[gruseom]

I wonder if Godwin's Law applies to a discussion that's already about Hitler in the first place, and if a factual discussion about such a topic is even possible...

I'm not sure how this didn't occur to me before I posted the article. What was I thinking? Well, I guess I know what I was thinking: it is an observant article about an interesting new (to me) phenomenon. It isn't particularly critical. In fact, the most surprising quality of the article itself is how gentle and non-judgmental it is. And I still think it's one of the most fascinating cultural pieces I've read in a while.

But you're right: Godwin's Law doesn't fail to apply just because one begins at the absurd instead of going through a reductio to get there, which means the probability of a good discussion approximates zero.