Stellafane
Village Idiot.
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And I asked you a serious question. Why did you not answer it?
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My letter to Prof. Chomsky
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And I asked you a serious question. Why did you not answer it?
trustbutverify
Penultimate Amazing
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Last edited:
KoihimeNakamura
Creativity Murderer
Some of us are mildly curious to get the gist of Chomsky's reply, so yes. Please stop.
BenBurch
Gatekeeper of The Left
That's wise. Ask Professor Chomsky too.
BStrong
Penultimate Amazing
No writer I've ever encountered takes well to being told what to write by a stranger.
I have -0- reason to believe Chomsky is any different.
To the op: Write your own book.
I have -0- reason to believe Chomsky is any different.
To the op: Write your own book.
grunion
Penultimate Amazing
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I thought the OP to be interesting, and I do believe your statement that Chomsky has provided a response. I have occasionally corresponded with him over the years, and he has taken the time to provide thoughtful and polite responses to what have sometimes been not-very-well-thought-through ramblings of my own.
The point is well made that it is difficult to criticize a writer for something that he hasn't written about, but I do think it is obvious that you were attempting to engage him in discussion about human nature and how it aligns with his world view rather than strictly telling him what to write about. It recalls the time I went to a Michael Moore movie in which he took questions from the audience afterwards, several of which were of the nature "why didn't you make your film more about -----" or "you should make your next film about this other issue" to which his responses were how low a budget he had on his first film, and how little filmmaking experience he had, as a way of encouraging those in his audience to go out and make the films that they think need to be made rather than relying on him to do it for them. At some point in his career Chomsky had no more experience or insight than you do - if this issue is something you feel strongly enough about, and is one that hasn't been well represented in the literature, by all means you should write the book.
I think maybe this thread belongs in Philosophy or Social Issues where it might not get all the trollish and OT responses that it has received here. But I am also interested in how Chomsky replied.
The point is well made that it is difficult to criticize a writer for something that he hasn't written about, but I do think it is obvious that you were attempting to engage him in discussion about human nature and how it aligns with his world view rather than strictly telling him what to write about. It recalls the time I went to a Michael Moore movie in which he took questions from the audience afterwards, several of which were of the nature "why didn't you make your film more about -----" or "you should make your next film about this other issue" to which his responses were how low a budget he had on his first film, and how little filmmaking experience he had, as a way of encouraging those in his audience to go out and make the films that they think need to be made rather than relying on him to do it for them. At some point in his career Chomsky had no more experience or insight than you do - if this issue is something you feel strongly enough about, and is one that hasn't been well represented in the literature, by all means you should write the book.
I think maybe this thread belongs in Philosophy or Social Issues where it might not get all the trollish and OT responses that it has received here. But I am also interested in how Chomsky replied.
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grunion
Penultimate Amazing
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OK but you can summarize it. Was he dismissive? Polite? Did he engage with your idea or give you any advice? Do you think he agreed with your position?
dudalb
Penultimate Amazing
I lost all respect for Chomsky as far as politics as concerned a long time ago because of his continued whitewash of the Pol Pot regime,and his attempts to shift blame for the Killing Fields on everybody but Pol Pot.
And I cannot take anybody who proclaims himself an Anarchist seriouly anyway.
As for the OP, pure high school drama king/queen dramatics.
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trustbutverify
Penultimate Amazing
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Let's see here:
The reason for pain, suffering, cruelty and oppression is that people are, with the exception of an enlightened elite represented here by the OP, ignorant, lazy sheep; who are too cowardly to face the reality the courageous OP is heroically trying to teach their cowardly sheep minds. Chomsky is also a member of this enlightened elite, but is terrified of revealing the complete truth to the sheep masses, lest his privileged position be threatened. Unfortunately, the great Chomsky has not achieved the courage attained by the OP, and so has greatly disappointed him.
The reason for pain, suffering, cruelty and oppression is that people are, with the exception of an enlightened elite represented here by the OP, ignorant, lazy sheep; who are too cowardly to face the reality the courageous OP is heroically trying to teach their cowardly sheep minds. Chomsky is also a member of this enlightened elite, but is terrified of revealing the complete truth to the sheep masses, lest his privileged position be threatened. Unfortunately, the great Chomsky has not achieved the courage attained by the OP, and so has greatly disappointed him.
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Ron_Tomkins
Satan's Helper
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Myself, I lost respect for him when I heard his bigoted and conservative views on pornography.
Well, it's that I lost respect for him as much as I realized that he didn't really know it all, and that he could be very naive and obtuse about some topics.
