Noam Chomsky: The Stony Brook Interviews Part Three

[katheryncruz24]

Thanks for this!

[MetaCraken]

what's the music at the beginning?

[irishjuwan]

can there ever really be justice on stolen land?

[polymath7]

@irishjuwan This is a legitimate and worthwhile question, but it begs a definition of "stolen land". All land, absolutely without exception, is "stolen" (acquired by aggression) if you go back far enough.

[abortfailure7646]

land can only be share if you ask the present owner to share it and he or she agrees.

[bfoaliali]

One day I want to play a game. The game goes like this: Ask Noam Chomsky a question about any topic, and watch him answer.

[Doogibo]

@bfoaliali When you're ready to play your game, his e-mail is readily available and he does make an effort to read all the inquiries he receives. Give it a shot.

[bfoaliali]

@bfoaliali I think you misunderstood my comment. Noam Chomsky seemingly knows everything. Every question he is ever asked he has an answer to it. My comment was one day I want to ask him a question about something so random and see what he does. It a joke, but after reading my comment, even I didnt understand what I was trying to say.

[Doogibo]

@bfoaliali

Gotcha, hehe. No worries.

He's just one of those people who only discusses subjects after he's meticulously researched them. If he's ignorant on a subject he's straight up and says he doesn't know enough about it. This is the way things should be. It isn't unfortunately... most people spew ignorant shit from the moment they wake up to the moment they go to bed.

[watayapupuya]

@bfoaliali

You prove right there that you are a moron.You'd better just shut up and read.

[watayapupuya]

@bfoaliali

Question: Why the hell do you want to play games? Answer: Because you are a fool.

[maj1kninja07]

after hearing chomsky describe in great detail dozens of times how the us, many un governments and companies murder, and financially rape countries then he says well there are crazy Americans that have guns to protect against the un. umm wut?

[chinopisces]

@maj1kninja07: Against each other.

[maj1kninja07]

@chinopisces not quite sure what you mean but if you mean we use guns against each other, i would much rather have a chance when that lone nut or gang, starts shooting to shoot back rather then not even have a chance to survive. you have a better chance of dieing in a bathtub accident then a shooting. but you dont see that on tv for 2 weeks after it happens do you? no because it would be 24/7 no current events, no news just. why are we not outlawing bathtubs?, why cant we get rid of bathtubs?

[watayapupuya]

@maj1kninja07

Nonsense!

[maj1kninja07]

@watayapupuya no you are a non.

[FukCommando]

cracking tune at the start and end, whats it called?

[realitycheck888]

@FukCommando

Mendelssohn's Octet, wrote when he was 17 - now that's real genius.

[FukCommando]

@realitycheck888 thanks alot, i agree

[closetome]

chomp-sky

[InternetPolice1000]

Did Noam just say prevent black kids from entering town on 53.00 min

[darthtubius]

@InternetPolice1000 That was a quip.

[xpressivist]

Make no mistake. I am a great admirer of Chomsky. But I don't know what he means by Vietnam being more complex than the Philippines. Yes, we Filipinos have been "deeply colonized", but not by the USA but by Spain. Spain was here for more than 300 years & the USA for only a little more than 30 years. Most Filipinos here in my country have been fascinated with America not because we have been deeply colonized by the USA, but mainly because of Hollywood!

[worsethanamistake]

@xpressivist I think Chomsky would consider that the Phillipines has been colonized by the US since 1898 (minus 1942 to 1945). It's not about what it was called at any given time ... commonwealth, republic, etc. And Hollywood was born only about twenty years after America bought the phillipines from Spain so maybe there is some connection between the two events

[worsethanamistake]

@xpressivist Sorry about the typos and lousy English. Just to make it clear, Chomsky's underlying proposition is that the Phillipines has been a US colony from 1898 to the present. It's economy and government are and have been fundamentally shaped by US interests as opposed to its own. That's more or less the contemporary meaning of "colonialism." Or best I can do with no sleep.

[1yellafella]

anyone know any writing on the notion of not talking about the past horrors one lives through and how this may differ according to class? he mentions how his father never talked about eastern europe and i know my korean family doesn't talk about their being disappeared and tortured during the Park military dictatorship in the 1970s

[SatanicSBA]

are you talking about post-traumatic stress disorder? it's extremely typical to deal with stressful thoughts by avoiding them.

[translationwiz]

Whenever I listen to or read Chomsky,whether I am in total agreement or not; and often I am. Reality expands in my mind. I gain new awareness.

