How Words Spoken on Sept. 10 Came Back to Haunt the Speaker

WSJ | October 2, 2001 | By JERRY GUIDERA and ROBERT TOMSHO

[mombonn]

How Words Spoken on Sept. 10
Came Back to Haunt the Speaker
By JERRY GUIDERA and ROBERT TOMSHO
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

AMHERST, Mass. -- The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 have transformed Jennie Traschen, a University of Massachusetts physics professor, into a target of harassment and hate.

Critics have publicized her home and e-mail addresses on the Internet, leading to a flood of nasty calls and computer messages. On her answering machine, strangers have made crude sexual remarks and denounced her as a traitor.

"This nation has been spit on by the likes of this trash," said an anonymous visitor to an Internet chat site. Another wrote: "These Marxist traitors should be hanged with piano wire and left to rot in the sun."

Unlike the backlash against Muslims and Arab-Americans, however, the attacks on Ms. Traschen have nothing to do with her ethnicity or religion. They were sparked by what the diminutive 45-year-old said about the American flag the night before four hijacked planes killed thousands and unleashed a maelstrom of emotion involving patriotism, security and fear.

People in this college town are used to speaking their minds. On the evening of Sept. 10, several dozen of them turned out to do just that at a meeting of the five-member select board that governs Amherst. The meeting had been called to settle a dispute over how often to fly 29 American flags that a group of veterans and volunteers had hung from lamp posts along the town's main thoroughfares.

Roderick Raubeson, a 59-year-old former Marine who heads the town's Veterans' Services office and the local chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, had long been troubled that Amherst, known for its liberal political bent, had never adequately honored its military veterans. And so, in early August, he used $1,000 from the Veterans' Services budget for commemorative activities to buy the flags that he and others then raised downtown.

The flags raised a stir in this town of 36,000 people. Some residents wrote letters to local officials opposing the display altogether. Others said that flying so many flags every day made them just part of the scenery and eroded their meaning. But many local veterans lobbied for the flags to be flown for months at a time.

With several flags already flying daily at government offices, many town officials thought that any additional display should be confined to commemorative holidays, such as Flag Day and the Fourth of July. The issue grew more heated after Labor Day, when the flags were taken down pending a public debate and a decision by the select board at its Sept. 10 meeting.

Ms. Traschen didn't think twice about going to the town hall to make her opinions known. As a little girl, she had attended antiwar protests with her late father, a World War II veteran who often told her that free speech was among the rights the flag stood for. As an adult, she has frequently spoken out against U.S. policies ranging from the deportation of Central American refugees to Washington's support for the now-fallen apartheid regime in South Africa.

At the meeting, which was taped by a public-access cable-TV channel, Ms. Traschen urged people to lobby for more spending on education and health care for veterans rather than on hanging out more flags. Nervously tapping her open hand on the table in front of her, she also said that the flag had not always represented policies to be proud of. But it was one blunt comment that would be reported by local media and repeated again and again on the Internet.

"What the flag is," she said on the eve of disaster, "is a symbol of terrorism and death and fear and destruction and oppression."

In hindsight, Ms. Traschen wishes she had explained her thoughts differently. But then, in a town nestled in a peaceful valley in western Massachusetts, she had never had to choose her words with painstaking care. "There's been a level of repercussion that was totally unanticipated," she says.

Tuesday morning, Sept. 11, the country awoke to the horror unfolding in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. The calls to Ms. Traschen's home began Wednesday morning. In the first, it took 20 minutes to calm down an irate man from Seattle, who then warned her that her home address and phone number were already circulating on the Web. Another caller asked to speak to the "terrorist sympathizer." One suggested that she move to Afghanistan.

For a time, Ms. Traschen and her husband, also a physics professor, tried to discuss the issue with callers. When the attacks grew more vicious, however, they contacted local police, who mounted additional patrols past their home and put an electronic "tag" on their telephone so that operators would know that any call from the residence should immediately be treated as an emergency.

