What's the big deal?
Atrios doesn't see much of a problem.
I do, for a couple of reasons.
First, Holocaust denial of the "well, it was a war, a lot of people got killed- what's so special about the Jews" variety is more pernicious than the pure strain that says nothing happened.
It's the same hatred, only dressed in a suit so it doesn't alarm the dinner guests. It's a way to hate Jews while giving people who want to believe they're reasonable an out.
"Oh, Mel, you know...he's not really anti-Semitic, he just has some eccentric beliefs, ha ha ha!"
Oh, bullshit.
Ignoring a massive edifice of evidence so you can keep your racist daydream soap bubble intact is contemptible, whether you're a multimillionaire movie star or a gutter punk.
And in this case Mel is leveraging his own Holocaust denial to generate buzz for a miniseries on the Holocaust.
If it wasn't so sickening, you'd have to admire his chutzpah.
For an instructive look at the development and mentality of a Holocaust denier, I recommend Mr. Death from Errol Morris. As much as I love all his stuff, this one is objectively his best, most powerful film.
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