[Peace-discuss] you or I in a few years

[Ricky Baldwin]

[OK, so none of us is likely to ever be so famous, but
I thought this was interesting for the future
nonetheless.  The mythology around opposition to the
US invasion of Vietnam is pretty fascinating: the mass
spitting on returning US troops that did not happen,
the tales of Jane Fonda's collabration with the
commandant at a Vietnamese prison camp against US
prisoners (which has been disproven as many times as
the Earth's flatness), etc.  What lies will they tell
about us?  Or rather, which lies will persist into
modern legend? - RB]

Missouri Man Spits on Jane Fonda 
TIM CURRAN, Associated Press Writer 
4-20-05

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A man spit tobacco juice into the
face of actress Jane Fonda after waiting in line to
have her sign her new book, police said. 

The man ran off but was quickly caught by police
Tuesday night and charged with disorderly conduct. 

Fonda has been on tour and doing interviews to promote
her just-published memoir, "My Life So Far." The
thrice-married, two-time Academy Award winner covers a
wide array of topics, including her 1972 visit to
Hanoi to protest the Vietnam War, during which she was
photographed on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun.
She has apologized for that photo, but not for
opposing the war. 

Capt. Rich Lockhart of the Kansas City Police
Department said that although Fonda did not want to
press charges against Michael A. Smith, 54, of Kansas
City, he was arrested on a municipal charge of
disorderly conduct after off-duty officers caught him
just outside Unity Temple, where Fonda was signing
books. 

Lockhart said Smith was released on bond late Tuesday
night and is due to appear in municipal court on May
27. 

Smith, a Vietnam veteran, told The Kansas City Star on
Wednesday that Fonda was a "traitor" and that her
protests against the war were unforgivable. He said he
normally does not chew tobacco but did so Tuesday
solely to spit juice on the actress. 

"I consider it a debt of honor," he told The Star for
a story on its Web site, www.kansascity.com. "She spit
in our faces for 37 years. It was absolutely worth it.
There are a lot of veterans who would love to do what
I did." 

Fonda drew a crowd of about 900 for her appearance,
said Vivian Jennings, whose Rainy Day Books of
suburban Fairway, Kan., sponsored the event at Unity
Temple in Kansas City. Fonda, 67, spoke for about 15
minutes, answered questions for another 15, then began
signing copies of her book. 

Jennings said Fonda received a standing ovation when
she came out and when she finished speaking. Alan
Tilson, one of those who had his book signed but left
before the incident, said the crowd was very "warm and
supportive" to Fonda and he was surprised to learn
what had happened. 

Jennings said the actress never got up from her seat
and continued autographing books after the tobacco
juice was wiped off. 

"The important thing is that she was so calm and so
gracious about it," Jennings said of Fonda. "She was
wonderful." 

Jennings said that the man had a book to which the
name "Jody" had been affixed as he approached to have
it autographed. She said that when Fonda got the book,
she looked up and said, "You're not Jody." 

"At that moment, he turned his head quickly and spit a
trail of tobacco juice," Jennings said. "He
immediately jumped off the stage and started running
down the aisle." 

Fonda, who flew to Minneapolis Wednesday for another
appearance on the book tour she began April 5, issued
a statement through Jynne Martin of Random House,
which published her book. 

"In spite of the incident, my experience in Kansas
City was wonderful and I thank all the warm and
supportive people, including so many veterans, who
came to welcome me last night," Fonda said. 



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