[ WP ] A teen is emotionally coming out to their parents . Their big secret ? `` Hitler did nothing wrong . ''

`` It's not a phase, Mom!'' 
 
 Dianne felt like the world was spinning. `` I did n't say it was a phase, Chloe, I said it was hate speech!'' 
 
 `` How can saying we *shouldn't* condemn someone be hate speech? You're the one who's always saying that forgiveness is the greatest of virtues!'' 
 
 Dianne glanced at her husband. She could see the anger building behind his astonished stare. 
 
 `` Chloe... you *really* have to stop hanging around with those kids. Where did they even get this?'' She held up the Nazi flag she'd found in her daughter's backpack. Well... sort of a Nazi flag. The white circle encompassing the swastika in the center had been swapped for a heart. 
 
 `` You ca n't pick my friends, Mom!'' 
 
 `` The hell we *can't*,'' Dave spluttered. `` You know your grandmother was Jewish, right? It's matrilinial, so that makes me technically Jewish!'' 
 
 Chloe rolled her eyes. `` Ohmygod, Dad, *everybody* was anti-semitic back then! Henry Ford hated Jews, you still drive a Ford!'' 
 
 `` Honey...'' Dianne covered her eyes. `` Hitler... the Nazis... they represent the worst evil the world has ever seen. A lot of people --'' 
 
 `` You are *so* overreacting. How is he the *worst* evil?'' 
 
 `` He killed 6 million people!'' 
 
 `` 6 million *Jews*,'' Chloe corrected him. 
 
 `` Oh, so now Jews are n't people?'' 
 
 `` No Dad, that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying he killed way *more* than 6 million. He killed 6 million Jews, but he also executed, like... a *ton* of LGBTQ people and differently-able people and POC and stuff.'' 
 
 `` There you go,'' Dianne said, `` How is that not evil?'' 
 
 Chloe crossed her arms. `` I'm just saying there are tons of people who are *more* evil. Stalin killed more than 20 million people, and he was our ally in World War One or Two or something. Kids in the politics club at school get to have a hammer and sickle flag, what's wrong with me having that one?'' 
 
 `` But Stalin does n't have... *groupies*,'' her dad said. 
 
 `` You guys watch Marco Polo on Netflix every night. His boss' Grandpa killed, like, 40 million people. And that was back forever ago when 40 million was like, a bazillion today. Tons of people think Dracula was cool, and he impaled a bunch of Turkish people and stuff. The good guys from *300* are super into eugenics. Some of the kids in my class are *literally* Satanists, and their parents do n't make a big deal out of it.'' 
 
 Dianne opened her mouth, floundering for a retort. The image of Mark Davis came into her head, the quiet, sweet boy with long hair and acne who wore a shirt with a goat head and pentagram on it every once in a while when he came over to tutor Chloe's little brother in English. It was hard to make a case that he was doing anything wrong, but still... 
 
 `` Look... Chloe... this is n't something you can talk about with anyone else, but... I feel like I should tell you -- When my brother was a little older than you, he went to prison for a few months and got involved with some skinheads. At first he thought it was just about some... *identity, * or something, just like you seem to. But when he got out of prison, they started taking him around, doing horrible things to gays --'' 
 
 `` LGBTQ people,'' Chloe corrected. 
 
 `` -- LGQTB people,'' Dianne ammended, `` and they tried to get him to do it, too, and --'' 
 
 `` Wait... this is Uncle Arthur?'' 
 
 `` Uh -- yeah,'' Dianne said, `` Anyway --'' 
 
 `` With the Hawaiian shirts and the ponytail?'' 
 
 `` Y -- yes?'' 
 
 Chloe looked like she had just realized the spaghetti she was eating was actually worms. `` And he was in the Hitler Fandom?'' 
 
 `` Yeah... I guess, back in the 80's.'' 
 
 Chloe sat in silence for a few moments before saying, `` So... do you think we could give this flag to Goodwill, or something?''
