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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]

Noam Chomsky#238

PoliticsChomskyCriticismMediaIdeologyBiasPatriotism

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

  • international politics
  • media commentary
  • public debate

Putting it to work

  • question extreme one-sided claims

Questions to consider

  • Is he ignorant or critical?
  • Why does he take one-sided views?

Another view

It conflates critical stance with ignorance.

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