Michael R. Irwin wrote:
The totality of the material
presented should not be selected to support the frame or view that
the Holocaust was undeserved.
But, the Holocaust was undeserved. That's as uncontroversial a fact as
"The Earth goes around the Sun".
Similarly, there were legitimate security concerns
that lead to
U.S. Japanese internment camps. We should present the concerns,
the evidence, the surrounding context, the allegations which revolve
around the failure to isolate/intern the large U.S. population of
German descent, etc. and allow the reader to draw their own conclusions.
Without turning this into an argument about history, I would say that
although *I* think that the U.S. Japanese internment camps were
morally unjustified, that there are _legitimate arguments_ about
security concerns, etc., that make the situation less clear. The
United States did not exterminate the Japanese in gas ovens.
Selection, censorship or propaganda? If Nazi views
can be
summarily dismissed as inappropriate or incorrect then there
are few modern minorities influential enough to justify NPOV
presentation.
This is a misrepresentation of what I have said. Clearly, the
encyclopedia must report on Nazi views. The ideas of the Nazis are an
important part of history, and the encyclopedia must cover just what
those views are.
Let me see if I can explain this with an example.
Here's an evil idea, held by at least some Nazis: "Jews are vermin."
Now, the fact that those people held that idea is an important
historical fact. We should report on it.
We are not required, however, to say, in an article on Jews, "Jews are
widely considered great people. Maybe not, though, since some people
think they are vermin." This is no longer _reporting on a point of
view_, it is _giving credence to this point of view as a legitimate
minority opinion_.
Similarly, in an article on holocaust deniers, we must report on the
Daily Express article, as an example of the types of things that the
deniers say. We must _not_, though, suggest in an article on the
holocaust that "maybe" the holocaust was deserved.
--Jimbo