The Nazification of Bowling Leagues

An old one, via Steve Sailer:

Could Bowling Leagues and the PTA Breed Nazis?

... In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Germany had an exceptionally vibrant civil society that included clubs involved in hiking, animal breeding, shooting, gymnastics, bowling, firefighting and singing. The authors’ principal finding is that in cities with dense networks of clubs and associations, Germans were far more likely to join the Nazi Party.

I understand the average person not wanting to figure out Nazi Germany for himself but it's unconscionable for a pundit to throw around the other N-word without some kind of understanding beyond "Nazis are bad." If they're such a bugaboo, wouldn't we benefit from a richer understanding of the movement and its consequences?

I recommend Richard Evans' Third Reich series, which is probably the most thorough history we'll see in our lifetime. We're at a strange time in Nazi history because the last of those alive in that era, even as children, are few and far between. With so few left to defend themselves, progressive historians have begun to paint pre-Nazi German culture as irretrievably evil, making the horrors of Nazi genocide the product of the sinister German Volk rather than the corruptible nature of humanity. Evans' work does much to combat the notion.

This article is especially interesting because it's both a repeat of the Nazi's original intention and a very bad understanding of history. In short, the Nazis took over the bowling leagues. That is, if you were a member of the North Munich Strike Squad, you would have walked in one day to find that your league had been disbanded and you were now invited to join the Strength Through Joy Nazi Bowling League. Membership in the Party was probably something less than optional.

Take the much-referenced Hitler Youth. We are instructed to understand that this was a youth group made up of rabid young Nazis. In fact, it was the Nazi replacement for the Boy Scouts. The boy, like our former Pope, who wanted to go camping and tie knots had no other social outlet than the one with the Fuehrer's name.

It was in this way that the Nazis consolidated power. There was no assembly that didn't have the swastika attached. Nothing was outside of the Party's purview and everything had to be turned towards the Party's goals.

Understanding this, it's both frightening and hilarious that the progressives have come to a similar solution as their arch-rivals the fascists. The bowling league, when directed only towards bowling and camaraderie, is a potential petrie dish for ideas contrary to the Powers That Be. Thus, they should be monitored.

The only saving grace is that a progressive-controlled bowling league, with its quota-mandated teams and handicapped scoring, would be so little fun for anyone that it would die on the vine.