This is a post that deals with mostly one actress and politics. I have posted it on the entertainment blog due to that fact. I have let you know that it is political as opposed to most other posts. Also if you are a fan of Jane ‘Hanoi’ Fonda [I first commented on her in my post jul 26 2005], I’d advise you to skip this.
I just heard about the protest that occurred on Saturday. There were several celebrities there, including Mr. Tim Robbins, Mrs. Susan Sarandon (Mr. Robbins wife), Mr. Sean Penn, and someone I truly hate – Jane Fonda. Let me start off that I respect every person in the crowd that voiced their view on the war (except fonda). It’s a vital principle of American life that they can protest, and unlike other countries none of them were shot dead for it. The differing views are important to keep the balance of America and to attain the best for the nation.
I will mention that this is similar to the actions we saw during the Viet Nam war. Perhaps many of the youth today are too young to recall what happened. I was young when the protests were occurring myself. But I was old enough to see the result on my father, a Marine and veteran of Viet Nam. And that stuck with me for life.
I respect the actors that feel strongly enough about the actions of the government to risk their public images in protests. I respect the ordinary people that want the government to know that they disagree with the actions currently ongoing. But I think they are all wrong.
I do not feel they support the troops as their actions fail to match the definition of ‘support’. Anyone who disagrees with that should look up the definition of the word and explain to me how their actions fulfill that. That is my opinion, and it is no more or less worthwhile than theirs.
I do see this being the beginning of actions that will be similar to those of Viet Nam. Perhaps Democrats such as Senator Jim Webb had good memories of the return home, my father did not. And I will be extremely angry if anyone treats the young men and women returning from Iraq as they did my father. Some need to take a moment and recall that the only reason they can call names and not support the troops is because those same troops, and all those that have bled, sweat, and died before them, have made it possible.
As for Hanoi Jane, I agree with Mr. Danny Bonaduce in that I would be happy to have seen her shot for treason years ago. Protest all you want, but aiding the enemy of our nation and our troops is treason. I have no respect for the woman. Her (what I feel are) false and half-hearted apologies do not sway me. Some 30+ years later she has admitted remorse. Am I stupid? That is a political and economic response, timed perfectly to match a book and a movie release. I do not forget, nor will I forgive her. She had decades to apologize, or explain her thoughts. She was a grown woman, aware of her actions and their impact when she made them in the 70’s. Her hope, I feel, that the youth of the nation would not remember and thus forgive does not work with me. I am repulsed by violence against women, but I would pay to have a woman give Jane ‘Hanoi’ Fonda a beat down. I feel that strongly about her actions.
As for Deborah at News Hounds, Mr. Bonaduce is not perfect. There is no question of his well documented past. But I demand you find one instance where he sided with declared enemies of our nation, especially when our Armed Forces were fighting and dying. Hanoi Jane did do that, it is a fact. She posed for the photos and supported the enemies of the nation as our sons and fathers died. She was not forced. Mr. Bonaduce never did anything even close to that. Showing the photos she voluntarily posed for or mentioning the actions she did is not slander or nasty, it’s factual. The age that Mr. Bonaduce saw the photo has nothing to do with its impact. I was young as well and the repercussions made an impact on my family. Trauma is not restricted to an age group. Also the definition of treason during a time of war is what Hanoi Jane did, and should have been tried for. The punishment at the time was death, to remind those too young to remember this is not a false accusation. If it wasn’t true I’m sure some lawyer would be suing now. As for quoting 30,000 – that is tens of thousands, 3 x ten thousand to be exact – thus the estimate sounds accurate to the math I was taught.
Lastly, yes we all have made mistakes. Waiting 30 years to admit it is not a show of remorse to me. Consciously siding against your nation is not a mistake, no matter the time it takes to admit what was already documented in photos and other media. To remind people of the facts, and to express an opinion is not cowardly, nor a bully tactic. It’s little different than going to a war protest. If you can’t accept that, that is unforgivable.
This is what I think, what do you think?
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