Hyperbole Unbound NY State Senator Likens Atheist Campaign To the Holocaust

NY State Senator Andrew Lanza (R-24 Senate District) is protesting against a disgusting billboard campaign urging people to take the Christ out of Christmas. The group American Atheists unveiled the anti-Christmas ad this week in Times Square along with a press release declaring “Christmas is better without Christ.”

Senator Lanza correctly points out the ad deliberately ridicules the solemn beliefs of millions of New Yorkers and is launching a petition drive calling for the immediate withdrawal of this advertisement and the group’s 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status so that our tax dollars are not being used to spew religious hatred. The petition will be forwarded to the NYC Mayors Office, the NYC Council, the Attorney General’s office and the Times Square merchant community.

The Senator's anger and petition drive are justified, but the rhetoric he uses is inappropriate.

Not only do the people behind this group not believe in God but they obviously don’t believe in decency, civility and kindness to fellow human kind either. This is part of a continued “War on Christmas” and also upon the belief and value system of millions of Christian, Jewish and Muslim people who have faith in God. Religious persecution of the kind that similarly lead to the Holocaust began with small evil baby steps of ridicule and hatred of the religious beliefs of others.

That comparison is way beyond the pale, as bad as the American Atheists ad may be-- it is not even close to the start of or any other part of the Holocaust. There are certain terms that shouldn't be used to make comparisons; Apartheid, The Holocaust, Slavery, and the Civil Rights Struggle are four that come top of mind. There is nothing that comes close to being comparable to them, and when one makes the inappropriate comparison, they dilute the memory of something that should be remembered with horror and disgust​