Jane Fonda is to be pitied

The only anti-Vietnam War protester that can tick off a Vietnam veteran more than John Kerry is Jane Fonda. In her interview by Leslie Stahl on CBS' "60 Minutes" Sunday, April 3, Jane Fonda characterized such reactions to her as "ill-placed anger." In one respect, she may be correct.

It may be "ill-placed anger" neither because her anti-Vietnam War activities deserve praise nor because she makes an exceedingly partial recantation now. It may be "ill-placed anger" simply because of her current irrelevance and because of our moral compunction to attend to more important matters, including bettering our own decencies.

There is no doubt that Jane Fonda's anti-Vietnam war activities were treacherous, if not treasonous. There is no repentance in her continued prideful defense of her anti-Vietnam War activities. In 1972, having accused the U.S. of committing "genocide" by fighting communist takeover of South Vietnam, she volunteered for 10 vehement propaganda broadcasts for Radio Hanoi that called President Nixon a "new-type Hitler" and encouraged South Vietnamese soldiers to desert being "cannon fodder for U.S. imperialism," asserted U.S. pilots' bombing "makes one a war criminal," and she gleefully appeared around the world filmed in the firing seat of a North Vietnamese anti-air gun.

This piece of film she now admits was a "betrayal of the country that gave me privilege."

The hypocrisy and shallowness of this admission was quickly exposed when Jane Fonda defiantly added "I won't apologize" for her propaganda appearance with U.S. POWs, showing no remorse for some tortured for refusing to appear with her, by explaining in her morally blind view "both sides were using POWs for propaganda."

This Fonda effrontery mirrors her 1990 comment to Barbara Walters that she was simply "popping off" when in 1973 she called the returning POWs "hypocrites and liars." In 1975, she applauded the success of the North Vietnamese invasion of South Vietnam with the armaments and tanks supplied to North Vietnam by the Soviet Union (compared to the cut-off of promised arms and support from the U.S.), by going to Moscow to thank them "for sending assistance which the Soviet people are sending to Vietnam."

Even in 1979, when the world was aware of the millions of Vietnamese and Cambodians murdered and starved to death by their communist victors, when even Joan Baez protested the Khmer Rouge slaughter, Jane Fonda refused to join in. As she then told the National Press Club, she was unable to confirm the accuracy of the charges.

Like today, in trying to promote her autobiography with a faint and partial apology for "betrayal" only for her anti-air gun appearance, in 1988 Jane Fonda similarly tried to promote her film career. Vietnam veteran protestors disrupted filming of her latest movie in New England. She said she was "sorry that I hurt them" because "there were times I was thoughtless and careless," fairly vacuous without any recantation of her actions and without any reflection on the evils committed by her communist heroes.

Now, having reviewed Jane Fonda's past and current treachery, moral blindness, and self-serving commercial promotion, and much more could be added to the litany of her sins, why would I say that I tend to agree those who oppose her may display "ill-placed anger"?

I agree, not because anger, even pity for her life of insipid self-delusion, is unjustified. I agree because it is "ill-placed." Her movie career is about over. Only Hollywood gossip reporters, fervent for anything to fill columns with news of her ilk, feign interest in her views of anything. It is "ill-placed" because she is irrelevant, and has earned that irrelevancy and disregard.

She considers herself heroic: "I'm a brave woman. I can go to Vietnam. I can challenge my government." An escorted, choreographed, anti-U.S. propaganda tour by the North Vietnamese during wartime is hardly heroic. It is pathetic, even moreso 33 years later to take pride in it when any idiot should know better.

One may reasonably argue that ignoring her is to forgive her transgressions. It is not. She has not repented, necessary by scruples, before forgiveness is granted. Religious scruples, and common sense, however, call upon us to not poison our own soul with bitterness that has little effect, as she is oblivious to the depth of her sins, and that distract from matters of greater importance. Anger is "ill-placed" just because she is not worth it, and we are. Let's just forget her. She deserves to be forgotten and ignored. Nothing else could so deflate her self-image of being of any worth, and punish her.