For a time, additional police officers were also stationed outside town hall, where officials fielded dozens of angry calls and e-mails from around the nation. Some senders had heard rumors that Amherst had ordered the flags taken down after the terrorist attacks; others were convinced that the town had banned private citizens from flying the flag at home. "We had all kinds of messages," says Town Manager Barry Del Castelho. "It was mostly people telling us to leave town or leave the country."

What had happened at the Sept. 10 meeting was that the town's select board voted 4-1 to fly the 29 flags only on six specified holidays. In the wake of the terrorist attacks the following morning, however, a group of men in a pickup truck went to the town offices on their own, retrieved the flags and returned them to their downtown sites. Since then, a local pub owner has vowed to raise money to buy even more flags for the main thoroughfares.

Mr. Raubeson, the man who started the flag displays, condemns the threats that Ms. Traschen has received. He also defends her right to free expression -- with one caveat: "When you speak your mind like that, there are consequences."

In light of the terrorist attacks, the select board hasn't determined if it will remove the 29 flags. If there is another public debate, Ms. Traschen doesn't know if she will be there.

Not that the events of Sept. 11 have altered her opinions. "To many, many ordinary people in countries around the globe, the U.S. has done terrifying things," she says. "If I think about the flag, I have to think about it from the point of view of those people."

But in Amherst, as in other towns and cities, some things have most assuredly changed since the terrorist attacks. Ms. Traschen no longer tries to discuss the flag with anonymous callers. And unsettled by the sound of her own ringing phone, she frequently leaves home to study or write.

Though fearful about future turmoil for the three-year-old child that she and her husband are in the final stages of adopting, she did write a letter to the local newspaper explaining her views. After receiving what she called "a spate of e-mails that were especially violent and several were obscene," she wanted to vent a little and talk to the locals.

"It was a good thing to do," Ms. Traschen says, noting that at the farmers' market, a lot of people came up to her and said they understood. But she remains upset by the episode and its implications.

"People are going to have a much harder time speaking their minds in this community," she says.

[mombonn]

Another sterling example of academia. Especially touching that she's adopting a child.

sheesh

[SocialMeltdown]

When you meet someone like this, ask them to name one country that is better than the United States. If they can, offer to pay their moving expenses.

[Republic of Texas]

Drop her off in Kabul, maybe she'll like it there better.

[topher]

I guess she is still getting examples of other people's "Freedom of Speech".

Of course, she probably does not like their "freedom of speech" one bit...

[Dirk McQuickly]

Has she thought about changing her phone number? Brains.

[KC_Conspirator]

She deserves all the comments she gets (except for any comments about violence) and is unworthy of the freedoms that those sacrificed before her. In fact, someone get her email so I can send her my love!

[thucydides]

The wonderfully named Ms Traschen should reflect on whether her attitude that the United States is terrible country imposes on her a moral duty to get out, rather than stay and be a free rider on the enormous human sacrifices of men who have defended their country.

[The G Man]

What a bunch of BS this line about they thought displaying them everyday would diminish their meaning!!!

I live right near Amherst and the reason the town didn't want them flown was:

(Barf alert) ... BECAUSE THEY WERE OFFENSIVE!!! (/Barf alert)

This is the same town that wants to give the vote to illegal aliens.

[Gordian Blade]

Her father may have been an SOB professor at the university I attended during the War in Vietnam. If so, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

[mombonn]

When you meet someone like this, ask them to name one country that is better than the United States.

Are you Dr. Laura? She said the same thing the other day. hehe

It's a great point!

[regularAmericanWhiteMale]

Is there anybody in Massachusetts who is not a communist or a traitor or a fag? What a hell-hole!

[Truelove]

I'm sure she'd be happy in the seraglio of one of those "ordinary" citizens of some of the "opressed" and "terrorized" (?) countries around the world.

Semper Fi.
Love it or Leave it!

[mombonn]

As a little girl, she had attended antiwar protests with her late father, a World War II veteran who often told her that free speech was among the rights the flag stood for.

I couldn't help but wonder what her father would say about his little girl.

[kapn kuek]

Where can I get her email and address?

[laconic]

Amherst College, named after Jeffrey Amherst, periodically engages in debate over whether to change its name because General Amherst fought the Indians who sided with the French. Just like Madame Traschen's name tells you something about her, this tells you something about the college, doesn't it?

