I try to be very patient with people I disagree with. This hasn’t always been the case, but I’ve learned that there is much to be learned from trying to engage people who see things differently – sometimes very differently – than me.

Yesterday on Twitter a woman I follow tweeted:

To which I responded, saying that the tag #Nazis seemed far-fetched, whatever her quarrel with the Israeli government was. I was greeted with absolute certainty that the tag was descriptive of Israeli policy toward the Palestinians, that they are doing what the Nazis did to them, so…

What did the Nazis do, and to whom? I asked.

No answer to that. I wonder if this person is aware that the Jewish victims of Nazi Germany are not the same people as sit in the Israeli Knesset today. If not, her knowledge of history is atrocious.

It’s tiring and disheartening to point out to people that the term “fascist” cannot be applied with impunity to everyone one disagrees with. “Nazi” should be used even more judiciously, and preferably when talking about actual Nazis. “The Israelis”, no matter how much disgust they may fill you with, are not Nazis or even fascists. To use such words is to abuse them and confuse others. You end up looking like the extremist, not Netanyahu.

Get your terminology straight, or people will stop listening.