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By: Zoe Strickland
Managing Editor

There have been many times in my life, in both formal and informal settings, where I or someone around me have been called a word that has been combined with the word 鈥楴azi.鈥� These portmanteaus, words that join the meaning of two other words, are often viewed as being harmless ways of communicating that someone is excessively passionate about something. The most common examples of portmanteaus in this context are either 鈥榞rammarnazi鈥� or 鈥榝eminazi.鈥�

Though they鈥檙e often viewed as being harmless, tacking 鈥楴azi鈥� on to other words is a big deal. By doing so, people are trivializing the perpetrators of a major historical event, while also making a mockery of those with negative ties to the Holocaust.

As of 2016, Time magazine reported that there were about 100,000 Holocaust survivors still alive. The dwindling number of survivors 鈥減uts the responsibility on us, the next generation, the children of survivors, the grandchildren of survivors, to become as articulate as we can be in maintaining this memory and the mandate that comes with it,鈥� said Michael Zank, the director of the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies at Boston University, in a July 2016 interview with Time.

Even if someone isn’t a relative of a holocaust survivor, it鈥檚 still important to help cultivate the history of the Holocaust. Borrowing terms, especially ones that relate to anti-semitism, results in the exact opposite happening. Rather than acknowledging the damage that was done to various groups of people, it erases the events to make room for the comparatively minute, everyday intolerances.

Using the word 鈥楴azi鈥� as a way of getting a point across won鈥檛 actually do any good. It just makes the user look uneducated, and somewhat intolerant to the passions of others. In this case, either the conventions of a language or equality for both genders, respectively.

As someone who enjoys being passionate about things and also has a family history of relatives who were deeply affected by the ramifications of the Nazi regime, I鈥檝e always been perplexed by why the usage of the word Nazi to refer to things besides the aforementioned regime has been accepted into the cultural canon. I鈥檓 someone who naturally tries to look at things from different perspectives, but I can鈥檛 seem to understand the perspective that has room for this type of insult. I don鈥檛 understand how someone can even begin to draw the connection between a feminist and a Nazi, or an eloquent person and a Nazi. This could be an overreaction; but being called something that鈥檚 associated with such a revolting line of thought doesn鈥檛 sit well with me. It never will.

Yes, society likes to label people who annoy them. And no, besides the obvious connection to acting like you’re on a playground, there鈥檚 nothing wrong with that. People, especially in Western culture, like to have vocal outlets where they can express their dislike of something. My beef isn鈥檛 with needing a word to describe frustration. My problem lies with the words that are being used.

Why does annoyance or dislike have to translate into words that literally reference the genocide of Jews, POWs, LGBTQ+ people and the disabled, amongst other groups? I鈥檝e yet to hear a Nazi portmanteau that鈥檚 warranted. If people insist on using 鈥楴azi鈥� to elevate their feelings, they need to properly understand the weight that the term holds. We aren鈥檛 talking fake bra burning and homophones, we鈥檙e talking gas chambers and being killed in front of your family.

Even if someone is trying to convey a deep hatred towards a group of people, there鈥檚 just no practicality to doing it this way. Frankly, piggybacking on a completely unrelated term like 鈥楴azi鈥� is cheap. If you鈥檙e going to slam a group for wanting equal rights or promoting proper grammar usage, at least use something that will match the wit that they鈥檙e trying to promote. That being said, it鈥檚 useless to create terms like these at all. Let鈥檚 be real, getting called a 鈥榞rammarnazi鈥� isn鈥檛 going to prevent me from educating people on the proper form of there, their and they鈥檙e. It’s just going to make me more zealous about the topic at hand.

Rather than shutting down someone for their beliefs, why not start a dialogue with them? An even better option than immediately slamming someone for their beliefs is actually hearing what they have to say. Rather than shutting things down with a cheap insult, people can promote a more understanding society by actually attempting to understand the point-of-view of others.

The mass murder of millions of people isn鈥檛 something that should be trivialized by insensitive misuse. Almost everyone has heard stories by holocaust survivors about what they鈥檝e had to go through. Even if someone鈥檚 ancestry wasn鈥檛 directly affected by the Nazi regime, they鈥檝e heard the stories. They know about what happened. By using the word 鈥楴azi鈥� to mean things that it doesn鈥檛 mean, people are making a joke of something that isn鈥檛 funny. The massacre of any group of people isn鈥檛 funny.

I鈥檝e always been told to practice what you preach, so if you want to start a dialogue about this, email me.

Contact the author at zstrickland14@wou.edu