Jane Fonda helped win Cold War !

"Jane Fonda's actions must not be forgiven ", thinks Jill "J.R" Labbe, a senior editorial writer for the Fort Worth Star Telegram. "

Even in the "liberal " New England, news stories routinely remind us of the Jane Fonda of 30 years ago - " one time friend of North Vietnam ". Shot down fighter pilots , imprisoned at the notorious Hanoi Hilton- like lawyers Ronald Bliss and Charles White-will hold Jane Fonda's name in infamy. Not for nothing, not for a scheduling conflict was she cancelled out of the Silver Gavel Awards luncheon of the American Bar Association.

As a protester of the Vietnam War myself ( limited to letters and demonstrations) , I can only agree that Jane Fonda naively allowed herself to be manipulated by cunning North Vietnamese communists. In despair many American soldiers in Vietnam actually supported the " Bring the Troops Home Now " rallies in Washington D.C., in which hundreds of thousands of citizens participated -most of them innocent of radical politics or pro-Stalinist -Maoist sympathies.

Perhaps Jane Fonda can't be forgiven unless she asks for forgiveness.  I just saw a touching movie " Wallace ". If George Wallace could be forgiven for his past racism by black victims of it, why can't those bitter Hanoi Hilton American prisoners ultimately forgive Jane Fonda - for foolishly idealizing a ruthless enemy ?

Ironically many political commentators thought that Russia was our real enemy in Vietnam.Strangely a Jane Fonda Workout Tape may have been a big factor in the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Recall the scary day -August 19, 1991 - when hard line communists held Gorbachov incommunicado. The reform minded Soviet leader cleverly taped a message to the Free World over the Jane Fonda tape - and the tape was smuggled past security guards.

With the world alerted, the reactionary coup collapsed. And soon Boris Yeltsin was the new pro-Western leader of the doomed Soviet Union. History finds ironic purpose even for villains !
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 


response from J.R. Labbe:

Ron:   Thanks for your comments about my recent Jane Fonda column. I beg
to disagree with you, however, when you compare your protest activities with
hers. It is one thing to vocalize dissent over what was unquestionably a
horrible commitment on the part of this country. The U.S. involvement in that war was inexplicable. But while you were making your feelings known here, she was sitting in an NVA firebase, calling for the death of American pilots. She
attacked the most vulnerable of our American military men - prisoners of
war. She provided information to the Cong on which prisoners were members of
Special Forces (she obviously had confederates within the military who helped her) and they were summarily executed. Talk to Ron Bliss, who was tortured for
refusing to sit around the camp fire and sing camp songs with her.

``Foolishly idolizing a ruthless enemy''?  In my family (Air Force colonel
father who died in the line of duty, an Air Force veteran husband who did
his time in-country guarding the perimeter at Cam Ranh Bay with an M-16 and a
German shepherd), we called it aiding and abetting. A national treasure? I think
not. Glad you enjoyed the privilege of protesting  the war, then went home
and slept in a nice warm bed every night. My father, my husband and every man
and women who served in uniform made that possible for you.
    Regards,  J.R. Labbe


- - - - - - - more online repsonses:


Form Values Comments :  " Jane Fonda's actions must not be forgiven ", thinks
Jill "J.R." Labbe, senior editorial writer for the Fort Worth Star
Telegram." Even in my " liberal " Rhode Island, news stories routinely remind
us of the Jane Fonda of 30 years ago-"one time friend of North Vietnam.
Perhaps the lovely Jane Fonda -whom I found especially appealing in
"Coming Home " - can't be forgiven until she asks for forgiveness. Has
she?

Just last night I viewed a touching  video, " Wallace ". If George
Wallace could be forgiven for his past racism by black victims of it,
why can't those bitter Hanoi Hilton American prisoners ultimately forgive
sweet Jane Fonda -for foolishly idealizing a ruthless enemy ?

Inspired not by Jane Fonda, but by the anti-war movement and my
own conscience, I -like our President Bill Clinton - protested the Vietnam War in the late Sixties. In fact hundreds of thousands of all-American citizens marched in the streets of Washington D.C. shouting: " Bring the troops home now ! "
   
And many American soldiers in Vietnam applauded - not cursed-them.

