Forgive Fonda? Some Say Not So Fast

The controversy about Jane Fonda and her trip to North Vietnam in 1972 is in the news yet again. On Friday evening (January 16) she appeared at the Weinberg Center for the Arts in Maryland, where she was met by 50+ veterans protesting her appearance with signs reading ?Forgive? Maybe. Forget? Never.?

Fonda in  North Vietnam
Fonda in North Vietnam”Hanoi Jane.” Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia

In 1972, American sentiment was turning against the war in Vietnam. Tens of thousands of soldiers had been killed and no one was really sure why America was there anymore. The actress Jane Fonda was a vehement anti-war protester, and when she was photographed sitting on an anti-aircraft battery on a 1972 visit to Hanoi, pro-war Americans went ballistic, nicknaming her ?Hanoi Jane?.

I remember the vitriol with which my parents and other hardcore republicans reacted to Jane Fonda’s visit to North Vietnam. My parents never saw a Jane Fonda film (and she made many excellent ones) and positively recoiled (lips curled, nostrils flared) whenever her name was mentioned. This was probably one of the first political issues upon which my parents and I disagreed. I’m not sure if it was because I tended to disagree with them on just about everything at that time or if I realized that Fonda’s actions did not rise to the level of treason. I believe it was the latter. I still feel that way.

Over the years, Fonda has apologized for giving the impression that she was anti-American. She has always insisted that she was never against the soldiers, only the war, but her apologies have largely fallen on the right wing’s deaf ears. Many Vietnam veterans are still very bitter about Fonda’s visit, refusing to accept her explanations and apologies.

After her Maryland appearance, Bob Hartman, an Army veteran, who served in Vietnam in 1967 and 1968, said he blamed Fonda for breaking off negotiations among the countries and held her responsible for thousands of American lives. Fonda insists that her experience in Vietnam was ?incredible,? and she does not regret going. Here, Fonda describes her visit in a transcript from a Radio Hanoi broadcast.

After 43 years, isn’t it time to forget AND forgive? Is any one of us the same person we were in our twenties (assuming most of us are substantially older now)? The woman has apologized over and over, and Americans usually love a redemption story. We’re usually pretty good about giving people a second chance. All this leaves me scratching my head wondering what is so different about Jane Fonda.

 

Beth is a lifelong bleeding heart liberal who has become more intense and adamant (but not dogmatic!) about her politics the older she gets. This is not a popular stance in a red state like Georgia, but it is moderately better than when she lived in Birmingham. She has found like-minded individuals through her Episcopal church and websites like LiberalAmerica.