An Indiana school board candidate has apparently decided it’s important to defend Nazis.
“All Nazis weren’t ‘bad’ as you specify. They did horrible things. They were in a group frenzy in both cases you site,” Zionsville, Indiana school board candidate Dr. Matt Keefer wrote in a comment on Facebook, in remarks reported by local news outlet 13 WTHR. (The misspelling is Keefer’s.) Keefer was responding to aposter who asked, “Would teaching students ‘all Nazis are bad’ be considered indoctrination?”
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Keefer also suggested that COVID-19 lockdowns would one day be seen as similar to Nazi Germany—and, by extension, the Holocaust, in which millions of Jews were murdered—a popular comparison among anti-vaxxers. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has unilaterally rejected all attempts to compare the Holocaust to other historic events.
“It’s very difficult for us every time we hear that word,” Marina Nazarov, who lives in Zionsville and whose ancestors died in the Holocaust, told 13 WTHR. “It’s very difficult for us to deal with because it brings a lot of painful memories for our family and generations.”
Several other candidates condemned Keefer’s comments, as did Facebook users who leapt into the debate. But in Facebook posts reported by Fox 59, Keefer doubled down on his defense of a political party that led the systematic genocide of millions.
“There were certainly evil Nazis. There were also good people that had to be Nazis (or they would have been killed),” he wrote. He then suggested that people were under “mass formation psychosis,” a term that grew popular after it was discussed on Joe Rogan’s podcast. However, psychologists told the Associated Press that the concept was not backed up by evidence.
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Keefer also posted a status that read, “I know haters gotta hate, so please continue spewing your taunts. I’m only getting stronger in the community!”
After Fox 59 asked Keefer for comment, he didn’t reply and instead said on Facebook that he was going to respond to “misinterpretation” of what he said. He also deleted some of his posts, Fox 59 reported.
“A few days ago I made the comment ‘not all Nazis were bad’ in my response to a question posed to me on Facebook. I am correct,” he wrote. “A few days ago I made the comment ‘not all Nazis were bad’ in my response to a question posed to me on Facebook. I am correct,” he wrote, citing Oskar Schindler as an example. (He also misspelled Schindler’s last name.) Keefer went on to say that groups are never homogenous and that people can’t be sorted into binary categories. He also added, “To be clear: I never was, am not now, and never will be a Nazi sympathizer.”
“Recent remarks by a candidate for Zionsville Community School’s board of trustees do not reflect the values of our school community or the communities that we serve,” Debbie Ungar, president of the Zionsville Community Schools Board of Trustees, told Fox 59.
“This situation shows once again how important it is for all voters to learn about their local school board candidates and ensure that they truly have the best interest of students, teachers and community members in mind.”
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https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/4axbqq/indiana-school-board-nazis-facebook,