Wednesday, January 19, 2011

My interview with Noam Chomsky

Posted by Mickey Z on 01/19 at 04:22 AM

  2. Good morning Mickey.  I’m not sure what I would ask or say to Noam Chomsky.

    I might ask him what he thinks should be done about the huge number of people who have lost their homes due to the corruption and inhumanity in america? I might ask him what he would do with the victims in the Gulf states, with the Victims of Katrina?

    Like the gas shortages of the ‘70’s, what would he do if there was a sudden shortage of oil, would priorities go to the military or to those who still heat with oil and can’t afford an overnight conversion to any other form of heating.

    I don’t know if we can assume Beetles will outlive humans or how long it would take to accurately determine this.

    I might ask Noam what he thinks about hierarchies, elitism and the resultant pain that people must sustain so that this hierarchy continues and that very few people benefit from.

    I might ask Noam how to implement a more sane/fair distribution of wealth and food and if he doesn’t ‘see this happening soon’, then what, watch the death toll? Then, Noam, how do you feel about all this dying and suffering so that ‘deciders’ can maintain their positions on this living planet.

    I would ask Noam what he might say to Monsanto, to Netanyahu.

    I’m not sure what I would say to or ask Noam?

    I might ask Noam how he would feel, what he would like to say if he hadn’t a decent meal in a few weeks and felt his blood sugar going ‘haywire’ and couldn’t afford help.

    I might have more questions for Noam, then again, I might not.

    Posted by Joe of Maine from The Window  on  01/19  at  06:33 AM

  3. Hi Mickey, Hi Joe,
    I’m optimistic that the human species can survive, blind optimism quite possibly, but it’s worth a try.
    I like to think of myself as non-materialistic. Compared to other people around me, I don’t have much stuff.
    During my travels in Cuba, I realised that THERE...I’m diferent. Even my “Do I actually need this?” attitude doesn’t save me from the materialist edge of the spectrum.
    One of my Cuban friends said I’m a Capitalist (to my jaw-droppingly insulted face). “But you’re a BAD Capitalist” they said.
    We’re constantly encouraged to buy more stuff, and told that we need to keep shopping to keep the economy going.
    If the human race wants less...then logically there is just less to do!
    I was told years ago that Capitalism is “wasteful”. I’d never thought of it in that term before. It’s soooo wasteful it’s ridiculous.
    In my office job, about 80% of my work goes in the bin.
    captcha says “price”...extinction?

    Posted by Rick (the Cartoonist) from   on  01/19  at  01:55 PM

  4. I had an eye-opening moment this morning. I was listening to the radio...they said something like “Do you know how to help save the rainforest?? cut down your carbon footprint? eat healthier?”...there was a whole list. I thought “Are they actually going to say “Go Veggie/Vegan"!?"

    You don’t win a coconut for guessing.

    They said....*drum roll*..."Eat bugs!”. They said insects are high protein and minimal carbon footprint. I wasn’t very surprised, but I was disappointed.

    I’d changed the radio station after the last one slagged off a student protest as being bent on violence...for a protest that hadn’t even happened yet!

    Posted by Rick (the Cartoonist) from   on  01/19  at  05:46 PM

  5. Whoa, feisty interview.  Good read.  I agree with your points 100%, Mickey. Chomsky’s viewpoint is just way too human-centric.

    Posted by Charles from Jersey City, NJ  on  01/19  at  07:15 PM

  6. I mean Chomsky basically listed the one animal that can survive man’s psychopathic onslaught of violence: the beetle.  Most other creatures won’t be as lucky.

    Posted by Charles from Jersey City, NJ  on  01/19  at  07:29 PM

  7. Thanks all...I really enjoyed doing this interview. Right now, I’m interviewing Derrick Jensen. A contrast, to say the least.

    For the record, Charles, I doubt the beetle will survive either.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  01/19  at  07:30 PM

  8. Nice interview, MZ, facing into the wind. I didn’t like him backing away from his comments; they were the gravitational center of that video and not just because they came out of his mouth.

    Again, Chomsky shows that he’s not a wartime consigliere. Not a hanging offense, but rampant on the left and tiresome after so many years; were he a threat to power his life story would be very different.

    The interview is posted on CounterPunch. Maybe they will post your Jensen interview, too? (ICMUS!)

    Posted by Zen Prole from Pac NW  on  01/19  at  09:53 PM

  9. Wow, I thought Chomsky would see a larger picture… I guess he is captive to the thought processes instilled in an earlier generation after all - human-centric and all.

