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Article by University of Texas Professor
Houston Chronicle, UT University web site | 9-14-01 | Professor Jensen authored article

Posted on 09/16/2001 3:56:56 PM PDT by Marcella

Need help from Freepers: Read this Houston Chronicle Article. This guy teaches our children. I have copied the information below the article from the University of Texas at Austin site. Could all of you send emails to him, make phone calls to him and University of Texas President's Office, any of you living in or around Austin go down there and picket his office and do anythingelse you can think of to rid Texas of this blight. He needs to go to some other country, maybe Afghanistan. I haven't gone to his "home page" but think I will to see what that is like. If I find more stuff there you would be interested to know will post that.

Houston Chronicle 9/14/01U.S. just as guilty of committing own violent acts By ROBERT JENSEN

Sept. 11 was a day of sadness, anger and fear. Like everyone in the United States and around the world, I shared the deep sadness at the deaths of thousands. But as I listened to people around me talk, I realized the anger and fear I felt were very different, for my primary anger is directed at the leaders of this country and my fear is not only for the safety of Americans but for innocent civilians in other countries. It should need not be said, but I will say it: The acts of terrorism that killed civilians in New York and Washington were reprehensible and indefensible; to try to defend them would be to abandon one's humanity. No matter what the motivation of the attackers, the method is beyond discussion. But this act was no more despicable than the massive acts of terrorism -- the deliberate killing of civilians for political purposes -- that the U.S. government has committed during my lifetime. For more than five decades throughout the Third World, the United States has deliberately targeted civilians or engaged in violence so indiscriminate that there is no other way to understand it except as terrorism. And it has supported similar acts of terrorism by client states. If that statement seems outrageous, ask the people of Vietnam. Or Cambodia and Laos. Or Indonesia and East Timor. Or Chile. Or Central America. Or Iraq. Or Palestine. The list of countries and peoples who have felt the violence of this country is long. Vietnamese civilians bombed by the United States. Timorese civilians killed by a U.S. ally with U.S.-supplied weapons. Nicaraguan civilians killed by a U.S. proxy army of terrorists. Iraqi civilians killed by the deliberate bombing of an entire country's infrastructure. So, my anger is directed not only at individuals who engineered the Sept. 11 tragedy, but at those who have held power in the United States and have engineered attacks on civilians every bit as tragic. That anger is compounded by hypocritical U.S. officials' talk of their commitment to higher ideals, as President Bush proclaimed "our resolve for justice and peace." To the president, I can only say: The stilled voices of the millions killed in Southeast Asia, in Central America, in the Middle East as a direct result of U.S. policy are the evidence of our resolve for justice and peace. Though that anger stayed with me off and on all day on Sept. 11, it quickly gave way to fear, but not the fear of "Where will the terrorists strike next?" which I heard voiced all around me. Instead, I almost immediately had to face the question: "When will the United States, without regard for civilian casualties, retaliate?" I wish the question were, "Will the United States retaliate?" But if history is a guide, it is a question only of when and where. So, the question is which civilians will be unlucky enough to be in the way of the U.S. bombs and missiles that might be unleashed. The last time the United States responded to terrorism, the attack on its embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, it was innocents in the Sudan and Afghanistan who were in the way. We were told that time around they hit only military targets, though the target in the Sudan turned out to be a pharmaceutical factory. As I monitored television during the day on Tuesday, the talk of retaliation was in the air; in the voices of some of the national security "experts" there was a hunger for retaliation. Even the journalists couldn't resist; speculating on a military strike that might come, Peter Jennings of ABC News said, "The response is going to have to be massive," if it is to be effective. Let us not forget that a "massive response" will kill people, and if thepattern of past U.S. actions holds, it will kill innocents. Innocentpeople, just like the ones in the towers in New York and the ones on theairplanes that were hijacked. To borrow from President Bush, "mother andfathers, friends and neighbors" will surely die in a massive response. If we are truly going to claim to be decent people, our tears must flow not only for those of our own country. People are people, and grief that is limited to those within a specific political boundary denies the humanity of others. And if we are to be decent people, we all must demand of our government -- the government that a great man of peace, Martin Luther King Jr., once described as "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world" -- that the insanity stop here. Jensen is a professor of journalism at the University of Texas in Austin. Faculty Member Robert Jensen Associate Professorrjensen@mail.utexas.edu Courses Fall 2001J310 Critical Issues in JournalismFS301 The Ethics and Politics of Everyday LifeTC357 Freedom of Expression Contact Info Mailing Address:Journalism Dept.Mail Code: A1000University of TexasAustin, TX 78712 Phone512.471.1990 Fax512.471.7979 OfficeCMA 5.134D W 8:30 - 11:30 a.m. LinksBob Jensen's HomepageBob Jensen's PortfolioFaculty Books Page Robert Jensen became a member of the UT journalism faculty in 1992 after earning his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Jensen received an M.A. in journalism and public affairs from American University and his B.S. in social studies/education from Moorehead State University.Jensen has received the 1996-97 Texas Excellence Teaching Award for the College of Communication. This annual award is based on student nominations. Recently he won the 2000-01 Dads' Association Centennial Teaching Fellowship, a university-wide award honoring excellence in undergraduate teaching, with an emphasis on teaching first-year students. Jensen's writings cover topics including media law and ethics, news gathering and news construction, media depictions of gender and sexuality, pornography and violence against women, as well as feminist ethics and jurisprudence. He has written two books: Freeing the First Amendment and Pornography: The Production and Consumption of Inequality.He is currently affiliated with several local political groups, such as the UT Radical Action Network and National Network to End the War against Iraq, which have organized teach-ins, demonstrations and public education events about U.S. foreign policy. He is a member of the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) and a supporter of the University Staff Association's fight for fair wages. Course History: Name Robert JensenRobert W Jensen Title Assoc Professor, Ph.D. College/Department Department of JournalismCollege of Communication E-Mail rjensen@uts.cc.utexas.edu Office Phone +1 512-471-1990 Office Address Journalism DeptCampus Mail Code: A1000University of TexasAustin, TX 78712 Room CMA 4.112 Home Phone +1 512-371-9327 Home Address 4209 Burnet Rd #204Austin, TX 78756


