Elephants Never Forget

Apparently, the Viet Nam War is alive and kicking and living in Elizabethtown, Kentucky -- where theatres have banned the Jennifer Lopez vehicle, Monster-In-Law because it co-stars Jane Fonda. See, Kentucky hasn't forgotten the Viet Nam War. They still remember those images of Jane travelling around North Viet Nam, hanging with soldiers from an anti-aircraft unit (much like the one that shot down John McCain, I would imagine).

Ike Boutwell, who trained American pilots during the Viet Nam War years, and who know owns two movie theatres in Elizabethtown, posted photos of Jane during that famous trip to Hanoi, and has adorned his marquee with his sentiment: "No Jane Fonda Movie in this theater." In all honesty, that simple assurance would be enough to make me want to go to Ike's theatre, though my reasons are not political, so maybe it's just a brilliant marketing strategy.

Here's why I can't forgive Ike. Because now, in order to continue to exercise my opposition to any form of censorship, I am going to have to go see this hideous concoction of a film. I'm going to have to drive to a theater near me and plunk down my hard-earned $7.50 (a bargain matinee is as far as I'm prepared to go -- Democracy be damned!). Which means that is another one hundred and two minutes out of my life that I'll never get back again. And because of this, I must now hate Ike Boutwell's guts and become his sworn enemy for all eternity. I don't want to hate Ike. He's probably a great guy when not talking politics. I'll bet he's a regular hoot at the University of Kentucky homecoming game tailgate parties ("Go, Wildcats!!"). But Ike and his unwillingness to let go of the past have made it necessary.

What I can't figure out is why people like Ike are still hanging on to this now, 35 years later, for fuck's sake! Not eight months ago, people in the red states were criticizing Democrats for trying to "dredge up" George W. Bush's Air National Guard record because it was 35 years ago. The last time I looked, Jane Fonda was too busy trying to rekindle what was -- at best -- an accidentally successful acting career in the '80s. She didn't really have the time to send troops to war in Iraq, or encourage Congress to slash federal funding to economically ravaged school districts across the country. Whereas, Bush, on the other hand.... Well, let us just say that the need to dredge up a public figure's past might be in direct proportion to one's need to salvage the future.

But Ike feels strongly about this. He says, "I think when people do something, they need to be held responsible for their actions." Frankly, I couldn't agree with Ike more on this point. People should be held responsible for all the thoughtless, greedy things they did in their pasts. Especially if they shirked military duty during a major military conflict when so many were going and dying. I mean, I would think that training ordinary work-a-day guys for flight duty in a war ravaged country, Ike might be a little cheesed off that a rich white kid with an Ivy League education and the right last name managed to duck it all by simply disappearing for a few months. But that's just me.... and I'm not Ike. If he wants to hold a 35-year-old grudge against a 22-year-old girl35-year-old woman* who didn't know her ass from a hole in the ground, then so be it.

Hey, Ike... at least Jane Fonda went to Viet Nam!

XOXO

~C~

* Bless his heart, Ike himself actually responded to my blog post in the "comments" section and corrected an error I made in my original post. See? Didn't I tell you Ike was a pistol? I'm never wrong about such things. ~C~