[topher]

Is there anybody in Massachusetts who is not a communist or a traitor or a fag? What a hell-hole!

They have a Republican governor (who gave birth while she was in office). Of course, this governor is a pain to folks like Sen Ted Kennedy.

It is just not wise to make generalizations, though I believe the state legislature is quite liberal.

And let us not forget that Congressman Barney Frank is from Massachusetts.

[mombonn]

Where can I get her email and address?

I have no clue. Sorry.

[jackbill]

Jennie Traschen, a University of Massachusetts

Another liberal puke sucking off the government teat. She has absolutely no problem "taking" from the taxpayers, many of whom are standing on the wall, protecting her sorry Clymer.

[mombonn]

Ok, what am I missing about her name? I know I'll probably say, duh!, but I'm in the dark.

Thanks.

[dakine]

"Pick a Better Country" is a book by Ken Hamblin, a good read.

[kapn kuek]

Is there anybody in Massachusetts who is not a communist or a traitor or a fag? What a hell-hole!

Probably not! As I always say.

Massachusetts, definitely, anti-family and populated by weirdoes!

[stripes1776]

Exactly. Free speech to a liberal means freedom to speak without any criticism of what they say. Libs just aren't used to being challenged.

What do we learn from this? You must challenge liberals. Get in their faces. They just can't tolerate real freedom of speech.

[SuziQ]

Is there anybody in Massachusetts who is not a communist or a traitor or a fag? What a hell-hole!

Yes there are plenty of us who do not fit your description. A good many Freepers as a matter of fact. Don't paint everyone with such a broad brush; save it for the folks who deserve it!

[TheBigB]

Inavde Afghanistan first, then Berkeley, then Massachusetts. Tell the soldiers, "look for the ones holding the peace signs...they'll be the easiest to off first."

[ao98]

Here is the original thread Amherst Commies

[Salvation]

Not that the events of Sept. 11 have altered her opinions. "To many, many ordinary people in countries around the globe, the U.S. has done terrifying things," she says.

Sure, the USA has made mistakes, but what country has not?

BTW, Mrs. Traschen, you are married aren't you?

And Mrs. Traschen, have you in any way noticed the initials and writing on the bags of rice/wheat, etc. sent to the Pakistani and even Afghanistan refugees?

Wouldn't it be better at this time to concentrate on what the USA is doing right? Including going after the ring of terrorists who planned and perpetrated the attacks on the USA on 9-11-01?

[RWG]

In hindsight, Ms. Traschen wishes she had explained her thoughts differently.

They all do, prisoners on death row, employees fired for cause, disbarred lawyers, and all the rest of the pompus and pretentious individuals who are held to account for their actions in the light of close examination. If she had been celebrated at a gathering of leftists she would have become even more insulting. Once a criminal is caught, there is so much remorse it is sometimes hard to remember that a crime has been committed and that it is not just a matter of a minor error with great emotional impact.

[mombonn]

Thanks, I didn't see it.

[Salvation]

Where can I get her email and address?

BTTT!

[Zeno44]

Until our colleges are cleaned out of the Commie thinking, it will produce their likes. Clean out the root of the evil.

[Alkhin]

YOu know they run around saying "the US is worse, the US does bad bad things too..." but NOT ONCE do they ever cite it...and it doesnt take much to figure out why the last eight years happened...Just another sh*tty display of hypocracy...Blame America, but not the leader of their choice!!!

[ao98]

I missed it also. When I read your thread I did a internet search on her name, and the fourth choice was the original freerepublic thread. She's about to get a second round.

[#3Fan]

I don't understand the locals support of her. If someone in my hometown said this, we'd offer to send her to Afghanistan ourselves.

[tiki]

Amen! But the really sad thing is that she still doesn't get it! She thinks that those who don't like her because of her comments have something wrong with them.

Peoople shouldn't threaten or do harm to her or her family or property but they should just ignore her completely.

[wbill]

You hit it. Free speech is what the flag is all about. Her personal opinion is reprehensible, but she certainly is entitled to it.

