NYT Mag asks: Could you kill a baby Hitler?

[TheIrishman]

NYT Mag asks: Could you kill a baby Hitler?

http://www.sfgate.com/technology/article/NYT-Mag-asks-Could-you-kill-a-baby-Hitler-6587263.php

<< A Dear Reader poll posted to the magazine's Twitter account Friday went viral with the question: "If you could go back and kill Hitler as a baby, would you do it?" The original responses were, well, mixed. A graph posted along with the tweet shows that 42 percent of respondents said yes, 30 percent said no, and an indecisive 28 percent said they weren't sure. Dear Reader is a weekly survey of the magazine's readers. >>

[Mike Christ]

No, the reason is simple: if it wasn't Hitler, it would've been someone who shared the beliefs of Hitler, which were plentiful enough to make that whole fiasco happen.  Only thing that separated Hitler from the others is that he was the most charismatic, plenty of charismatic men were also present who could've fulfilled the same functions of representing the general will of the nation.  That so many people said yes indicates a general willingness to "do what it takes", without knowing what "it" actually is.  Sure, beating yourself over the head with a hammer is a hard thing to do, but would you do it if it meant having a million dollars?  It's a trick question, the real question is, does self-infliction help that cause?

[galdur]

No, the reason is simple: if it wasn't Hitler, it would've been someone who shared the beliefs of Hitler, which were plentiful enough to make that whole fiasco happen.  Only thing that separated Hitler from the others is that he was the most charismatic, plenty of charismatic men were also present who could've fulfilled the same functions of representing the general will of the nation.  That so many people said yes indicates a general willingness to "do what it takes", without knowing what "it" actually is.  Sure, beating yourself over the head with a hammer is a hard thing to do, but would you do it if it meant having a million dollars?  It's a trick question, the real question is, does self-infliction help that cause?

Yep, the outcome could be even worse.

Case in point; just over a decade ago serial-lying psychopaths on both sides of the Atlantic decided that getting rid of Saddam Hussein (the New Hitler, remember?) would be a great thing. Since that resulted in total catastrophe and chaos in the area; four years ago another batch of nutcases decided to do the same thing in Lybia. Who knows; maybe in a year morons and voting machines will have landed someone in the White House crazy enough to attack those who CAN defend themselves and bite back, like Russia and China (there´s also a New Hitler there according to those mental cases).

[vero]

No, can't do... can't kill a child no matter what he turns out to be. Even if you're from the future and want to change something, definitely killing won't solve problems. Even Hitler did that. He didn't solve any problems that he thought was endangering Germany at that time, he was a patriot, and a true one at that. But he was fooling enough to believe in Genocide of the Jews. Killing doesn't solve any problems it'll always bring more, If Hitler was killed at an early stage there were lot of people who supported and believed in the holocaust, Those would certainly carry on the Nazi regime, with a different name, different leader, same world war. Nothing changes except the name of the people who did that. Bad things would always happen.

[galdur]

Baby Hitler seems to be a smart kid. I´d definitely not kill anybody, just snatch him and put him up with some nice family, maybe in Finland. Nobody would be any the wiser.

[Inauk]

Baby Hitler seems to be a smart kid.

i think so, like all kids, but as you already know, he will turn into a monster.

I´d definitely not kill anybody, just snatch him and put him up with some nice family, maybe in Finland. Nobody would be any the wiser.

im thinking the same as you, education is the most important thing, im pretty sure that things will be different if he received it in a different way, sad that he didn't

[galdur]

Baby Hitler seems to be a smart kid.

i think so, like all kids, but as you already know, he will turn into a monster.

I´d definitely not kill anybody, just snatch him and put him up with some nice family, maybe in Finland. Nobody would be any the wiser.

im thinking the same as you, education is the most important thing, im pretty sure that things will be different if he received it in a different way, sad that he didn't

Well, back there in late 1800s in catholic Austria not all babies were necessarily very welcome (contraception was very primitive and actually banned, abortion pretty much unthinkable) and I guess that often influenced the upbringing. His father used to beat him up, right?

The reason I mentioned Finland is that  it´s about as far away from catholicism in Europe as you could be in the late 1800s, which of course has served the Finns exceptionally well since. So, I think Adolf would have turned out all right there.

[BADecker]

Anybody who answers this question "yes," is probably going to be the next Hitler. Start with yourself right now.

[zenitzz]

I would simply raise him as my son and he would be a lawyer or doctor like all of my children are. There would be no reason to kill a innocent baby.

[saddampbuh]

i'd leave him a note for when he was older explaining how he could win the war

[Gronthaing]

No. Don't believe in predeterminism. Events aren't determined in advance so he could grow up to be anything. If I'm wrong then nothing would change anyway. But even if things could change and he would do the same again I would do like others said instead of killing him. Put him in a different situation. A better environment.

[Beliathon]

Sheeeeit, I'd strangle a baby jesus for $35 and a coca cola.

[Gronthaing]

Sheeeeit, I'd strangle a baby jesus for $35 and a coca cola.

It's his closer followers you want to kill not jesus. The spread of christianity didn't have much to do with him directly. More with what the followers did afterwards. And like with hitler there were many others at the time doing the same thing jesus was doing anyway.