[fatjokes]

Heh, reading his sharp responses you forget his age. Then you see him use dated terms like 'Orientals' and remember :).

[abalone]

You misunderstand. He used the term in the context of referring to 19th century racists. Full quote:

"In the 19th century, the US had emigration officials helping drive the native population off their lands, and immigration officials in Europe trying to bring in white settlers to replace them. White. Orientals were entirely excluded."

[fatjokes]

It is in context, but it's not like he's directly quoting something, so I don't think I misunderstood. E.g., I don't refer to African Americans with the N-word when I'm discussing slavery.

In any case, I don't think anyone is offended by his use of the term here. In fact, AFAIK, it's not even considered that offensive---just a bit dated. I was just making an observation. Not accusing Chomsky of racism or anything.

[sn9]

It's not unusual to use "Negros" when referring to African-Americans in discussions of the Jim Crow era or slavery.

That might be a more fitting analogy than slurs.