Jane
(The portion of the interview posted below is at the bottom of the article I've linked to above)
---------------------------------
Jane on Vietnam ... and Iraq
Many Americans define Jane Fonda by her vocal opposition to U.S. involvement in Vietnam and infamous 1972 trip to Hanoi. But could her less-than-idyllic childhood, as depicted in "My Life So Far," in some way have fueled the fervor with which she opposed the war, something many children of the '60s and '70s did, at least partially, in rebellion against their parents?
"No," Fonda insists. "It was a bad war, men were dying, 55,000 Americans killed, millions of Indochinese. We were being lied to, it was eight years into the war, enough already. I went there to try to expose the lies and I made a terrible mistake that belied everything that I had been doing, working with soldiers and veterans."
And she is still hated for it. Just last month, a Vietnam veteran spit tobacco juice on Fonda at a book signing in Kansas City.
"We've never come to terms with the war," she says philosophically. "The wounds are still wide open, especially for the guys who fought there. I understand why they would be angry, and it's easier to have me as a lightning rod than to get angry at the men who sent them there. I have compassion for that."
As for the current war against terrorism, Fonda exhibits a rare hint of reluctance to speak her mind.
But just a hint.
"I don't want it to become the headline, you know what I mean?" she says. "But there were other ways to do it besides invading Iraq. I think it's a huge mistake."
- Bob Strauss
----------<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Wow, so well stated by Ms. Fonda. I feel a deep respect for anyone that had to endure being sent into a wartime environment, it surely must be a life altering experience.Quote:
"The wounds are still wide open, especially for the guys who fought there. I understand why they would be angry, and it's easier to have me as a lightning rod than to get angry at the men who sent them there.
BUT, it is easier for the vets to heap all their anger onto Jane Fonda rather than the imbeciles that kept the Viet Nam War going on and on and pretty much had no real plan other than to generate profits for the American corporations by keeping the Viet Nam War going.
The young men who went to Viet Nam to fight had no choice. Their fathers served in World War II, a war that most of the world agrees was a necessary war. After World War II, there was the Korean War, and then the Viet Nam War...
There was no resistance to the Viet Nam War because most of the soldiers' dads had fought in World War II and would not dare question having their sons serve in Viet Nam.
The Viet Nam War was psychological warfare against our young kids and Jane Fonda should not be blamed for pointing out that another side DID EXIST in the Viet Nam War.
This was not Hitler's war, but the U.S. politico's and corporate behemoths knew that most Americans would UNQUESTIONINGLY support and serve in Viet Nam because of their memory of World War II.
Viet Nam Vets need to come to peace with Jane Fonda and realize they were manipulated by previous wartime events, the opportunists in our goverment and in business profited from the Viet Nam War at the expense of this country's youth.
------------------------------------------
What kind of American soldier wants to kick the arsse of a woman rather than stand up to the men who put them into a questionable war to begin with?
I find that to be a cowardly solution to a much deeper issue than what Jane Fonda did.
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ March 02, 2006 05:45 AM: Message edited by: Alex ]</font>