"Pity her?
I can't pity her for what she did."

I didn't agree with Bruce's title, either, but I suppose he is making the point that there isn't one American citizen who would trade places with this woman, now or ever! She certainly dug herself one hellova deep hole and will live in it for the rest of her days. She will never be forgiven.

This can't be looked upon as a matter of "youthful indiscretion!" She wasn't a teenager. She was in her mid to late '30's.

Those tapes of her clapping her hands together like a child on a pony, when she's sitting on that anti-aircraft gun, gleefully absorbing all of the attention she is receiving, while slandering our troops.........those images will forever haunt her, and they are burned into the memories of the men whom she betrayed.

I'm sorry, but I agree with those who passionately say, here on FR and elsewhere, that they will never forgive her.

As a private citizen and a civilian, but a deeply patriotic American, frankly, I can't ever forgive her, either.

"Hanoi Jane is washed up finally...THANK GOD...I just wish the communist agenda would die with her career:("

Hanoi Jane, in her reckless youth, was a freaking amoral self-absorbed exhibitionist degenerate. She was attracted to radical leftism, she made herself "heroicly" available and she was used - she's a "willing fool." To assauge her profound narcissisim, she writes a book about it. Jane is still reading from the Leftist script - parroting (acting-out) the same old leftovers. Jane's thinking capability is as arrested as her emotional stability. Write a script for Jane Fonda and Ed Asner, and send them after it: EXILED FOREVER - permanent location in France. Fonda's book bares her hedonism and feminist "self-wareness" cliches. She's glib enough, gibes enough, but she's an empty vessel. Without the name Fonda to make MONEY (capital) in order to sustain her errant lifestyle all these years, she'd be on the streets or in Bedlam. I only have compassion for those mentally disabled and emotionally dysfunctional persons who do not have advantages and privileges.

Hanoi Jane, divorced for the third time from another egocentric husband, should couple with Ward Churchill - some duet that would make.

Does the U.S. have an order for exile? Execution for treason? The Julius Rosenberg children advocate against the death sentence through their foundation. Ed Asner is on the board of the Rosenberg Foundation. As I recall, so is self-avowed communist Harry Belafonte.

Sorry, but no matter what anyone calls it by whatever euphemism, like "democratic socialism" (!), pro-Marxist ideology is treasonous to America's founding precepts.

American Civil Liberties Union is a leftist political party that cannot survive in America's regular electoral political process. The ACLU uses, rather abuses, the legal process and the court system to advance its proMarxist ideological platform, e.g., "Religion is the opiate of the people." Marxism is a diabolical mind game. Jane Fonda is merely another of the game's pawns - a "willing fool."

Nothing is more perplexing and contradictory than a wealthy anti-capitalist communist! Why do they worship at the altar of Marxist totalitarianism?