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To: CedarDave
Blithering rhetoric. Where are his alternative plans to stop terrorism? Guys (and women) like this ought to be sentenced to eternally flying around in airplanes whose passengers never went through security checkpoints.
41 posted on 09/16/2001 6:30:09 PM PDT by PoisedWoman
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To: ExpatCanuck and ALL
>> This fellow and others like him are ahead of their time. He lives in a world where everyone shares our values, that's not going to happen until the people that don't, are eliminated.

------------------

'Never mud-wrestle with a pig. You'll get dirty, and the pig enjoys it."

(Ancient Proverb)

------------------

Pardon me - your suggestion that 'all people who don't share our values must be eliminated' sounds MORE as coming from an Islamic Suicide Bomber (or Nazi) than from anything the Professor stated. (I suspect you might agree with a few of the Professor's statements, however, as do I.)

Painful as the truth is, our previous interactions with (injections thrust upon) most Arab Nations over the years, even those efforts worth a damn, over time, were bungled, or toppled, some quickly.

Europeans typically do not think like Arabs, and vice-versa. Neither of those two peoples think like an Alaskan, nor does the Alaskan typically think just like a Phillipino.

Overall we, as people and nations, want different things.

NO ONE People is better, NOR worse - only God Judges man, we simply 'have opinions.' (...and WHAT are those like, again??)

We are simply different people wanting different things. Really that simple. Around the world. God set it up that way. Don't ever think your group of people is EVER better than any other, because as we all know, this is impossible.

(I can say that today because Hitler was defeated.)

We are all born in God's image.

Thinking any other way, no matter from WHAT land you or your fathers came, is unhealthy thinking, ultimately steering one (often masses) off-course from their own positive development, fruition and long-term growth.

I'm Irish, and I dislike beer. I don't care for baked potatoe at all. My dad's father was a Jew from England, who married a Brit farmer, and my mom is an Irish-German mix.

Being more German than Jew, Racial Hatred, if correct thinking, mandates that, since my Mom's parents had already committed attrocities against my Dad's Dad's people, before I was born, must I not now die as punishment?

Shouldn't I be born first? Oh, crap - that Chicken / Egg thing makes me hungry, every time. MA (kicking belly) - Got Milk?...

But wait - political confusion saves me, and *WainRight is born*...

HOW??

It turns out my Irish blood wasn't Protestant, and so I, at just 0.0235 years old, created the Irish Republic Water Breaking Army, to destroy the oppresive British Water Bag foes, and break free of its oppression.

Thank God my Jewish genes demonstrated CALM and RESERVE during these tunnel-to-lite times. I cried, and breathed a bit.

Phew! And we thought DYING was tough.

