I just got word that Jane Fonda is being considered as one of the “Top 100 Women of the Century” from some magazine.
As you might have guessed, many VietNam Vets are up in arms over this, citing her visit to Hanoi in 1968, at the height of the VietNam War. They say Jane should have been tried and convicted of treason. If it were not for the fact that her dad was Hank Fonda, she’d be in maximum security right now, they say.
What is the REAL story behind “Hanoi Jane”??? Speaking to every Vet I know, she was a commie pinko bitch that went to North Vietman to aid and abet the enemy.
I hear horror stories about one American POW at the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” spitting in her face; another of American captors handing her notes telling of their capritvity; Hanoi Jane handed them to the NV, and the three Americans were subsequently beaten to death. And Hanoi Jane asking the American prisoners what it was like to kill babies.
Is all of this true??? When you sort through all the hoopla, I get this nagging feeling in my gut that Jane Fonda made an ill-advised peace mission to North Vietnam, only to be used by Charlie to embarrass America.
What REALLY happened when Jane Fonda visited the Hanoi Hilton? Did she ever comment on that visit on later interviews? How long did it take for her career to rebound from the bad pub? Did she ever apologize to anyone? Why hasn’t she made any movies in the past 8 years? I saw her in 1994 . . she still looked pretty fine. http://pwbts.com
Jane isn’t real long on common sense: During 1972 she visited North Vietnam as a guest of the government there, as a war protester where among other things, she went on a radio program and asked US soldiers to surrender. She also did a few publicity visits to US POWs being held there and asked less-than-kind questions. When she returned to the US she married Tom Hayden and dropped out of acting for a couple years. She returned to acting to make, uh , Klute, IIRC. Which did pretty well, and reminded all the soldiers of why they didn’t like her. And why many still don’t like her now, simply on principle.
Jane did looked pretty darn good for a long time. I haven’t seen any photos lately. She owes it all to healthy living and skilled surgeons.
I seem to recall reading a number of years ago that she will no longer make any public comment on her war protest involvement. The subject is off limits during interviews, and so reporters don’t ask.
People Magazine’s founder (I forget his name) said during an interview years ago that he isn’t interested in the most noble people; only the most notable. - MC
There was a big, long, vituperative thread about this a few months back . . . anyone remember which board it was on? Even I was stunned at the red-hot hatred for Mrs. Turner.
I don’t know why Vietnam vet’s should be upset. Jane Fonda was doing her part to stop a war of imperialist aggression and to get these poor unfortunate men back to their families. It is not Jane Fonda’s fault that so many vets are now basket cases because of what they went through over there. The blame lies with those who supported the war and thus made it possible for the U.S. government to wage it.
The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it. (Karl Marx, 1845)
We are upset because we don’t agree with your assessment of the war. We think she was a disloyal bitch. I for one would not piss on her if she were on fire.
Isn’t it great that we are allowed to express differing opinions?
galen, the issue was not that she protested the war. (Some vet hold grudges against protestors, some do not.) The issue is that she was involved in propaganda efforts by North Vietnam. She also explicitly insulted the POWs (when she was in the States) and called them liars regarding their reports of the treatment they received.
Go to http://www.snopes.com/ and do a search on Hanoi Jane. There are several rumors about her actions that are clearly not true (as snopes points out), but her remarks and actions went well beyond “protesting,” although she probably doesn’t have the intelligence to realize it.
Many people who did oppose our involvement in Vietnam have been repulsed by her actions.
Counting the moments until this moves to BBQ or GD.
In my opinion, there’s a big difference between protesting against a war and supporting a foreign nation which your country is at war with. The vast majority of the protestors in the 1960’s were doing the former; Jane Fonda was doing the latter. If she felt that strongly that the United States was on the wrong side of the war, she should have renounced her American citizenship and become a North Vietnamese citizen. Then there would have been no conflict between her beliefs and her nationality.