David Hogg has a book coming out(!): Its title is problematic

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Consider it the logical next step in the life of a perfectly average high school student who happened to be there when the wheel came round. David Hogg had nothing to share on Day 1 of the disaster that catapulted him to national celebrity, beyond his self-professed aspiration to become a journalist, and he’s had little of import to say since.

His mastery of English grammar, reflected in his tweets and speeches to date, suggests he has a ways to go before he is ready for prime time, but that hasn’t stopped a major publisher, Penguin Random House, from contracting with him and his sister, Lauren, to publish a book.

The title of the book, which I’ll reveal presently, is where things get a little hairy. It speaks to another limitation of young Hogg: That is his cluelessness about icons and slogans that have a special place in world history. This shortcoming manifested itself back in March when he unveiled an armband he had designed for his anti-gun children’s crusade that called to mind the insignia worn by the Nazi party under Adolf Hitler. He doubled down on his Hitler emulation, perhaps inadvertently, with the now-infamous stiff-armed salute he delivered at the end of his speech during the so-called March for Our Lives.

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Now he’s done it again, this time with his publisher’s help. Here’s the cover of the book:

The phrase Never again is of course the slogan Hogg has adopted for his movement. But those words have a much deeper meaning that harks back to one of the darkest chapters in world history: the Holocaust.

In March, The Jerusalem Post published a roundup of reactions among many in the Jewish community who were troubled by what social justice warriors would, were this a liberal grievance, call a cultural appropriation.

Lily Herman, writing in Refinery29, said “it’s very uncomfortable to watch a term you’ve used to talk about your family and people’s own heritage and history be taken away overnight.”

Malka Goldberg, a digital communications specialist in Maryland, tweeted, “When I saw they’re using #NeverAgain for the campaign it bothered me, b/c many Jews strongly [associate] that phrase w/ the Holocaust specifically. For a second it felt like cultural appropriation, but I doubt the kids knew this or did it intentionally.”

Perhaps for all the chatter among liberals about lowering the voting age, David Hogg is too young and too unripe for the mission he has signed on to with their blessing. The sooner they — and he — recognize that, the better for everyone involved.