I am a Proud American who has NO desire to STOMP OUT the other side of our planet, NOW, or any time in the future, simply because I know things don't work that way in our world.

Such Revenge scenarios soothe twisted hate in our outraged minds, to bring just a few ugly moments of vengeful relief.

Note: YOU won't actually go into an Arab Nation filled with armed guerillas -dying- to kill you. Our soldiers will, and many will die. You work downtown filing papers, remember?

You'll PROBABLY watch it all on CNN, and jump your ass up from the couch in thrill, like it's a Football game, as your "Enemy State", whose name you cannot spell, smolders and dies, live on camera, - this place where Bin Ladin once WAS, two weeks ago.

These Afghani's have learned to NEVER house US enemies again, even IF those enemies invade them, rape and murder their people, occupy their land in droves, steal their money, bring in guns, and Bin Laden, starve everyone, begin farming Opium, open a new Afghan Drug Trade to fund their Terrorism and Oppresion, Killed their previous leader, then hi-tailed to Iraq to watch us FINISH THEIR JOB?

And you ENJOYED WATCHING SADDAM HUMILIATE the US to ARABS, GERMANS and 'Other Europeans EVERYWHERE? We just LOST, Israel gets SCUDS, and Saudia Arabia tosses our asses outta Dodge.

Also, Terrorists now reign supreme in all global travel, this day forward.

Hope you enjoyed watching minutes of US Technology splatter ancient villages filled with unarmed and starving refugees, those unable to make it to Pakistan by now. Did you tape it?"

Dead - all Afghan. Terrorists retrieved: 0. Bin Laden Status: still unknown.

Arab and Other nations supporting the US by tonight: far fewer than yesterday, even less than last week.

Always uninformed, Day 2 finds you pumped for more televised killing, but pissed by all these commercials.

We ARE Bads-Assss!!!

The professor is simply asking us to THINK before we talk about killing 'all' people, anywhere. We HAVE taken that approach in the past, sometimes very necessary, certainly not ALWAYS the best approach.

US Citizens - take a PROACTIVE ROLE and learn about our planet NOW; its people, the way God created each continent and its people so unique, each of us all wanting the same things, really.

Know of the Madmen, always, track their movements, and PROTECT the spirit and pride our forefathers sacrificed to hand to us.

STAY informed of any New World Order, which cannot be forced to any people - it's not THAT kind or 'Order'.

US Federal Intelligence and Enforcement Agencies - Know that the OTHER side of the world IS IN the New Millenium, and WE are OFFICIALY REACTING to IT. The enemy clearly ARE ahead of us in movement and technology, this moment.

God created us, each, differently, as exactly that. Different in looks, and the Same in Human Aspirations.

Why? To teach us to LOVE, other people, God's Love, and to LEARN, and PRACTICE, removing our HATRID for others, we know we don't always understand, and we know people often assume the worst. This is stated in God's Bible, and in Islamic Qoran, everywhere.

Let's say my Scenario TUMBLES SADDAM'S REGIME starting NOW.

Blast the crap out of this madman, avoiding all innocent citizens death as much as possible, as the U.S. MUST and ALWAYS SHALL DO.

Eliminate Saddam NOW, WHATEVER it takes. You can always go Continent-Hopping chasing Bin Laden afterwards. He'll wait. Once the Iraqi Govt. is 'fixed for a safe Earth occupation', Arabs will be VERY helpful everywhere, particularly for NOT harming Afghanistan. Taliban is also on the run now.

Assit the Iraqi people in a replacement Leader of THEIR CHOSING. Get out of Iraq. The World Rejoices. Iraqi has no sanctions or army, a promise of recovery and freedom, and everyone goes Home.

Meanwhile our Diplomats are BACK to Pakistan, this time with confidence WE are Proacting, THEY are REACTING, and Bin Laden has VIRTUALLY no place to go any more. We know all the other places, and he knows it.

OH - Afghanistan is a front all along, we need not even stop by. Their new focus is on all those refugees returning from Pakistan, back to their homeland.

No Arab States will say a word to stop us, they're equally concerned about his sanity, and Bin Laden may SOMEDAY HELP in PEACE TALKS with Palestine, Israel and the U.S., not to help us, but his Arab Nations.

Sounds crazy, I know.

Call me kooky, my 'ridiculous scenario' above, of potent Arab Terrorist Networks, having no more reason to kill, armed with a future promise of Arab Hope, with their MURDERING DICTATOR MADMAN gone, is finally attainable.

