Re Noam Chomsky's lecture "A World Of Freedom And Justice" on April 8 in Madison:
And remember that I'm the guy that (as few know) put Chomsky through the wringer more than most people (in fact anyone as far as I know) have managed to do (see here). He mentions everything in this video, including the point about JFK (the Vietnam withdrawal plan) that I went toe-to-toe (and tooth and nail) with him on. I still think I won that argument, and I also disagree with him about 9/11, but here's the point and it's a big one: I STILL LOVE HIM!
I hope this inspires the wag that called me a "fag Jew" on Facebook the other day because I expressed a lack of appreciation for David Icke and because I insist on seeing the US government as responsible for the actions and policies of the US government (rather than "Jews," "Zionists," Israel, the Mossad, Bilderbergers, Illuminati, secret international banking cartels, etc. -- see my stuff on OpEdNews.com) to repeat the compliment, although I am neither homosexual nor Jewish, because such idiocy can only be understood as confirmation that one is on the right track.
Chomsky and I ended our correspondence, as I've described, in mutual name-calling, but -- especially after my experience with the World Socialist Website (at least with the recently created representation thereof on Facebook) -- I want to make my position clear and perhaps set an example for others who may have similar experiences. Unlike the dogmatists who like to claim "socialism," however they might define it, or any other -ism (or body of thought, even individual arguments) as their own, rejecting and alienating anyone that does not accept their views in toto -- an attitude which goes beyond dogma to fascism -- I believe that compromise is necessary, inevitable, and need not entail abandonment of one's principles. It is inherent in the very notion of democratic politics -- though not, apparently, if the WSWS supporters barking at me recently are any example, of "socialism" (see here, and the original here, unless they remove it).
You will find me behind the barricades with Noam Chomsky. Please tell him if you see him. I'd tell him myself, but I am trying to outgrow my need for heroes and I don't trust myself to express what I feel adequately. It wouldn't be much different in substance from what I would say to a lot of people these days (Cynthia McKinney, Ralph Nader, Michael Moore, Dennis Kucinich, Ron Paul, Paul Craig Roberts, Alex Jones, Jesse Ventura, etc.): "I agree with you on a lot of things, but not everything. Let's try to work together." (What I learned from the WSWS cohort, Facebook version anyway, is that neither I nor Chomsky nor any of the others mentioned can work with them.) Emotionally, though, since I have invested a lot more time and energy in Chomsky (both as a linguist and political observer) than in the others, it might be hard to get it right. I would not want to risk offending him again -- or myself on the rebound. So better to leave it at this.