Advertisement

Turfed B.C. Conservative candidate Ian Tootill ran afoul of Internet law: don’t bring up Hitler

Perhaps Ian Tootill never heard of Godwin's Law.

Tootill was running for the B.C. Conservative Party in the May 14 election in the downtown riding of Vancouver-False Creek, that is until he dropped the H-bomb on Twitter.

Well, it was more of a time bomb, really. Toothill is an avid tweeter and last October, apparently in some half-forgotten exchange about bullying, he responded to a comment about the impact of Adolf Hitler's infamous Mein Kampf with this:

"Who's really to blame, Hitler or the people who acted on his words?"

The remark, reported in a Vancouver Sun article on Wednesday along with other potentially controversial tweets, brought an instant reaction from the Conservatives. You're out!

“We are a party that believes in a respectful airing of views,” Conservative leader John Cummins said in a news release, according to the Vancouver Province.

“Mr. Tootill’s statements are unacceptable and downright shameful. He has been fired as a candidate.”

Twitter, naturally, went ballistic.

Others defended Tootill.

Toothill isn't the first candidate in this B.C. campaign tripped up by unconsidered remarks on the Internet. On the first day of the campaign, the front-running New Democrats had to ditch their Kelowna standard-bearer, Dayleen Van Ryswyk, for derogatory comments about aboriginals and francophones on a local forum.

[ Related: B.C. NDP axe Dayleen Van Ryswyk for remarks targeting aboriginals ]

Some of Toothill's other tweets also didn't sit well, such as comment last January agreeing with U.S. libertarian Ron Paul that all drugs should be legalized, or a 2011 tweet where he said "we men love sluts."

Toothill said the latter remark was simply his "edgy" sense of humour."

But really, it was Der Fuhrer that did him in. The Conservatives might have been able to explain away the other references but not one that can be parsed as in any way sympathetic to the blood-soaked Nazi dictator.

Godwin's law, for those of you unfamiliar with it, states: "As on an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1." U.S. lawyer and Internet expert Mike Godwin framed it in 1990, back when Internet exchanges took place on dial-up bulletin boards. But it's highly applicable in today's more complex social media environment.

Toothill fell into a trap well understood by Godwin's Law adherents. When you bring Hitler or the Nazis into a conversation not directly connected with the legacy of the Nazi era, or make inappropriate comparisons, you risk undermining your argument and your credibility.

[ More Brew: Canada’s Joe Fresh thought conditions at collapsed Bangladeshi factory were OK ]

It's hard to sell Toothill as a Hitler apologist, as Anonymous Liberal labels him.

Toothill was guilty of trying to boil down the complex question of individual versus collective responsibility for the crimes of Nazi Germany to a 140-character tweet, nothing more. Did that demand the political equivalent of capital punishment?

National Post columnist Brian Hutchinson wrote that it appears Tootill was fired for being "mildly politically incorrect."

Toothill accepted his dismissal as a Conservative candidate but hinted he may stay in the race — his name remains on the ballot.

"I do not agree with the decision however in the heat of an election there is no time to examine subtlety or detail when one hits a bumpy road," he said on his campaign web site. "I am in the process of examining my options and I will let you know shortly what my decision is."

The governing Liberals, who held the seat who are fielding former Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan this time, may hope this potential right-wing vote-splitter bows out.