The article, however, makes an excellent point - to paraphrase, "You can say what's on your mind, but be prepared for the backlash." Only a liberal would assume that they could make such remarks and be completely supported by the rest of the people. I disagree with the threats of violence and so forth, but for her to think that she would be blithely ignored after such statements is ridiculous. The fact that her statements came in the present context only sharpens the focus on them.

[GretchenEE]

How touching that those terrorist cops are providing extra security to someone calling them symbols of terrorism.

"What the flag is," she said on the eve of disaster, "is a symbol of terrorism and death and fear and destruction and oppression." In hindsight, Ms. Traschen wishes she had explained her thoughts differently.

So sorry, lady. You can't explain your way out of that to me. You were perfectly clear the first time. And when your hamlet voted to suppress the rights of the VFW to fly the hello AMERICAN FLAG in AMERICA, you made your statement loud and clear.

Below: US Embassy, Lisbon, Portugal, after the attacks on America. Says it all for me.

[ao98]

Here is the title of one of her physics papers.

Fermionic Zero Modes on Black Branes and Gravitational Spin-Spin Interaction

Dr. Jennie Traschen, ITP & Univ Massachusetts

Sounds like her Black Brane is located in the wrong place.

[GretchenEE]

"People are going to have a much harder time speaking their minds in this community," she says.

It would be tough to get a sellout crowd for anti-American sentimental musings in circumstances such as we find ourselves. Sheesh, lady (not you, mombonn) Buy a clue: do you enjoy your freedoms, the right to trash your country and all who paid for your freedom with their blood? Maybe then, if you do, you should rethink your stance. It's about as stable as an earthquake.

[JmyBryan]

Excellent to see how Freedom of Speech allows for dissent to be aired by both the majority and the minority.

[PsyOp]

Not that the events of Sept. 11 have altered her opinions. "To many, many ordinary people in countries around the globe, the U.S. has done terrifying things," she says. "If I think about the flag, I have to think about it from the point of view of those people."

Ever notice how people who make these statements can never come up with any but the barest of examples - taken out of context. Sounds like a just reaction to an unjust accusation against the flag to me. Free speech does not mean complete freedom to be licentious and libelous.

[Tall_Texan]

Yoo-Hoo! Allah's martyrs!!

Here's another place where you won't meet any resistance to your suicide attacks...

That's Amherst, Mass...just down the road from Berkeley, Cal...any of you guys need a flight plan to find 'em?

[MarkM]

She has a right to freedom of speech. But we don't have to agree with her stupid, hateful remarks. And we have freedom of speech to point out how wrong she is.

[MichaelP]

So...... what's her email address?

;) Mike

[topher]

I also disagree about saying everyone in Massachusetts is liberal. I had responded to this orignal reply with:

regularAmericanWhiteMale

Is there anybody in Massachusetts who is not a communist or a traitor or a fag? What a hell-hole!

topher replied with

They have a Republican governor (who gave birth while she was in office). Of course, this governor is a pain to folks like Sen Ted Kennedy. It is just not wise to make generalizations, though I believe the state legislature is quite liberal. And let us not forget that Congressman Barney Frank is from Massachusetts.

[Constitution Day]

Click to E-mail Jennie Traschen

[Salvation]

My email to her:

Mrs. Traschen,

Sure, the USA has made mistakes, but what country has not?

And I suppose that you have never made any mistakes?

BTW, Mrs. Traschen, you are married aren't you?

And Mrs. Traschen, have you in any way noticed the initials and writing on the bags of rice/wheat, etc. sent to the Pakistani and even Afghanistan refugees?

Wouldn't it be better at this time to concentrate on what the USA is doing right?

Including going after the ring of terrorists who planned and perpetrated the attacks on the USA on 9-11-01?

BTW, Mrs. Trashcen, it is OK for you to admit you made a mistake in speaking out about not displaying the flags!

How dare you not let those veterans voice their right to free speech and demonstration by displaying this support of our country/flying the flag?

Yes, you can disagree with them, but after all, aren't you a citizen of the United States, enjoying the protection of the police and fire departments and services of the City of Amherst as you read this note?

Maybe you should re-think your statement and "Stand Up for America!"

Salvation
Salem, OR