    What is with the insistence on HIGH-SPEED rail? Why not extremely efficient LOW speed rail? The resource requirements grow exponentially with maximum speed…

    Colour me dissapointed.

    I am looking forward to the Jensen interview, though!

    captcha sez “peace”

    Posted by subgenius from hell-A  on  01/20  at  04:30 PM

  10. What else do you two say? I’d like to hear the rest.

    Well Noam Chomsky has done… A LOT of good over the last half century of his tireless activism. Maybe he isn’t up to par on certain views that leave him woefully lacking, like so many people, in his understanding of our truly dire predicament.

    I think Chomsky believes technology will save us and if not we’re fucked.

    Posted by Jay from   on  01/21  at  08:43 AM

  11. Thanks, all. I just put up a new post with my latest article. Since no one is paying to write anymore (lost three paid writing gigs in one month), I’m back to writing whatever the hell I feel like.

    More fun and satisfying...if it weren’t for all those damn bills.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  01/21  at  12:27 PM

  12. Hello Mickey,
    Thanks for challenging Chomsky.

    As a former Chomskyite myself, I have come to the conclusion that he is dour, demeaning, demoralizing and, in the final analysis, detrimental to our efforts at liberation.
    I experienced first-hand Chomsky’s dampening effect last spring when I attended a speech by him here in Madison.  The content of his speech was bad enough, being essentially a recitation of the machinations of power, meanwhile completely lacking in any useful suggestions about “what are we to do?” To go along with this Chomsky had absolutely no stage presence and struck me as a burned out academic giving the same old speech for the nth time. Talk about demoralizing.  But worse than those items was his arrogant, snappish and demeaning response to a couple of folks who during the Q & A period called for direct action against the centers of power and requested his support (which he refused to provide).
    I am honest enough to admit that I don’t have many, if any, answers as to how we overturn the psychopathic civilization which currently dominates us and go on to create a life affirming world. But I do know that the path that Chomsky offers us (whatever that is exactly) is just another dead-end.

    Posted by Twilight Zone Don from Madison, WI  on  01/21  at  03:19 PM

  13. Thanks, TZD. I still believe Chomsky’s work is an important bridge for those still buying the mainstream rap. His work, Zinn’s work, William Blum’s work, etc. all introduce us to the lies we’ve been taught. That’s how it worked for me. From that point, however, I agree: we need to move on past them ASAP.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  01/21  at  03:26 PM

  14. TZD, you say you know Chomsky’s “path” is another dead end, but you don’t know what his path is. Did he ever offer a specific path for others to take other than to resist and get socially active? So he does seem to reject certain answers or approaches about what to do and how to do it and he places a different emphasis than others would like on different issues. Maybe that is truly tragic on his part that he comes up short concerning what many consider to be the pending ecological -scratch that- unfolding environmental apocalypse. Oh well, I say. Another hero figure with feet of clay. I suppose I don’t feel the need to be so critical of Noam Chomsky because I was never exactly a Chomskyite. He always seem a little disgusted when it came to his guru status and exalted place on the left and seemed to view his main role as showing how powerful governments, namely the U.S., are corrupt, hypocritical, lying, murderous, criminal rackets that serve the rich elite and don’t give a damn about everybody else. He’s done that job brilliantly.

    Posted by Jay from   on  01/21  at  04:26 PM

  15. Mickey: You are correct, Chomsky’s (and Zinn’s) work is still very important - a “gateway drug” for freeing your mind as it were.

    Jay: Yes, I plead guilty to being bitter that my former hero has feet of clay. Still, I feel my criticism of Chomsky has much validity. Clearly Chomsky’s answers to Mickey’s questions reveals to us that Chomsky wants us to stay stuck on the same trajectory we are currently on - just with a different set of bosses leading us over the cliff.

    Also, IMHO, Chomsky delights in his “guru” status. The disgust you speak of is with us - the great unwashed who have failed to achieve the exalted level of insight that he has.

    Posted by Twilight Zone Don from Madison, WI  on  01/21  at  07:27 PM

  16. Well, that is going to far and strikes me as bitter and unfair. To say Chomsky is disgusted by us, “the great unwashed who have failed to achieve the exalted level of insight that he has”?  He spends countless hours doing interviews with people and giving talks and writing articles, books, answering email… Maybe he is burnt out and should take a break from the unwashed?

    Posted by Jay from   on  01/21  at  09:50 PM

  17. Jay: We will have to agree to disagree regarding Chomsky.

    My best to you.

    Posted by Twilight Zone Don from Madison, WI  on  01/23  at  03:58 PM

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