That’s what I thought. But as it turns out, that’s a frequent mis-attribution.

Thanks Adam. I had it as Voltaire, in my notes. Obviously. And because I had posted two previous occasions quotes that were apocryphal or mis-attributed, I usually make it a habit to look it up before I use it.

Today, being out of town, wanting to get something out the door before I hit the city, I skipped that step. From now on, I will always verify my quote.

The quote is, evidently, popularly attributed to Voltaire, as made notable recently in a tweet by Australian conservative senator Cory Bernardi. But he appears to actually be quoting an American neo-nazi by the name of Kevin Alfred Strom. And technically, he’s not quoting either – he is just riffing on Strom’s comment (the wording has changed, technically that must mean it’s no a longer a quote.)

Strom’s original comments were a mess of incoherent outrage. He seems to have had little difficulty in keeping multiple, conflicting, unsubstantiated ideas and morals running around in his head, like the Tasmanian Devil had been set loose in the comments section.

So technically, the quote belongs to Bernardi.

Whether it’s a valid or rational argument is debatable these days. I can’t help but feel that it’s an oxymoron.
“You know what your problem is? You never let me criticize you. That’s what your problem is.”