Schmidt contended, however, that he was fired for "protesting discriminatory hiring practices" at AIP, and that the "stolen time" quotation was an exaggerated allusion to counterculture icon Abbie Hoffman, who wrote Steal This Book. He added that "writing this radical book during break time in the office felt like stealing time because the ideas that I was expressing seemed so out of place with the corporate-type atmosphere of the office." Schmidt's firing led to a public campaign, with 750 physicists and academics, including Noam Chomsky, signing a letter supporting Schmidt.
Schmidt argued, however, that he was let go for "objecting to unfair hiring practices" at AIP, and that the "stolen time" quote was an overstatement referencing counterculture figure Abbie Hoffman, who wrote Steal This Book. He also stated that "writing this provocative book during office hours felt like stealing time because the ideas I expressed seemed incongruous with the corporate office environment."