Stop over-vilifying a national treasure - Jane Fonda.

Shields of bigotry

Put it this way according to Gregg Shields, national
   spokesman for the 5.8 million member Boy Scouts of America:
       " When a scouts admits he is... GAY, atheist,different,
   etc. ..., he will receive a notification that he is no longer
   a Boy Scout. "
       Perhaps he need not even ADMIT the abomination. A virtuous
   scout can earn a Spying Merit Badge by exposing the queers in
   the troop .
         Actually I have a high opinion of the Boy Scouts and I
   know that the best form of Americanism - a live and let live
   non-chalance about the other fellow's idiosyncracies - is a
   a living reality for most boy scouts.
        For gay scouts or straight scouts, I highly recommend
   CHASTITY in these very young years. That will keep them
   ALL out of trouble!
       Add: " A scout is chaste" to the venerable code.
       And a polite gay scout would no more discuss his
  homosexuality with non-approving scouts than a polite atheist
  would discuss God's non-existence with nuns.
      There are ways to get along in this world. Let's find
  them!

The blind who can see !

 Response from Ron Marshall:

 Hi Ron--I was moved by your advocacy for the blind. I worked once with a
    blind lady, Phyllis, who was a delight to both work and be with. She
    enjoyed listening to music and would smile and sing along with a tune
    she especially liked. She also enjoyed listening to talking books. I was
    amazed by the wide variety of authors and subjects available on audio
    tape, and all for free! The Association For The Blind has a lending
    library programme.

    As for technology hindering literacy for the blind, nonsense! Go into
    any bank or look at any ATM machine and you'll find Braille on the keys.
    Computer keyboards with Braille keys are also available. There tends to
    be techno-phobia among the older members of our society which is
    non-existent in the very young. "If God wanted Man to fly he would have
    given him wings," was the prosaic reaction of many to the invention of
    the aeroplane. I suppose it's only natural for us to be somewhat phobic
    towards radical changes in our world. Carried to an extreme, it
    constitutes cultural neurosis, or produces a mad bomber! The current
    Chicken Little syndrome is now evinced by the current "Y2K" hysteria. It
    will pass, of course. And how many people are willing to admit today
    they ever liked the song Achey Breaky Heart?

    take care buddy.

Love that RIPTA web site !

            I'll bet  Mr. Downtown himself wrote the editorial today:

    " RIPTA's wonderful Web site "   ..." a joy to use. "

           I discovered this Web site a few months ago. With my

    $35 dollar bus pass that gets me all over BEAUTIFUL Rhode Island -

    without the headache of car ownership - that RIPTA Web site makes

    me think: the gods are getting kinder !

          How convenient it is to be out at the URI library and find out

    in a second when I can catch the next shuttle bus to charming -and

    wonderfully named - Galilee fishing village. Or the next bus to Newport-

    where a bus will take me right to gates of the famous Newport Mansions.

         I once tossed a penny on the lawn of the " summer home " of

    Cornelius Vanderbilt - for good luck !  Those Robber Barons at least

    had great taste - even if the whole world had to pay for it !

             If you avoid the expenses of a car - you might be able in 40

    or 50 years  -to rent The Breakers for a summer night.

            Avoid the fuss -take the bus !

- - - -- -  - - -- - -
response from Dave Brusat:

Ron - No car? Welcome to the club! Rather maybe you should welcome
    me to the club. As you may know (since you seem to read the paper pretty
    closely), I sold my car at the beginning of June. I fell immediately
    into a romance with someone from Johnston, and so there have been times
    when I regret not having a car - but so far I do not actually regret
    having sold the car, whatever the little inconveniences. Avoid the fuss,
    take the bus - that's a good motto. How about "No car, no care"? That's
    my motto, for reasons you already are aware. But did I write the edit
    about the RIPTA web site? No, Froma Harrop did. BTW, I can't recall
    whether that site trucks in this increasingly common flaw, but the web
    site described on the front page of the Journal one day last week does.
    The site is mass-exodus.com, and the flaw is putting all type on a dark
    background, which makes it difficult to read. What is the purpose of
    this? I can only imagine it's the programmer's version of the ladies fad
    for black clothing. Any ideas? Go figure! - Dave