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[–] Dyno@hexbear.net 12 points 16 hours ago

any time someone promotes manufacturing consent on social media i feel obliged to comment "the poor man's inventing reality"

[–] micnd90@hexbear.net 40 points 22 hours ago

Noam "Manufacturing Consent" Chomsky hits different now

[–] SuperZutsuki@hexbear.net 56 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Good thing Parenti put out Inventing Reality two years before Manufacturing Consent. Fuck this piece of shit. Petition to change the keyword for this emote chomsky-yes-honey to :pedo-professor:

[–] Tabitha@hexbear.net 7 points 12 hours ago

Inventing Reality hits harder in the post-LLM era anyways.

[–] miz@hexbear.net 14 points 21 hours ago

jesus fucking christ

I'm so angry at myself that I ever stood up for this fucking monster 🤮

[–] XiaCobolt@hexbear.net 20 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (5 children)

I have one or two of Noam Chomsky books floating around. Dumpster or lending library with hand written on first page Jeffrey Epstein and Noam Chomsky were friends?

[–] purpleworm@hexbear.net 27 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Manufacturing Consent, by Chomsky's own admission, was mainly written by Edward S. Herman

[–] XiaCobolt@hexbear.net 5 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

Okay that's one I have. But I also have Inventing Reality so lending library for that one.

[–] NinaPasadena@hexbear.net 8 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) (1 children)

Inventing Reality

Isn't that Michael Parenti

[–] XiaCobolt@hexbear.net 8 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

That's what I mean I have both books I can get rid of the inferior.

[–] NinaPasadena@hexbear.net 6 points 22 hours ago

Ugh my bad Misread. Excellent

[–] etsy@hexbear.net 8 points 20 hours ago (2 children)

I find it rather strange that y'all act like this news invalidates any of his work. sure, he's a piece of shit, but his work still stands.

[–] Tabitha@hexbear.net 2 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

I will argue against the devil regardless of if I'm right.

[–] etsy@hexbear.net 3 points 12 hours ago

https://mastodon.catgirl.cloud/@etsyy/116018565416384387

(apologies, I don't feel like repeating what I've already said elsewhere)

[–] XiaCobolt@hexbear.net 5 points 20 hours ago (2 children)

I don't want one of Jeffrey Epstein's friends works on my limited shelf space...

[–] Tabitha@hexbear.net 2 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago)

Just ask Dan Humphrey to replace the author's name with something socially acceptable like Joseph Stalin.

[–] etsy@hexbear.net 2 points 18 hours ago

I'm not saying you should support him further...

[–] Awoo@hexbear.net 13 points 23 hours ago

I like the latter option, in the dumpster nothing is achieved, but the writing on that page might inform a few people. Maybe suggest Parenti alternatives on the same page.

[–] yogthos@lemmygrad.ml 17 points 1 day ago

Dumpster, it's where he belongs.

[–] maegul@lemmy.ml 24 points 1 day ago (7 children)

Ok … as someone who knows only the superficial of Chomsky and similarly Epstein (apart from the big news items) … am I the only one wondering why or how the hell these two would be so close and even conspiratorial. Not that Chomsky’s a hero or anything … I just would never have guessed.

Was this Epstein big trick: networking really well; or was Chomsky also a giant dirtbag?

[–] Awoo@hexbear.net 29 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) (1 children)

My take is Chomsky always knew he was reinforcing capitalism rather than weakening it and he was taking part in the rewards of playing the role of furthest left person capital would promote and acting as a buffer against people moving further left.

The dude was a self aware and willing sheepdog for capital.

[–] miz@hexbear.net 8 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago) (1 children)

what were Chomsky's statements on Isn'trael like? was he a zionist? did he make any comments about the intensified zionist campaign of slaughter in Gaza after Al-Aqsa Flood? just realizing that I don't really know

EDIT: just remembered that he had a stroke a year or two ago so maybe that is part of why I don't remember any comments

[–] spectre@hexbear.net 5 points 20 hours ago

In one of the last public statements released by his wife she reported that he held up a fist in response to "free Palestine"

[–] yogthos@lemmygrad.ml 45 points 1 day ago (3 children)

I definitely think it's a case of Chomsky being a giant dirt bag.

He did an incredible amount of damage misleading the left, even leaving aside that he's close friends with a known pedo and a child trafficker. He was doing the bidding of the bourgeoisie; literally made an academic career of misdirectimg leftists and cozying up to elites.

