Hanoi Jane - as American as smart bombs and Bozo

[Nic2004]

@Chefguy

Speaking as a former returning Vietnam vet and 23-year career military man, it’s nonsense through and through. Returning military came back via commercial charter aircraft that landed in places like the AF base at San Bernardino, not commercial airports. I wandered around in my uniform for several days and nobody glanced twice at me, let alone said or did anything untoward. There has not been a single solitary documented case of a soldier being spat upon. I never spoke to a single military person in 23 years who claimed to have been spat on, sworn at or otherwise insulted. Your friends are either embellishing their own experience by relating populist nonsense and hearsay, or are just lying to impress you.

First let me say thank you for your service to this country and all you’ve done. My respect is immeasurable.
My statement follows years of talks with numerous friends that served and their reports of treatment and attitudes upon returning home. The “getting off the plane” is a common misnomer and commonly meant “shortly after returning home” in the context used with me. The times it was discussed usually took place in a bar, a commercial airport or hotel while on leave. The insults and such took various forms and I doubt many, if any, were reported in any official capacity. As a “long-hair” of the time I had the opportunity to observe the attitudes, and occasionally the acts, from both sides. I speak to personal experience and those related first-hand to me. I have no documentation to support this and offered it as some insight to varied opinions held about Ms. Fonda for those here that are unfamiliar with the long history behind that name.

[Evil_Captor]

Hey, if you wanna argue about Jane Fonda, howzabout sticking it in GD or the Pit where it belongs? (I don’t have a “report this post” button, for whatever reason.)

[Nic2004]

EC is correct and I withdraw.

[kevegan]

I’ve opened another thread in IMHO (deliberately there, as everything that’s been contributed so far, and most of what is likely to come, relates to first-hand experience, stories from friends and friends of friends, which can be quite subjective) for discussion of whether service personnel, when in the States, having returned from Vietnam on leave were ever insulted or spat upon.

Please keep this thread to a discussion of her book, especially her writing style, and also of the review. Plenty to discuss there.

[Sarahfeena]

@AtomicDog

Ahem.

I had a teacher in high school who was very proud to tell us that he & his friends used to participate in this activity.

[Oslo_Ostragoth]

@fishbicycle

Anecdote: when Jane was promoting “The Vagina Monolgues” she came on a program at the station where I worked, by telephone. She wanted to know beforehand if we had a delay. At the time, we didn’t. This gave her the green light to say the c-word on our airwaves not once, but five times. If anyone had complained to the FCC, we’d have been up shit creek.

Stupid c-word.

:eek: :eek: :eek: Sounds like she deserves abuse, for whatever reason.

[saoirse]

@Sarahfeena

I had a teacher in high school who was very proud to tell us that he & his friends used to participate in this activity.

If, as the author asserts, the memory is socially constructed, it would work both ways. Try reading Chefguy’s post again. Slowly, this time. Military policies made it a physical impossibility. So you are not relating the story accurately, or your teacher was not. Perhaps you could contact this teacher and ask him how he managed to get on an Air Force base.

[Sarahfeena]

@saoirse

If, as the author asserts, the memory is socially constructed, it would work both ways. Try reading Chefguy’s post again. Slowly, this time. Military policies made it a physical impossibility. So you are not relating the story accurately, or your teacher was not. Perhaps you could contact this teacher and ask him how he managed to get on an Air Force base.

I’m sorry…I posted that before I got to Chefguy’s post. I’m sorry I wasn’t clear. He didn’t say that he did it on an Air Force base, or at any airport. He just said he did it to soldiers. I haven’t seen the guy in 20 years, so I have no idea where he is now. I have no idea if he was making it up or not, but if he was in my mind that’s just about as bad.

[Chefguy]

@Nic2004

EC is correct and I withdraw.

Me too also. Sorry for the hijack.