We are sincerely encouraged by the frieds who have here aroused the old passions of freedom loving citizens in standing against the insanity of this woman. One of my friends, Ken, tells me the story of the counter-protest he helped organize at Valley Forge when Hanoi Jane was there. Apparently he had loudspeaker permits and she did not so the 'support the troops' front from West Chester University blasted the Commies under Jane Fonda all day long with Col. Sousa's finest. Also our friend Marcia, and my Father-in-law recently forwarded me this outstanding commentary which speaks very well to Mrs. Turner's character: (Hi folks, Most of you will remember how this woman betrayed our friends and relatives who served their country. I lost a few friends to this war and the ones who returned have never been the same people they were before it. I saw her on 60 minutes the other night and nearly threw up. Now she's sorry about what she did. Now that she has a BOOK to promote! But I noticed she conveniently forgot to apologize for handing the papers to the Vietnamese commander. No mention of that . Only that she was sorry for being photographed sitting on an enemy anti-aircraft gun. I hope no one ever forgets she is a traitor. Now you can pass this on or delete it. Whichever you feel is right for your conscience. You can see what I felt . If you do pass this on, you can either leave my little rant in here or delete it by forwarding and then backspacing until it disappears. As Always Your Friend, Roulette ) A TRAITOR IS ABOUT TO BE HONORED KEEP THIS MOVING ACROSS AMERICA This is for all the kids born in the 70's who do not remember, and didn't have to bear the burden that our fathers, mothers and older brothers and sisters had to bear. Jane Fonda is being honored as one of the "100 Women of the Century." Unfortunately, many have forgotten and still countless others have never known how Ms. Fonda betrayed not only the idea of our country, but specific men who served and sacrificed during Vietnam. The first part of this is from an F-4E pilot. whose name is Jerry Driscoll, a River Rat. In 1968, the former Commandant of the USAF Survival School was a POW in Ho Lo Prison the "Hanoi Hilton." Dragged from a stinking cesspit of a cell, cleaned, fed, and dressed in clean PJ's, he was ordered to describe for a visiting American "Peace Activist" the "lenient and humane treatment" he'd received. He spat at Ms. Fonda, was clubbed, and was dragged away. During the subsequent beating, he fell forward on to the camp Commandant's feet, which sent that officer berserk. In 1978, the Air Force Colonel still suffered from double vision (which permanently ended his flying career) from the Commandant's frenzied application of a wooden baton. From 1963-65, Col. Larry Carrigan was in the 47FW/DO (F-4E's). He spent 6 years in the "Hanoi Hilton",,, the first three of which his family only knew he was "missing in action". His wife lived on faith that he was still alive. His group, too, got the cleaned-up, fed and clothed routine in preparation for a "peace delegation" visit. They, however, had time and devised a plan to get word to the world that they were alive and still survived. Each man! secreted a tiny piece of paper, with his Social Security Number on it, in the palm of his hand. When paraded before Ms. Fonda and a cameraman, she walked the line, shaking each man's hand and asking little encouraging snippets like: "Aren't you sorry you bombed babies?" and "Are you grateful for the humane treatment from your benevolent captors?" Believing this HAD to be an act, they each palmed her their sliver of paper. She took them all without missing a beat. At the end of the line and once the camera stopped rolling, to the shocked disbelief of the POWs, she turned to the officer in charge and handed him all the little pieces of paper. Three men died from the subsequent beatings. Colonel Carrigan was almost number four but he survived, which is the only reason we know of her actions that day. I was a civilian economic development advisor in Vietnam, and was captured by the North Vietnamese communists in South Vietnam in 1968, and held prisoner for over 5 years. I spent 27 months in solitary confinement; one year in a cage in Cambodia; and one year in a "black box" in Hanoi, My North Vietnamese captors deliberately poisoned and murdered a female missionary, a nurse in a leprosarium in Ban me Thuot, South Vietnam, whom I buried in the jungle near the Cambodian border. At one time, I weighed only about 90 lbs. (My normal weight is 170 lbs.) We were Jane Fonda's "war criminals." When Jane Fonda was in Hanoi, I was asked by the camp communist political officer if I would be willing to meet with her. I said yes, for I wanted to tell her about the real treatment we POWs received... and how different it was from the treatment purported by the North Vietnamese, and parroted by her as "humane and lenient." Because of this, I spent three days on a rocky floor on my knees, with my arms outstretched with a large steel weights placed on my hands, and beaten with a bamboo cane. I had the opportunity to meet with Jane Fonda soon after I was released. I asked her if she would be willing to debate me on TV. She never did answer me. These first-hand experiences do not exemplify someone who should be honored as part of "100 Years of Great Women." Lest we forget..." 100 Years of Great Women" should never include a traitor whose hands are covered with the blood of so many patriots. There are few things I have strong visceral reactions to, but Hanoi Jane's participation in blatant treason, is one of them. Please take the time to forward to as many people as you possibly can. It will eventually end up on her computer and she needs to know that we will never forget. RONALD D. SAMPSON, CMSgt, USAF 716 Maintenance Squadron, Chief of Maintenance DSN: 875-6431 COMM: 883-6343 PLEASE HELP BY SENDING THIS TO EVERYONE IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK. IF ENOUGH PEOPLE SEE THIS MAYBE HER STATUS WILL CHANGE

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