[8Marx8]

2.CONTD ALEXANDER HAMILTON;

"....Give therefore to the first class a distinct permanent share in the government. They will check the unsteadiness of the secondCan a democratic assembly who annually revolve in the mass of the people be supposed steadily to pursue the public good? Nothing but a permanent body can check the imprudence of democracy.. It is admitted that you cannot have a good executive upon a democratic plan.

These poeple don't even believe in democracy

[translationwiz]

If at all they do...it was meant for them: the land owners and aristocracy of the day. That no longer will THEY be ruled by THEIR king. Instead they now have THEIR own kingdom. And share in its rule, power, and wealth. That none among them is king. And drafted those bills(as rights are so expensive in the US today) of rights to protect one from the other. They had no one else in mind.

P.S. thanks for letting me live on your land. For you are the real owners.

peace.

[8Marx8]

Land should not be owned or rented! How can it!!! The idea itself is proposterous but it became normalized into people's life so no one cosiders its obsurdity! Think about it! Human beings should equally and commonly share land and its resources for the well being of all and without exploitation of any!

I appreciate your comment though, Take care!

[shallbeagain]

They weren't perfect 8Marx8 but name another nation or country that has more freedom or respects the rights of its citizens more. All other western nations followed the American system.

[8Marx8]

"Weren't perfect" you sound that they are close to perfection but not quite!! Genocide of millions of Natives, theft of land from Mexico and the indians! Conquest of land expansion robbery, enlaving african americans waging wars as the US is the only nation that waged more wars that the years it "existed" and I can go for pages more! All that and you call this perfect! Wake up where are you living in a dream world!!Shame on you! Ignorance and indoctrination is a lethal combo destroying consience

[shallbeagain]

I didn't mean to give the impression of perfection, I understand all the atrocities you mentioned were barbaric. Nations with a lot of power will I think naturally participate in conflicts more, some will be horrific and some will be more warranted, although all will be self interested.

[8Marx8]

This is just a lame execuse to hide behind the crimes of the US and the system that perpetuates it. Cowards are afraid to acknowlegde their crimes so they just say everyone does it as if that makes it "okay". All crimes against humanity are horrific, immoral, of equal grosteque and out to be ended!!!

[8Marx8]

Alexander Hamilton: founding father

1. All communities divide themselves into the few and the many. The first are the rich and well born, the other the mass of the people. The voice of the people has been said to be the voice of god; and however generally this maxim has been quoted and believed, it is not true in fact. THE PEOPLE ARE TURBULENT AND CHANGING; THEY SELDOM JUDGE OR DETERMINE RIGHT..."

[nigerlover18]

I agree with the judgment of Alexander Hamilton.

[8Marx8]

Good for you. Didn't expect any less from an indoctricated American who worships the state (generally speaking) as the US and capitalism in specific are the enemies of democracy and freedom!!

[nigerlover18]

Keep paying your taxes like a good boy.

[8Marx8]

I don't pay taxes. I am a native american. We paid in blood for what became the wealth and prosperity of this country! We were murdered, enslaved and robbed of our land so someone like you can wake up one day and find it all served on a gold plate! And after all, you are not even grateful and apologetic for a murderous regime! Shame on you!

[SamKashimoto]

@8Marx8 I'm not north-american but it's a shame how the white-american claim to themselves a place that they steal from the original americans, the natives!

I wonder when the native-americans will have more voice and be respected in american society.

[Trumpetz81]

@8Marx8 The last time I checked, nobody alive today was behind the atrocities faced by Native Americans. I say this as a minority myself. People need to stop taking credit from their ancestors and expecting credit from those who were born decades or even centuries after the atrocities ended. That's complete bullshit, and I'm not going to apologize for anything I didn't do personally. Nobody should have to. If you expect it from the government, address the government.

[truthslap]

@Trumpetz81 you completely miss the point of what he was saying. do you not understand how the systematic destruction of culture, destruction of lives, physical and cultural and economic impoverishment affects the lives of their future generations? Nobody is looking for apologies from anybody, people simply expect to be able to grow up with the OPPORTUNITIES that were robbed from their ancestors and therefore themselves. Did you not grow up benefiting from your family?

[Trumpetz81]

@truthslap Nothing you said has anything to do with what I posted. And to answer your question, my family did more harm than good in terms of my upbringing.

[truthslap]

@Trumpetz81 Let's try this again. Nobody is expecting an apology or "credit" for what their ancestors went through, but EVERYBODY deserves an equal playing field of opportunity, including you. Those things which were forcefully kept from one's ancestors, including the freedom to build savings, the right to have a decent education to pass down the generations, those opportunities must be subsidized and offered today (in student aid, scholarships, etc) to their children. That is called fairness.

