by Catherine Arjet
opinions editor
Hi Everyone! Welcome back to “Ask Catherine”, where I answer any questions you might have for me. This week I’m talking about Donald Trump and smartphones. Remember, if you want my advice, opinion, or thoughts on anything, you can always ask here!
Q: A lot of people have recently been comparing Trump to Hitler. Do you think that’s a good comparison to make?
A: I really don’t. Sure, some of the anti-Muslim and immigrant rhetoric Donald Trump has been spouting recently is a lot like the anti-Jew speeches Hitler made. The idea of making all Muslims register sounds a lot like the stars, triangles etc. that Hitler made Jews, gay people, communists etc. wear, but we have to remember that Hitler had six million people killed and Trump has yet to kill one (although he did say he could get away with it).
I’m a firm believer in Holocaust exceptionalism (that is, teaching the Holocaust as one of the most horrible human atrocities and setting it aside from genocides like the Arminian or Rwandan ones) simply because of the amount of thought and planning that went into the way Nazis killed their victims for their religion, race, sexual orientation, political affiliation, or mental and physical health. I think likening Trump to the perpetuator of arguably the most unconscionable events in human history cheapens the horrors of the Holocaust. A lot of what Trump is doing is really reminiscent of things Hitler was doing during his rise to power, and I think we have to keep that in mind and be very very careful of him, but I do not think comparing him to Hitler is a good idea.
Q: Do you have an iPhone or an Android? Which one do you like better? Why?
A: I am 100 percent team iPhone all the way! Part of that is just because I like the way they look (so sleek and classy) but I have more reasonable reasons. iPhones tend to get apps faster, the design is more user friendly (to me at least), and, because most of my friends have iPhones, it’s easier if I do too (plus it means someone always has a charger that fits my phone if I forget mine). I do see the appeal of Androids, they’re just not for me.