During the Vietnam War she was known as "Hanoi Jane" — a spin on the name "Tokyo Rose," the woman who filled the airwaves during World War II with anti-American propaganda. But Jane Fonda isn't apologetic about aiding and comforting the enemy over the radio. She says she's simply sorry she let herself be photographed sitting on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun.
Those who lived through the era have a hard time making that distinction. But then when you've built a fortune on grooming and exercise videos, as Fonda has, splitting hairs probably comes rather easily.
Her comments call to mind her position on the famous "Tomahawk Chop." During Atlanta Braves baseball games, fans would imitate the up and down motion of a tomahawk in rhythm to music. Many American Indians found the gesture insulting. So Fonda, then married to Braves owner Ted Turner, would do the movement, but would always turn her palm flat to the ground so it in no way resembled a blade. It looked like a "Tomahawk Pat."
Celebrities — especially Hollywood celebrities — have a history of espousing goofy politics. And over the years Jane Fonda's antics have been some of the most bizarre. One could laugh it all off, except for the fact she behaved as a turncoat during a time of war. The protests in America were harsh, but honest. Fonda joining forces with the Viet Cong, however, was a stunt. It was a "Tomahawk Chop" to the heart of America.
The anti-aircraft footage was shot more than 30 years ago. It's surfacing now because Fonda has published a book about her life. The talk-show buzz about her war years is calculated to boost publicity. The half-hearted apology was, in essence, a sales pitch.
If Fonda is indeed contrite, let her visit the Vietnam War Memorial and tell it to the 50,000 names on the wall there. Let her go when no cameras are rolling and no reporters are taking notes.
That isn't going to happen, of course. It would require humility and a belief that life is about something that is greater than your own agenda.
Henry's daughter appears to be tone-deaf to such feelings.
Perhaps the ringing of all those cash registers tends to drown out the tune.