tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7735644144263744003.post1205656928316937211..comments2024-03-13T06:23:10.057-04:00Comments on Of Dice and Pen: Let's Kill HitlerMichael Ray Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15651916698207855060noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7735644144263744003.post-67452680482823200522011-09-08T10:48:45.106-04:002011-09-08T10:48:45.106-04:00Sorry I've taken so long to respond to this co...Sorry I've taken so long to respond to this comment. I don't deny that there have been criminals who have killed more people than Hitler. My point isn't that Hitler should necessarily be considered the worst criminal ever; it's that I do think he's worse than River. I think calling River the worst criminal ever because she killed one man (albeit one very important man) makes light of the victims of numerous war criminals (and I do make a point in the review of saying "numerous war criminals"), and that's just human war criminals. If we go beyond Earth, we find far worse out there. The Daleks have destroyed countless worlds. Davros tried to destroy the entire universe (except for himself and the Daleks). I think that counts as worse than River. :)<br /><br />It should also be noted that while the Doctor has saved humanity many times, I don't think human civilization is attributable to him. He's dealt with external threats a lot, but generally stays out of internal ones. (This is even brought up in the episode as one of the reasons Mels wants to kill him: He's never done anything to stop atrocities, such as World War II, throughout history.)Michael Ray Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15651916698207855060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7735644144263744003.post-76172928955098351942011-08-30T11:09:44.231-04:002011-08-30T11:09:44.231-04:00Well - and this is my opinion - contrary to popula...Well - and this is my opinion - contrary to popular culture, Hitler is not the most villainous and blood-thirsty despot. The number of jews killed due to Nazi regime is less than the killings in other dictatorships - compared both as a total and as a fraction of possibilities. Hitler does have the big bonus of leading the losing side of World War 2; at the time it was a really big deal and as such his actions gain a certain gravitas that remove objectivity from context. There are plenty of examples of atrocities done by the Americans, other European nations, Russians, Chinese, Japanese at the same time as the Nazi oens.<br /><br />That aside, of course, Hitler is a dictator with some terrible actions to his name. I'm not being apologetic or absolutionist about it.<br /><br />What's the point? Well, from your review, River is the worst criminal ever for killing the Doctor. Given the way time works in that particular fictional universe - that is not necessarily a bad estimate. The question is whether it should pale in comparison to a monster like Hitler. <br /><br />Oh, well here the wheels come off - there are many people still alive that feel very strongly about all things Hitler. We're being told, with quite vivid certainty, just how bad Hitler and the Nazis were. In fact, they were the worst thing to have happened. Ever. <br /><br />I contend that from an objective stand-point this is absurd. It is a collective truth derived from general consensus. General consensus works well for democracy, but not so much for the actual truth. (If you look up the numbers, you'll find that "small time" villains, like Hussein, have a bigger death toll and crueler history.)<br /><br />In the fictional universe of the Doctor, where human civilization itself could be attributed to the Doctor, somebody who ends the Doctor could very well be defined as the worst criminal ever.Henrihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10713248901366050710noreply@blogger.com