[Trumpetz81]

@truthslap Are you suggesting those opportunities aren't there? Do Native Americans meeting a certain requisite percentage not go to university for free?

Opportunities will never be entirely equal. There are always people who have it worse.

Also, he stated "And after all, you are not even grateful and apologetic for a murderous regime! Shame on you!" Sounds like he's expecting an apology, whether formal or not. That's a load of horse shit. Read to avoid making overt contradictions.

[truthslap]

@Trumpetz81 Yes, I AM suggesting the opportunities aren't there. As bad as you had it growing up, you didn't have it worse than any Native American kid growing up in Oklahoma on a reservation, getting his nutrients from dollar store candy and drinking old well water. others have it even worse. I have family that are living that way, and they DO need government assistance, because their lives were impoverished BY the government. You don't need assistance and neither do I, but some people do.

[Trumpetz81]

@truthslap Like I said, opportunities will never be equal. Still, some are there. Native Americans have it easy compared to children growing up in Sub-Saharan Africa, so I don't see your point at all. As a minority, I know scholarships and grants are there for me to take advantage of, but I have yet to bother with them. It doesn't mean the opportunities aren't there.

Further, did he not ask for an apology? I'm pretty sure his request was quite explicit. Go read it again.

[truthslap]

@Trumpetz81 if you think they have it "easy", go live on a reservation for a month. the scholarships and grants are available to all minorities, but they're FOR the ones who need it. some poor souls still live with the very real and current effects of generations of poverty. those people DO need it, they deserve a chance to make something of themselves, like all of us had.

If your life was still impoverished because of the greed and maliciousness of others, you might understand his feelings.

[Trumpetz81]

@truthslap No, I understand his feelings. Empathy is something I employ quite often. Understanding doesn't mean his feelings are unwarranted. He explicitly asked for an apology. You said he didn't. Therein lies the problem.

[truthslap]

@Trumpetz81 I did feel you were challenging his feelings and experiences. If it's purely semantics over his one comment about uneducated Americans who don't care to know the history of the genocide and the current shameful state we've left the Natives in, then I'd assume he's directing that comment to people not like you or me. If you are empathetic, and if you do understand how historical injustice limits opportunities and creates poverty, then I don't think he's directing his anger at you.

[Trumpetz81]

@truthslap That sounds perfectly reasonable. My only issue is with the statement demanding an apology. Nobody alive today can be held directly accountable for what happened then. It's more than reasonable to expect sympathy for those whose situations warrant it. Any who are unwilling to empathize with such people are missing a characteristic requisite to their humanity. I avoid such types as they're either stupid or ignorant, or afflicted by psychopathy, sociopathy, or some other disorder.

[iggypopbowie77]

@8Marx8

YOU paid nothing,moron.I did nothing wrong! YOUand I live in a free and open Democracy, fool!Wise up NOW!

p.s. I am very liberal, not a right-winger.But get real ,buddy!We live in the 21st century.

[rpdinavahi]

It is very interesting that he mentioned the Amartya Sen's analysis on death rates of China and India. It is true that nobody ever mentions about the part that he explained about the inclination of the death rates in India, though it was written in the same paper.

If you are interested, check out Amartya Sen's "the Argumentative Indian" for much more deeper analysis on this issue.

By the way, great interview with the world's most important intellectual.

[TheOtherView]

Diversity is a weakness.

It will destroy this country.

[pazomblez]

Ever study ecology? Monoculture is death.

[TheOtherView]

The evidence suggests that multiculturalism is stunting and destructive.

Just look around the world. Data is data.

[drainey32798]

I'm so tired of people making bold statements without providing any evidence. No one cares about your view until you provide the evidence. It's not enough to just say the data exists... Where does it exist?

[djboony]

heres me thinking variety is the spice of life,

guess ill just eat porrage and water from now on

[grunge6910]

what a bizarre concept for an interview with chomsky.

[peterfdrucker]

I'm curious about something the gentleman on the left said about women in agriculture. He mentioned that women often have highly developed knowledge about agricultural techniques that is passed down from mother to daughter, and he seemed to be speaking in general terms.

If you have a suggestion for something particularly good to read to find out more information on this topic, please reply.

[boing3887]

i read about cultural passing down of agricultural knowledge in chomsky's "year 501." basically, this cultural agricultural knowledge has largely been destroyed by european imperialism in south america and africa

but you can also read references to it in books by michael pollan like 'omnivore's dilemma' and 'in defense of food.'

[mdoob11]

Nice interview. Glad I got to see this :)