I'm Oh-So Fonda Jane (Part One)

I know some of you may want to comment or email me with your hatred of Jane ~ or "Hanoi Jane," as you call her. But before you do, let's clear up a few things. Before you submit your cries of her vile acts, please review the facts.

Jane was born in 1937, making her 35 when she spoke out against Vietnam and appeared at the staged events. Her ability to be decieved by the communists and the Viet Cong (who clearly wanted to manipulate both Fonda and the world with a staged event, among other things) is a matter of record. She, and others, were fooled. Perhaps they were easier to exploit, with their anti-war sympathies and their 60's peace-and-love mentality, but they were desperate to stop the lies of their government and expose if not The Truth, then the truths we had not been shown. (And they weren't wrong there, were they?) Maybe for Jane too there was some element of 'Hollywood star growing pains' or celebrity naivete... I really can't say for certain. But Fonda did fall for their show-and-tell crap. Something to pity, really.

Compounding her belief in and attendance of the event, when the POWs were released years later and told their stories, Jane called them "hypocrites and liars." Devestating, I know. But she not only believed, she'd been shown 'proof.' Carefully orchestated 'proof' designed to mislead and manipulate her -- and, using her status as a celebrity, to mislead and manipulate others. Did she make some poor statements? Yes. And she officially and publically apologized for them (first in '88).

You can be cynical and say that Fonda had to reinvent herself, but when Madonna does that she's applauded for marketing herself anew. If we can blame and pity Fonda for her faults, can't we also credit her for her accountability? Being wrong is a human fraility even for the strong, and admiting error is an act of integrity. There's an integrity to this icon, an authenticity. Fonda is a woman of substance.

I can only guess what it must have been like to be Jane Fonda, or any woman, talking about the war or any issue of the day back then. Especially a woman with a 'sex kitten' image plastered on screens, billboards and magazines. Her convictions, radical or conservative, peace or war, must have been dismissed simply by the virtue of her 'work' and her gender. She wasn't supposed to have an opinion, let alone ideas; she was just supposed to go entertain troups. I can only guess at the humiliation Jane endured at the societal refusal to not hear her, to discredit her. Oh wait... I can relate to that...

Being a woman, especially a beautiful woman who projects (or reflects) sexuality, often means those around you (or those who see you) do not want to hear you. Your message is unfounded, unwanted. You speak, you write, and your message is like an unwanted email ~ society hits 'delete' and wants to move on. You are like a child, to be seen and not heard; a pretty toy to sit quietly as others play with you. Only you are neither.

So you speak some more, write some more. At best you are ignored, but mostly your message is ignored as people tell you how you should leave the protests, the thinking, to others. Yet you desire to be heard, so much so that you can easily lose focus. What is your point anyway? Your issue becomes not just 'the matter' but the reality that you are dismissed, written off. Your passion isn't just about your position or stance, but now is coupled with the outrage of your own experience.

Eventually you scream to be heard. And maybe with such effort and desperation, swept up in the emotion as well as the passion for the cause, your words turn out wrong, your logic becomes faulty, or your impulsivity otherwise impugnes your credibility. And this is when you are heard. They told you not to worry your pretty little head, not to speak, because you'd be wrong. None of your previous eloquent words, good deeds, or wisdom are acknowledged. You are not to be forgiven ~ not for the mistake, nor for trying to use your voice. You are the sum of your silly notion that you could make a difference, your mistake, and your poor scream.

Years later, and that's what (too many) people remember about Jane Fonda.

These events ocurred 35 years ago. They are literally half a life time ago to Jane. And I'm not saying that old actions don't have consequences, that those POWs, soldiers and their families have no wounds, or that in several instances Jane wasn't just plain wrong; but I am saying perspective is needed here.

Jane didn't kill anyone, draft orders to kill anyone, or legislate to kill anyone. It was a matter of a person, driven by their passion and youth, who made mistakes. She had a photo taken, without thinking what it might look like. She spoke heatedly and quickly about a matter she wasn't prepared to deal with (paradigm shifts can be a bitch). Her ignorance and ideals blinded her to truths and she acted thoughtlessly.

We have a name for such thoughtless things done in the zealouness of youth; we call them youthful indescretions. (And prior to Vietnam, collectively, we all were young and naieve.) Is there anyone here, or elsewhere, who can say that the person they were in their youth is who they are today? Are even the fantasies, the worlds we dreamed of then, the same ones we wish for today? Perhaps. But likely if we've held onto our original principals and convictions, we've adjusted the way to get there. That's what life does to you; it teaches you that things are not so simple, not so black and white.

Had she just been Jane Doe, not Jane Fonda, these choices likely would have faded with time. Surely those regular Joes and Janes, non-celebrity individuals who spoke &/or acted out during Vietnam, have been forgiven or at the very least can move about in public without being continually held accountable for beliefs and actions of old. But Jane is a celebrity, so the light takes longer to leave... But 35 years longer?

I hear folks ranting and raving at the 'irony' that little communist calamity Hanoi Jane is now a very wealthy capitalist. Well, gee, show me a person who hasn't had their youthful ideals impacted by reality, knowledge and experience, and I'll show you a retarded, stunted individual.

People change. They learn. They grow. They make mistakes and move on. Or at least they should.

What Jane did 35 years ago matters, but not as some haters would have us believe. Jane once believed in peace. She was anti-war. She still is. But the difference is in how she goes about achieving that now.

In 2005 Jane, in an interviewed on 60 Minutes, and shared her hindsight regarding her actions in Vietnam. She said, "Our government was lying to us and men were dying because of it, and I felt I had to do anything that I could to expose the lies and help end the war." Opposed to the Iraq War (and Bush in general), Fonda at an anti-war rally at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in 2007 declared that "silence is no longer an option." Her sentiments, ideals, are the same; but she has learned to be more thoughful in taking action. Clearly considering the impact of her actions, Jane has curtailed and modified her anti-war activities. For example she postponed a 2005 anti-war bus tour due to the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. And she cancelled a 2006 bus tour so as not to distract attention from Cindy Sheehan's activism. This is Jane, wiser for her mistakes.

Jane's done far more that sit in one cockpit. She's said far more than those rash statements about POWs. Next time, I'm going to dish on that.