I submit that my insane scenario, not uncommon in history, is a realistic and attainable goal, once Saddam is gone.

While he resides as Iraqi Dictator, on the other hand assures we'll NEVER get Bin Laden, OR Hussein. Where do YOU think he is rite now?

The world wants this guy's head, and with Saddam gone, he'd help (Palestine, not us), then go to death peacefully, knowing that the REAL Devil on Earth is gone.

Arab Nations might rejoice that we brought Bin Laden (in cuffs) to particpate, indeed, intruct all those PLANTED Terrosrists to change focus, finishing Terrorism in the world for a long time.

What? Oh - you MET these guys, and can SHED SOME LIGHT for me here?

No? Oh. CNN? I see. Well, it MUST BE THE REAL IRAQI TRUTH THEN. IF CNN says Iraq is OK, gosh darnit...

Am I being a good follower now? Okay, I'll relax then, and forget all about the TRUTH I've read about by searching a few key words... (heh)

When God helps Man live in Peace among its neighbors, Peace leads the process. This would not be the first time in history that a madman helped governments attain peace.

The US is BLINDED for buying into this whole Paki/ Afghani/ Taliban crap. They are ALL BROKE, HAVE NO DEFENSE, STILL THREATEN -US-, and ARE SCREWING US RITE NOW, per Saddam's PLAN. THIS IS ALL 100% TRUE STUFF. No BULL.

Wake up, CIA, FBI, NSA - Saddam is PROUD he's got you barking up a decoy Arab tree. They're STROKING US for TIME, and setting a HUGE TRAP for our future access to Arab Nations. All we have to do is Blast Afghan.

GO NOW, and DESTROY SADDAM HUSSEIN. Right now. Don't hesitate.

Bin Laden becomes a WASHOUT with NO NEW CUSTOMERS. Either way, Saddam is coming, and HE planned the WTC attacks. Wake up, US Intelligence. Read the Iraqi Daily News at their site. Growth begins when denial melts - we bungled the first WTC investigation, BAD. Feces Occur.

All due respect - Let's FIX IT this time, PLEASE.

Saddam spent FIVE YEARS preparing for "911 2001". Say to me you're SURE "Bin Laden is involved" - you can ONLY be SPEWING to me what:

1) the latest NEWS TOLD YOU today (it must be true)
2) You've Researched and concluded / theorized,
3) OR you 'follow what the crowd says - "they usually know".
CHOOSE where you stand here, today, or give up many freedoms in the coming months and years, to other countries wanting their e-Ticket on our new "Boeing 767 AirMissle".

Decide who feeds you your people's Enemy's name and picture before you lay your life down - your people's leader might not have double-checked. Your leader might not know!

The professor simply suggests we, as Americans, stop hating, and start reading. The Iraqis have studied a LOT about us these past five years in preparation.

All we need are big guns? Did you notice - Arabs have guns too, and these nuts WANT to die WHILE killing you? Most Islamic factions got their guns, on-sale, at Uncle Sam's Artillary Warehouse".

Thank you, Professor, for reminding THINKERS in our group to read your message twice, stop and think. This is NOT a mystery novel. Yes, our Government does make mistakes, and MIGHT HAVE made several these past months. Let's review, and fix them, as ONE NATION, UNDER GOD, moving forward, without Saddam and Bin Laden leading us through ANY process.

WainRight

42 posted on 09/16/2001 11:14:03 PM PDT by WainRight
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To: LurkerNoMore!
I've determined a job for these liberal jerks.

Any terrorist that is living in the U.S. and would like to tell what he knows and quit the terrorist network can get put into a witness protection program and live at Robert Jenson's house.

43 posted on 09/17/2001 6:19:39 AM PDT by Topaz
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To: Marcella
t.u. has always seemed to attrack communist professors. That was the case in the 1950s with some idiots in the economics department. One of the reasons that department never really took off like some of their other ones.

Anyway, the President of t.u. wrote a letter to the editor of the Chronicle saying that this idiot's views were not representative of the university (hmmm; that may not be true!) and describing his views as "foolishness" (which is definitely true). Now, predictably, the professor is whining about his free speech rights, saying he felt threatened by the President's comments. Not only is he stupid, he is a big baby: he and other liberals can't stand to have their views challenged. The President, btw, did the same thing to a law professor in 1997 who had made comments supporting the end of Affirmative Action at t.u. law school. I'm sure this journalism idiot didn't have a problem with that.

44 posted on 09/22/2001 9:05:37 AM PDT by 1L
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