One of the most important and influential "dissident left wing" intellectuals in the entire Western world was without a doubt close friends with an intelligence asset and engaged in illict activities that Epstein was known for. You just can't separate these facts.

He epitomizes manufactured consent.

[–] CommCat@hexbear.net 33 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Chomsky is very Anti-USSR, calling it a coup staged by Lenin and the Bolsheviks. Very anti-Marxist, comparing Marxism with religious fanatics. I am not kidding, years ago, I listened to an interview he did on Robert McChesney's old podcast. McChesney was a leftist media prof, and once part of the editorial committee of longtime Socialist magazine Monthy Review. During the interview, Chomsky talked about how it was that the Berlin Wall fell, because East Germany and the USSR was not Socialism. McChesney asked Chomsky what country is closest to Socialism, and Chomsky says the USA because of all its freedoms. I had to re-listen that part to make sure I didn't misheard. That explains why he calls himself some sort of Anarchist, but always tells his fans to vote Democrats lol

[–] GrouchyGrouse@hexbear.net 21 points 1 day ago

I used to tell myself that the reason he said shit like that was as an inside joke between him and some FBI agent still listening to every conversation public and private. Not because I really thought he was still some dangerous revolutionary but because he just said some stuff that was critical of Bush II and the war in Iraq. I felt like “ooh it’s the consent” leo-point “it’s being manufactured before my eyes!”

Now it’s more like he got bought and paid. Christ it explains so much about his cynicism toward the USSR especially the early USSR. He must have figured Lenin and the Bolsheviks were in it for the $$$, like he was.

[–] SerLava@hexbear.net 37 points 1 day ago

hasan-stfu "THE ONLY CONSENT HE'S MANUFACTURING IS THE AGE OF CONSENT, BIG DOG"

[–] coolusername@hexbear.net 3 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

it's kinda cool that he wrote "manufacturing consent" but he was actually manufacturing consent himself. bro is like Bernie but for people who try harder to understand things.

[–] yogthos@lemmygrad.ml 3 points 17 hours ago

That's how he understood the mechanics so well.

[–] TheModerateTankie@hexbear.net 31 points 1 day ago

Epstein helped Noam with money problems, dealing with his kids and the inheritance from Chomskys first wife. Epstein may have also transferred money to him during that time. In the emails it shows he also wired Chomsky 20,000k for "administering the Chomsky challenge in linguistics”. This on top of free room and board at extremely expensive places in NY and a stay Paris on Epsteins dime. Epstein was a fixer.

When allegations popped up against Epstein, and a few other friends with "allegations" in that orbit like Woody Allen and Lawrence Krauss, of course he didn't believe it and became a "#metoo is a witch-hunt and has gone too far" asshole.

[–] oscardejarjayes@hexbear.net 25 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Chomsky's (second?) wife was connected with Epstein before meeting Chomsky, if I remember right.

It's a little bit of both, I think. Epstein did genuinely have a massive network, and impressive networking skills. Like if you watch the Bannon interview he's just namedropping like every other sentence for an hour and a half, and none of those connections are lies. Epstein maybe being an intelligence agent would also really help him do networking. But also Chomsky was connecting with Epstein after 2008, his first conviction. Basically any decent person should've stopped after then, and in fact around that time many people did drop him.

[–] ALoafOfBread@lemmy.ml 11 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Yeah on the one hand: there isn't any evidence (yet) that Chomsky was involved in the abuse of kids. And, Epstein had a massive social circle: not everyone in it was abusing kids.

BUT he also stuck by his pal Jeff when he learned that Jeff abused kids - which is... not great. It's possible he just believed Epstein was the victim of a witch hunt, but that'd take a serious level of gullibility given all the evidence.

[–] cornishon@lemmygrad.ml 19 points 1 day ago

Was this Epstein big trick: networking really well; or was Chomsky also a giant dirtbag?

Both. Epstein's big trick was networking really well with other dirt bags.

[–] spectre@hexbear.net 13 points 23 hours ago

There is also the MIT connection where Epstein was a major donor and Chomsky was employed

[–] Chana@hexbear.net 4 points 19 hours ago

MIT is absolutely chalk full of Epstein-style demons. Including literally Epstein when Chomsky was on campus.