Comment on "Does Hitler have a right to privacy?" and other big questions in research ethics.
BodyBySisyphus@hexbear.net 20 hours ago
The results, which are now under peer review, are indeed fascinating.
It is the first time Hitler’s DNA has been identified, and over the course of four years, scientists were able to sequence it to see the genetic makeup of one of the world’s most horrific tyrants.
What is certain, experts say, is that Hitler did not have Jewish ancestry - a rumour that had been circulating since the 1920s.
Another key finding is that he had Kallmann syndrome, a genetic disorder that, among other things, can affect puberty and the development of sexual organs. In particular, it can lead to a micropenis and undescended testes - which, if you know the British war-time song, had been another rumour flying around about Hitler.
Kallmann syndrome can also affect the libido, which is particularly interesting, said historian and Potsdam University lecturer Dr Alex Kay, who is featured in the documentary.
“It tells us a lot about his private life - or more accurately, that he didn’t have a private life,” he explains.
Hi, yes, question from the back of the room here: why is Hitler’s right to privacy the main controversy and not the fact that this work in no way shape or form represents an advancement in scientific knowledge? What’s “fascinating” about findings that he “might have” had a micropenis or the possibilities that entails for his sex life? Why is this how supposedly intelligent people are choosing to spend their time?
ZeroHora@lemmy.ml 19 hours ago
Nazism is when no sex? Great study. Anything negative or positive they can find changes nothing, is pure bullshit.
BodyBySisyphus@hexbear.net 18 hours ago
I’m not really seeing any purpose other than trying to paint him as some sort of aberrant freak, and I don’t see any purpose in that beyond trying to absolve the greater social milieu (which included a great many Brits!) in what happened.
axont@hexbear.net 18 hours ago
There’s an obsession with painting Hitler as a unique figure whose rise to power and fascist crimes were the result of a confluence of personality disorders, family history, his experiences in WW1. It’s mainly a liberal thing because they really need the history of fascism to be the history of singular evil figures, rather than the result of imperialist capitalism eating itself. It would be very useful for the liberal world order to place blame on genetics or individual psychology for the machinations of history. Rather than the consequences of things like economic conditions, imperialism, class struggle, etc
ShimmeringKoi@hexbear.net 17 hours ago
lathe-of-heaven “Huh weird, looks like all Palestinians and Chinese people have the Hitler gene. Well kiddo, I don’t like mass bombing either but it looks like we need to stop fascism once and for all.”