Noam Chomsky is at it again.
The professor of linguistics at MIT loves the attention he gets from his extreme views on a variety of subjects (none of which, oddly enough, is in linguistics, his actual field of expertise.) And for reasons we cannot quite fathom, the mainstream media love giving space to his ridiculous notions. This time, as the world mourns the horrible terrorist attacks in Paris, CNN gives him a stage to voice his opinion that these cold-blooded murders are really no different that Western military actions in Serbia and Iraq.
But, as always, his favorite target is Israel. Hence his bizarre comparison of the attacks to Israel’s fight against the terrorist group Hamas. With CNN’s blessing he writes:
Prominent among those who face an “enormous challenge” from brutal violence are Palestinians, once again during Israel’s vicious assault on Gaza in the summer of 2014, in which many journalists were murdered, sometimes in well-marked press cars, along with thousands of others, while the Israeli-run outdoor prison was again reduced to rubble on pretexts that collapse instantly on examination.
Did Chomsky somehow see a different conflict from his lofty perch at MIT than the rest of us? Or does he really think that the thousands of rockets, the terror tunnels, the murder of the three Israeli teens, and the other terror attacks endorsed by Hamas are inconsequential?
One wonders how close his “examination” was if somewhere in his convoluted thinking he can compare those who were murdered in Paris with those who support murderers in Gaza.
A few years ago, we posted excerpts of an article by Robin Sheppard on Israel’s ban on Chomsky, and how some in the mainstream media embrace his oddball, ranting views.
Chomsky, an extremist who displays complete contempt for reasoned discourse and who provides succour to totalitarian movements and their apologists around the world, is hailed as a hunted hero: a dissident being oppressed in a manner which led the Times (Sunday Times, UK) gleefully to report an Israeli writer as saying “we may be becoming fascists”. The Times article in question opened by describing Chomsky as “a leading left-wing political thinker”. The BBC went further, admiringly describing him as “Renowned US scholar Noam Chomsky”.
By giving a platform to someone with downright ridiculous views, CNN (and other media who have in the past published his rantings) is guilty of lending journalistic legitimacy where none should exist.
CNN has openly stated that they will not show the recent cover of Charlie Hedbo out of fear of “offending some viewers.” Yet I am sure there are far more viewers who are offended by his comparing U.S., British, and Israeli military forces to terrorists.
Chomsky has no objectivity.
But shouldn’t CNN?
[sc:graybox ]Please tell CNN how offensive Chomsky’s nonsense is. You can do so on their contact page.
Featured image: CC BY-NC-SA Wayne Marshall via flickr with modifications by HonestReporting
