Incorrect uses of the word Nazi

Saw this comment on Engadget today:

… I’ve heard a lot of poor reviews of AppleTV, but I think it’s getting better. Still, I’m not a fan of their Nazi-esque ways …

If I may clarify, while Apple may have totalitarian-ish regime, they most certainly haven’t murdered millions of people.  The comparison is terrible.

I wasn’t a fan of the Soup Nazi term either, no matter how funny the show was.  Maybe if there was poison in the soup, then it’d be a little closer.  Or if his soup stand attempted to take over, say all of Europe and Asia, then that too would be more accurate.

I believe there are certain words whose usage should never diminish the importance of their utterance.  Another example is the word “rape” – when people feel comfortable to say that “they got raped by the high prices…” they are clearly devaluing the impact of the action.  My hunch is that said buyer of said expensive goods was unlikely traumatized by the event, and most definitely needed zero follow-up counseling.

There are plenty of “big” adjectives to go around, many of which carry quite a weight.  Let’s try to use them more appropriately, and save these extremely meaningful words for the proper times.

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