Madoff, Abominable, But Not Hitler

Madoff sucked the life-savings out of people who had worked their entire lives. But Madoff is not Hitler. Madoff did not commission massacres; he did not operate concentration camps and ovens; and he did not kill men, women and children.

[Policing Wall Street]

Bernard Madoff is an abominable man.

Yet some of the comments about him, even comparing him to Adolf Hitler, have been out of bonds and is an insult to the memory of the Nazi mastermind’s victims.

Yes, thousands of individuals were cheated out of their retirement savings and left destitute.  Yet, let’s put the specter of Madoff in its proper perspective.

Madoff was a horrible creature.  He sucked the life-savings out of people who had worked their entire lives.  But Madoff is not Hitler. Madoff did not commission massacres; he did not operate concentration camps and ovens; and he did not kill men, women and children. 

Madoff did not begin a conflagration that would encompass much of the world and kill tens of millions. Madoff stole money.

Many individuals invested in him because they believed that Madoff was a Wall Street insider and they wanted to cash in on his purported insider’s knowledge. Even if Madoff, all along, was trading against the orders of their friends and neighbors.
It was money for nothing.

So it seemed. But there is no such thing as money for nothing.

Madoff’s returns were outsized and everyone knew that. It was too good to be true. Alas, It was greed that people chose when they invested in Madoff.

Citibank, Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns stole far much more money than Madoff. They adversely affected far more people; the entire country; and indeed, the world economy.

Yet, no one is likening Citibank, Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns to Adolf Hitler and the SS as some have done Madoff.

It’s a disservice to victims of Hitler’s genocide and to the survivors as well.

Please post your comments directly online or submit them to [email protected] for publication

“Speaking Truth To Empower.”

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *