Chomsky once told a group of people that he himself was 'agnostic' on whether the Holocaust occurred. When professor Robert Nozick, who was part of the group, confronted Chomsky with this outrageous statement following a debate at Harvard Medical School, Chomsky shoved Nozick, saying, 'How dare you quote an off-the-record remark I made to a small group at Princeton.' He did not deny making the statement. --Alan Dershowitz, June 1, 2007 [238]
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The speaker claims Chomsky was confrontational and did not deny past remarks about the Holocaust.
- In plain terms
- Chomsky is accused of refusing to deny controversial off-record comments.
- What can you take from it?
- Off-record remarks can be weaponized when surfaced later.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do we handle past quotes?
- Is silence an admission?
Another view
Anecdotal evidence about off-record talks is hard to verify.
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