TubbaBlubba
Knave of the Dudes
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Chomsky seems to have always been pretty wilfully closeted from large portions of the world. This, however, does not hinder him from having rabid opinions on them.
You should certainly be able to paraphrase it though.....
Tsukasa Buddha
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I have to confess, I've never read one of Noam Chomsky's books. I'll turn in my Leftist badge now.
I never quite "got" what he was about. His wiki mentions his anarchistic leanings due to the question if the authority of the state, which sounds interesting and like a basic position. But otherwise I've just heard him tout random lefty causes from gun control to health care, vague opposition to capitalism, and a myriad of foreign policy objections. Each thing seems more disconnected and philosophically polemic than the rest. It's just never made me want to sit down and read one of his books.
I like philosophers like Thomas Hobbes. Even if I disagree with him, he reaches conclusions in a methodical and rigorous manner.
I never quite "got" what he was about. His wiki mentions his anarchistic leanings due to the question if the authority of the state, which sounds interesting and like a basic position. But otherwise I've just heard him tout random lefty causes from gun control to health care, vague opposition to capitalism, and a myriad of foreign policy objections. Each thing seems more disconnected and philosophically polemic than the rest. It's just never made me want to sit down and read one of his books.
I like philosophers like Thomas Hobbes. Even if I disagree with him, he reaches conclusions in a methodical and rigorous manner.
When he sticks to what he knows, he seems fine: thus: http://www.amazon.com/Minimalist-Pr...5322&sr=1-8&keywords=noam+chomsky+linguistics
His field is not sociology or politics.
Reply from Prof. Chomsky
He told me it is surely true that most people in the US do not know of JFK’s crimes, and that many of them who do know – like him – don’t think that the massive organizing required to change the name of an airport should displace other priorities.
He said that he don’t think it follows that those who do not know, or who do know but rank priorities differently from me, are “passive sheep,” and he also don’t see any point in pretending to stand on some high pedestal and condemning those who do not rise to our magnificence.
He told me it is surely true that most people in the US do not know of JFK’s crimes, and that many of them who do know – like him – don’t think that the massive organizing required to change the name of an airport should displace other priorities.
He said that he don’t think it follows that those who do not know, or who do know but rank priorities differently from me, are “passive sheep,” and he also don’t see any point in pretending to stand on some high pedestal and condemning those who do not rise to our magnificence.
To which I have replied
Hi Prof. Chomsky,
I am not condemning anyone nor I am on any pedestal, just looking at people around me who, for the most part, do nothing to help Palestinian people and their struggle, virtually ignored by 99,9% of the people of US and Japan
(Just an example)
This is just a fact: the vast majority of the people just do not care and this is where the problem lies, not on Governments and Institutions, this is where the problem lies
I am in part guilty as well, as I could do more
And there is little excuse for "not knowing" in the era of internet
Hi Prof. Chomsky,
I am not condemning anyone nor I am on any pedestal, just looking at people around me who, for the most part, do nothing to help Palestinian people and their struggle, virtually ignored by 99,9% of the people of US and Japan
(Just an example)
This is just a fact: the vast majority of the people just do not care and this is where the problem lies, not on Governments and Institutions, this is where the problem lies
I am in part guilty as well, as I could do more
And there is little excuse for "not knowing" in the era of internet
To which he replied
He told me that I say am not condemning anyone but am saying that they don’t care and have no excuse for not knowing what they plainly don’t know?
He believes it is my problem to live with the contradictions, and to ask myself why I think it is useful to condemn people for not achieving my insight.
He told me that I say am not condemning anyone but am saying that they don’t care and have no excuse for not knowing what they plainly don’t know?
He believes it is my problem to live with the contradictions, and to ask myself why I think it is useful to condemn people for not achieving my insight.
To which I replied
Please tell me if you believe I am wrong in saying that "they [people mostly] don’t care [about the suffering of people they are not closely connected with] and have no excuse for not knowing what they plainly don’t know [in the era of internet]."
I am not in the business of condemning anyone, and nothing would change if I did, I am just expressing what I see around me
In case you do not think the above is factual or if there is any reason why you think it is wrong/useless to state it clearly in your books, I would like to know.
Again, I am not writing the above as a condemnation, simply as a genuine observation
Please tell me if you believe I am wrong in saying that "they [people mostly] don’t care [about the suffering of people they are not closely connected with] and have no excuse for not knowing what they plainly don’t know [in the era of internet]."
I am not in the business of condemning anyone, and nothing would change if I did, I am just expressing what I see around me
In case you do not think the above is factual or if there is any reason why you think it is wrong/useless to state it clearly in your books, I would like to know.
Again, I am not writing the above as a condemnation, simply as a genuine observation