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Artist,
Musician and Writer
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Jane Fonda: "I'm So Sorry" by Sandra Frazier May 1, 2005 Jane Fonda, appearing in Huntington, NY at
the Book Revue to promote her book, "Jane Fonda: My
Life So Far," was more than apologetic for
her well known mistakes of the past.
But that didn't stop many (vets?) in the audience from heckling her
and holding up signs expressing their disdain for her. Most of the audience, though, heckled
right back at them and admonished them to leave the room. And the police officers in attendance told
Sandy they had "patted them down" and not to worry: "They're
not a threat." Still, Jane stood her ground, albeit with
arms folded, as if to protect her heart: "The image is what it is... but
I'm so sorry" (she answered each of the hecklers and never once
ignored or patronized them). We
wondered if she was sorry that she'd been caught in the infamous photograph
or if she was sorry for what most Americans perceived as her acting out against
America and the proud vets who fought and many who gave their lives in the
Vietnam war. "I'm prepared to say I'm sorry and will do so until I
die," she reiterated with heartfelt intensity. Sandy: "Please, Jane, let's clear this
up once and for all: tell us exactly what happened so we truly understand
your intentions in Vietnam. After
all, if Pope John Paul II went to the cell of his would-be assassin, after
having been shot four times, and forgave him, surely we all can forgive
you! Help us to understand." Jane was more than enthusiastic in her
response, which included expressing many apologies and regrets, talking of
Nixon and the war... She referred to
passages of her book, which was obviously a labor of love and very intimately
told.
You'll not find any reference to "Hanoi"
much less "Hanoi Jane" in the index of her book, but there is a
chapter (Nine) called "Hanoi" that begins the explanation of her
actions, which have been so well publicized, and often misunderstood since
the '60s. This chapter explains her
frailty, brought on by bulimia, where she fractured her foot just upon
arrival (alone, much to her dismay) to North Vietnam to act as an
"eyewitness" for the American people. Literally a Kimberly Wells (i.e., "China Syndrome") for her country - she went there to report via the
radio and in the print press ... "I have come to bear witness, and while
I have not planned this, I feel it as a moral imperative," she writes
with great conviction. She was "filled with emotions -- sorrow
and guilt at what my government is doing, admiration at the way these people
are getting on with their lives, and disbelief." Filled with empathy for both sides. She goes on to tell of her heart-wrenching
visits to some of the hospitals there (and we remember her role as the
volunteer officer's wife in the film, "Coming Home" for which she won an Academy Award). Everything about her evokes memories of her
movies. But what she spoke of on
Sunday evening was anything but fiction.
It isn't until the chapter, "Bamboo," where she deals with
THE EVENT that brought her such notorious fame. "I do not stop to consider that this will have
consequences for me later -- especially since I know that other American
travelers to Hanoi have spoken on Radio Hanoi. Some will later accuse me of treason for urging soldiers to
desert--something I do not do." Asked about her spirituality/religion, she
replied, "I was raised an atheist" but answered questions about her
newfound Christianity by saying she'd discovered a deep reverence in her life
and began filling herself with what she'd known from her culture
(Christianity) instead of "filling emptiness with addictions." "Christianity has become too identified
with judgmentalism, fundamentalism, self-righteousness..." she began,
interrupted by a heckler who shouted sarcastically, "Oh, so now you're
speaking for Jesus, too?" ...but she countered by joking, "I
know... how can I be a Christian and be a feminist? I truly believe feminism and Christianity fit together just
fine. We must teach men that women
are not derivative." She spoke with obvious pain in her heart
about her father (a la "On Golden Pond"), but with forgiveness and a touch of humor:
"There has to be a statute of limitations on blaming your
parents." But spoke quite
candidly about her bulimia when she emphasized, "To be loved, I had to
be perfect. The struggle to be
perfect is very toxic" and admitted she'd had a difficult confrontation
with her father right there in Huntington in '53-54 at Lloyd's Neck that
"infected me with the 'disease to please.'" She cited the entire reason for writing
her book was to "inoculate girls and boys against this 'disease.'" "Healing is taking place," said
Jane toward the end of her speech, and emphasized that on her tour, she
valued most the responses from the Vietnam vets and said visiting with them
meant the most to her and reiterated that she'd apologized to the vets each
in person for her actions on that fateful day. Asked about her stay in France, she said,
"You've got to live abroad to understand what it means to be an American
and how wonderful it is." Through the heckling mixed with adoration,
she was clearly a woman on the mend, heart and soul, trying to make amends
with the American people at the grassroots.
"I've got to have hip replacement surgery shortly," she
added quite in passing (just another challenge that lies ahead) and, looking
thin and frail, yet still quite beautiful, took the jabs and the jeers with
the applause quite gracefully, stating, "I'm strong. I'm successful. It's intimacy that's difficult. It wasn't until I was 60 that I discovered how to have a
successful relationship with myself and this is just the beginning." d
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