He defended Faurrison. He championed the Khmer Rouge. His condemnations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are one hundred percent one-sided, based on the (obviously) false notion that the Arab nations and the Palestinian people have been trying to arrange a peace with Israel for decades. He viewed the rescue mission undertaken in Kosovo as nothing more than the extension of imperial power. He accuses the United States of perpetrating a holocaust in Afghanistan and thinks that the mistaken attack on the pharmaceutical factory in Somalia [sic] was as bad if not worse than the attack on the Twin Towers. One could go on, but it all adds up to, I fear, the mirror image of the ignorant jingoism of Bennett, Krauthammer, Kelly, Will, etc. And I find it amazing that intelligent people take it seriously. --Eric Alterman, June 2002 [219]
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Alterman lists Chomsky's controversial defenses and accusations, calling them ignorant jingoism mirror image.
- In plain terms
- His views on various conflicts are one-sided and extreme.
- What can you take from it?
- Extreme one-sided views can mirror jingoism.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Is he ignorant or critical?
- Why does he take one-sided views?
Another view
It conflates critical stance with ignorance.
More from Noam Chomsky
It is tempting to follow a policy of malign neglect toward Chomsky's latest screed. But ignoring the book may foster the false impression that Chomsky's revela…
Permalink to quote #237 What we hear in Europe or elsewhere in the world, despite CNN and my son watches CNN every morning, is President Bush saying that the United States is the grea…
Permalink to quote #239 Sneering critics like Noam Chomsky, who condemn the executioners of thousands only in passing, would not hesitate to honour the vengeful feelings of Palestinia…
Permalink to quote #236
Related quotes
I think Michael Moore is loathsome, though, not because he dislikes Bush, but because he seems to dislike America.
Tucker CarlsonTucker Carlson quote #2 Patriotism is a pernicious, psychopathic form of idiocy.[1]
George Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard Shaw quote #225 [Noam Chomsky has] become the guru of the new anti-capitalist and Third World movements. They take his views very uncritically; it's part of the Seattle mood -…
Noam ChomskyNoam Chomsky quote #234