such they have a responsibility not to publish extremism alongside their articles. I'm not one for censorship, if they want to introduce a forum for discussion of articles on the side that's fine, but it shouldn't be there almost as an appendix to the article itself. These comments should be moderated before they appear.