What the hell was Named Chomsky thinking?

The world's most influential left-ring public intellectual had a massive impact on me as a teenager,

and I'm sure many of you as well.

You know, he was someone who fearlessly exposed the horrors of American imperialism for decades.

But Chomsky's been implicated in the hideous scandal involving the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

He struck up a friendship with him after Epstein had already been

imprisoned for soliciting sex with a minor. He repeatedly spent time with him, including at Epstein's

townhouse, his apartment, his ranch. Chomsky spent time with Steve Bannon, the far-right

former chief strategist to Donald Trump, thanks to Epstein. There's a picture of them, you know, kind of being all

jovial together. When Epstein came under scrutiny for allegations of sex traffic in 2019,

he asked Chomsky for advice and how to respond. And Chomsky said the following,

I've watched a horrible way you are being treated in the press and public. It's painful to say,

but I think the

best way to proceed is to ignore it. What the vultures dearly want is a public response,

which then provides a public opening for an onslaught of venomous attacks, many from just

publicity seekers or cranks of all sorts. That's particularly true now with the hysteria that

has developed about abusive women, which has reached the

point that even questioning a charge is a crime worse than murder. I mean, just disgusting,

to be honest, and unforgivable. I mean, even if you, you know, those comments are outrageous,

even if you just taken out the context of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. I'm shocked and appalled

personally to witness someone who was a hero to my younger self and someone a hero to those who believe in justice and a better world

implicated in this outrageous scandal. But it is important not to shy away from difficult topics.

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