# Noam Chomsky and Holocaust Denial

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noam-chomsky-and-holocaust-denial/108726>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 13, 2002, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noam-chomsky-and-holocaust-denial/108726 "2002-05-13T01:12:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noam-chomsky-and-holocaust-denial/108726/21 "2002-05-13T15:08:36Z")

</div>

Chomsky is not a proponent of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” He despises many US policies around the world, but taht doesn’t mean he hops into bed with all enemies of the US. Remember that he’s an anarchist: you’ll find that he hates just about any government you can point to.

Interestingly, in **Culture of Terror** (I think that’s the book’s name), he comes out more or less in favor of Nicauragua’s Sandanista government. I’d call him an apologist for them. Whether that makes him a tweaker is another question – but I think everyone would agree that the Sandanistas never approached the Khmer Rouge in terms of brutality.

Daniel

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noam-chomsky-and-holocaust-denial/108726/22 "2002-05-13T16:55:41Z")

</div>

I agree with **istara**. Wanna try the example I gave re: the Maine, **Dex**?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Daoloth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/82dd89/32.png) [@Daoloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daoloth)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noam-chomsky-and-holocaust-denial/108726/23 "2002-05-13T21:52:33Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by DanielWithrow \*  
> \*\*  
> -You’re looking for the straight dope about someone, and you turn to Holocaust denier Web sites? Could you lean a little closer to the monitor, so I can reach through and thump you on the forehead?  
> Daniel \*\*

Um, I came to the Straight Dope because I couldn’t find any websites that are trustworthy. All I found were denier sites, and they aren’t sources of great quality to say the least.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noam-chomsky-and-holocaust-denial/108726/24 "2002-05-13T22:34:03Z")

</div>

Okay, Daoloth; that makes sense. I won’t thump you on the forehead :D. My apologies.

Daniel

PS. Supposedly a different world-famous linguist dismisses Chomsky by saying, “All us linguists have crazy pet theories that we think about over breakfast. He’s the only one that writes them up.” While his brilliance as a linguist is well-established – I think it’d be fair to call him one of the two or three most influential linguists alive – his political aptness is much more hotly debated. Us lefties love him, though.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noam-chomsky-and-holocaust-denial/108726.md?page=1)