This is what we should remember about Jane Fonda-not some 4-letter word
Today the networks are all abuzz about Jane Fonda's use of the C word (for vagina)while being interviewed by Meredith Vieira on NBC's Today Show. Vieira let the comment pass without any reaction (other than chuckles), later issuing an apology to her viewers. Other networks reported the incident with appropriate comments of criticism. My reaction? Sure it was inappropriate, sure it was offensive and set a poor example for young women. Other than that, the whole thing leaves me cold. What people should always remember about Jane Fonda till the day she dies is what she did during the Viet Nam War.
Jane Fonda may be the darling of the left, a heroine to Hollywood and the universities, but veterans of the Viet Nam era, especially those who served in Viet Nam will never forget nor forgive Ms Fonda for going to North Viet Nam and allowing herself to be used as a propaganda tool by our enemies. Not only did she pose on an anti-aircraft gun, and make radio broadcasts for our enemies, but also went to POW camps. Many American POWs who refused to meet with her were beaten and subjected to additional mistreatment. I still can't figure out why the government never prosecuted her for treason.
So my conclusion to today's flap is that Jane Fonda's foul mouth is the least of her faults. And that is all the energy I care to devote in this post to Ms Fonda.
Here in Amherst, Massachusetts our HIGH SCHOOL will perform ‘The Vagina Monologues’ this evening. And school officials will not apologize for allowing a teenager to publicly scream the C-word. Yes, this is the same Amherst Regional High School that was the only entity in history to cancel a production of ‘West Side Story’. Only in Amherst!
ReplyDeleteKind of illustrates how low American education has sunk. It looks like your state and my state (Calif) are the two most screwed up states in the country.
ReplyDeleteI was going to post my own blog about it, as I can't stand it when much ado is made of nothing. I still might make one, but I just want to say that it's pretty hard to defend Jane Fonda's actions during Vietnam. I think that her apologies since then are sincere, but that's not the kind of thing that's easily forgiven. I mean, I'm against the war in Iraq, but I wouldn't hang out with a bunch of insurgents either!
ReplyDeleteI guess the only thing you wrote that I'd take exception to is your assertion that she's a "darling of the left" (perhaps not an actual quote, as I read your blog awhile ago, and I just drank two homebrews - but the point is the same.) I think that plenty of the more left-leaning types find her past actions to be pretty out there.
Well, it sure didn't hurt her career in Hollywood. They have continued to embrace her.
ReplyDeleteGary, I am just in the middle of reading Jane Fonda's biography and I am getting a different picture of her. Have you read it and am I being fooled again?
ReplyDeleteIf you are referring to her autobiography, My Life so Far" I think it is, then I have not read it because I will not buy her books. I did browse through it in a bookstore a couple of years ago because I wanted to see what she said about the trip to Hanoi. The only thing she expressed regret for was allowing herself to be photographed on an anti-aircraft gun. She then went on to attack everyone who criticized her trip.
ReplyDeleteIf you are talking about a book written by someone else then it depends who wrote the book. I am sure that there have been books written by her admirers.
As for me, as a patriotic American veteran, I feel nothing but contempt for Jane Fonda.