[Nuclear1]

I'm proud of the guy.

Comrade Fonda had it coming to her in the first place.

[vyper]

Meh, she's a bit of a **** but I ain't gonna lose sleep over it.

[Ford Prefect]

"Uhhhh, that lady did stuff that offends me, so I'll, uhhhh, spit on her."

I mean seriously, that sounds like the logical conclusion a two-year-old would arrive at. I just can't fathom his thought process, but it really brings to mind images from the first episode of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

[redmenace]

Not to be a jerk, can you fathom being a vietnam vet?

[Ford Prefect]

No, I can't. But it's not Jane Fonda's fault that the war screwed him up. Now maybe I'm placing too much responsibility on him as an individual, (is there no end to the irony?), but either way, she's just a punching bag for people with some pretty bad demons eating at them.

[redmenace]

I wouldn't let her off the hook completely. Her indescretion, if you will, was her fault. At the age of 32 you should realize your actions have consequences. You can be opposed to the war. That doesn't mean you should not be suspicious of communists and loose your objectivity. Also, her status as a punching bag might be more or less well deserved. When POWs came home, starved, beaten and diseased, she told America that they were liars etc. As far as I know, she has yet to apologize for her ignorance, or should I say naivetivity.

[WMCoolmon]

Jane Fonda quickly told the country that they should "not hail the POWs as heroes, because they are hypocrites and liars."

...What...the....HELL[/i]?

[Bobboau]

Originally posted by redmenace
...or should I say naivetivity.

or maybe you should say stupidity.

[redmenace]

but then many intellectuals underestimated what socialists and communists were capable of,

ie. Fredrick Hayek

[vyper]

Now that was a nasty grouping redmenace, socialism and communism do have a gulf of differences between them.

[Thrilla]

It might not have been the proper way to deal with her, but you know I don't blame him.  He wasn't just doing it for himself, but for all those people out there that she claims were lairs, and all those "war crimminals" that never got the chance.

[Ford Prefect]

Socialists and communists are not capable of anything that other people aren't. Joining the communist party does not grant you super powers. More to the point, sympathizing with them is in no way illegal. You can call it immoral all you want but the fact remains that the only person who committed a violation was the man who spit on her.

[Bobboau]

hey, I've got a great idea, lets go to a country were at war with and pose for pictures with the people were fighting. 'hey there, brave veit cong freedom fighter'

[redmenace]

They do, but for simplicities sake I group them since both were popular in the 20th century and were in debate during the said time.

There is no question, the man violated the law. He should recieve an appropriate punishment.

But, there is some question as a matter of treason since she had produced, what the previously mentioned website states, radio recordings in support of the NVA. Historically, this has been considered treason because of the impart contribution made to the NVA.

I was just saying that intellectuals honestly thought them not capable of this.

[Ford Prefect]

Now before we step on a soap box of egalitarianism, remember that "intellectuals" are not a monolithic force. They are individuals who are more intelligent than most people, and thus, more likely to disagree with one another. There are intellectuals on the left and right. The right just doesn't like to admit it.

[vyper]

[q]But, there is some question as a matter of treason since she had produced, what the previously mentioned website states, radio recordings in support of the NVA[/q]

A couple of million people blogged, published and filmed themselves downcrying the US invasion of Iraq. Should they be considered treasonous?

[Blitzerland]

No.

They didn't go to Iraq, promote the cause, and then deny all the mass-graves filled with political opponents existed.

[redmenace]

About intellectuals, I was speaking of Fonda included. In a way I am just pointing out that she was not alone.

[Swamp_Thing]

According to an interview she gave to 60 Minutes, she feels very sorry she ever went to Hanoi. And i believe her sincerity. She was young, and her political ideals misguided her. Young people tend to do first and think later. The simple fact is Vietnam was a wrong war, and she thought her actions would bring it to a quicker end. But alas she was too naive to see that she was being used as a pawn, played for a fool.

The vietnam war was morally and legally wrong. However, i cannot ever understand why the soldiers fighting in it were spitted on. They were victims, just as any vietnamese woman or children caught in a crossfire. They had no choice in the matter, they were forced to go. I will never understand why americans spitted on their own children. As if they were to blame for the war... Spit on the generals and the politicians if you will. They deserve it.  But never on the average soldier. At least not when the soldiers were drafted, and pretty much forced to fight like they were.

[redmenace]

32 is hardly youth though.