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FIFTH DAY

We had a short but productive day rehearsing today. David Binder, who produced the show in New York, stopped by for awhile en route to Australia.

But today, my heart and mind is full of the horriffic news of the shooting in Arizona of Rep Gabrielle Giffords and others by, I am sure, right wing fanatics who have been repeatedly harassing and threatening Giffords, egged on by Sarah Palin and Glen Beck and Tea Party members.

We must stop this madness, this violent rhetoric which media exploits!!

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53 Comments

  1. If I do not say or write to someone about what is going on with the political processes then I have to blame myself too for what has been going on for that past years. the AZ shooting are a wake-up call for everyone. I pray it is not too late.

  2. hello Jane,

    I feel that same way ,the culture of violence has become part of the background that people find as a way of life. The blind only act if it effects them in a close way. I war reviewing Theodore Paullin book “Introduction to Non-Violence” a free ebook http://manybooks.net/titles/paullint1849318493-8.html
    I can see the this change in the view ,it started with the 9-11 war. We been told that war is now a way of life. Kill a million people ,had to be done right or wrong , and we don’t question it. This is the basic concept in my film script ,I want people to look at what violence is and the right and wrong of it and how it effects people on a day to day basic level. We have to change this somehow, it’s so out of control.

  3. Another aspect of this story that is in need of discussion is twitter being used for breaking news. I was on twitter at the time the story broke and the BIG name journalists seemed to be trying to out scoop each other causing a feeding frenzy of speculative news being reported as fact. They fed off of a report by NPR that the Congressman was killed and it took several minutes before the facts came out differently. Breaking news isn’t breaking if you get it wrong and in this case can be extremely hurtful to family and close friends of those involved. News is much more appreciated by those of us who care when it is reported accurately. Being the first to report a story is not a bragging right in the age of instant information. Being accurate has always been more important and will continue to be. Breaking news can be reported without the need to draw conclusions till those conclusions can be confirmed and confirmed correctly. BTW I’m glad you are enjoying your new gig. 🙂

  4. Thank you for having the BALLS TO SAY THIS.

  5. I am not a Tea Party member nor am I fan of Sarah Palin but I think this pointing fingers and blame is detrimental to our society in general.

    It is not the Tea Party’s fault nor another politicians fault that people were tragically injured or killed today. It was the fault of a crazed gunman(s).

    Your rhetoric is just as damaging as the right.

    The far wings (both) have slowly whittled away the hopes of middle-ground America to a cynicism for all things government. No wonder there is such apathy in our streets. We can’t hear ourselves think over the screaming matches between the far-left and far-right.

    My heart goes out to those injured tonight and their families.

    My aggravation goes out to you and other Hollywood elite who egotistically believe because they have more money than most, that somehow that gives them more intelligence. May God help those who listen.

  6. Ms. Fonda – your angry rhetoric is not helpful. You are part of the problem not the solution. For all we know this disturbed man had an issue with Gifford’s grammar not her politics. Or perhaps he was angry she stood up and voted against Nancy Pelosi for Speaker of the House. (Yes, Gifford was one of the 19 Democratic defectors who humiliated Pelosi on the first day of the 112th Congress.) Gifford is a former Republican who, as a Democrat, was very vocal about securing the US Border and was a great protector of 2nd Amendment rights. In fact, she and Ms. Palin have very much in common politically and Democratic Underground and Daily Kos has Gifford on THEIR hitlist for her centrist views. Perhaps it is THEIR angry rhetoric that incited this horrible event.

    So please, just stop. This is a tragedy. It is not an opportunity for you to feed your ego. Examine your motives, and then find it in your heart to just be quiet.

  7. Still ill-informed after all these years, I see, Jane.

    He’s a lefty loner — probably mentally ill.

    Don’t let facts get in the way.

    And by all means, jump to conclusions.

    The entire world is waiting to hear what YOU have to say; after all, you’ve been right so many times before.

    I don’t expect to see this post make it to the blog. CENSORSHIP????

  8. Why the LIE about right wingers? We already informed you over and over on your Twitter that the shooter was known by his peers as a LEFT WING, Constitution hating, Anti Government, Flag burning, Marx reading radical “musician” pot head and who the Army refused to accept.Soooo a LEFT WINGER kills a Bush appointed judge and attempts to murder his own DEM congresswoman….and it’s Palin’s fault. eyeroll. Step out of your alternate disingenuous reality at least once in 70 years.

  9. Jane!! How could you blame this atrocity on conservatives and Sarah Palin without waiting for the facts to come out? What a shock to read what you wrote. You, of all people, after all you went through with people jumping to conclusions and throwing (figurative) arrows at you forty years ago without knowing the facts. I am just so very surprised to see that you would jump to such drastic and perhaps hurtful conclusions with no proof whatsoever. I am not a Republican nor am I a fan of Sarah Palin, but I certainly intend to wait for the facts to be revealed before publishing accusations that thousands will read. An Atlanta admirer

  10. you tell them

  11. Never stop speaking the truth!

  12. Thank God for people like you who are not afraid to speak up. The news on cnn has been ridiculous.
    This was bound to happen and Ms Palin should be in jail.

  13. “and others by, I am sure, right wing fanatics who have been repeatedly harassing and threatening Giffords, egged on by Sarah Palin and Glen Beck and Tea Party members.”

    Feel free to apologize for your obnoxious stereotypes (kinda reminds me of when people with your skin color didn’t let darker people sit at the lunch counter–try to avoid judging people on their political beliefs and judge them for the people they are).

    Your shooter wasn’t a right wing radical, those don’t exist. There is nothing radical about a tea party where a bunch of old people sit out and picnic for the day. You wanna see radical violence go to a lefty rally and watch them burn dumpsters and break windows.

    You’re IGNORANCE is so NOT a shock old lady, you have been totally irrelevant to the world since the 80’s and you use stupid liberal talking points to remind people you are alive since we all forgot.

    You are SO grossly wrong about this. The tea party didn’t inspire today’s shooting, people like YOU did. This guy was a left wing nut through and through, probably a friend of yours. He loved Mein Kampf, The Communist Manifesto, was barely literate-like many liberals- and WORKED for Rep. Giffords TWICE. A tea partier wouldn’t work for a Democratic campaign TWICE. This guy has told people he was pissed that Giffords didn’t vote for Pelosi again. His high school friends have come out this evening and admitted that he was a left wing nutjob.

    Bottom line, facts have disputed EVERYTHING you said on Twitter today. You look like an idiot to anyone that saw your snap judgments that were totally inaccurate. Trust me, whenever some idiot shoots up a place it will ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS be a liberal. That’s all you guys can do since most of you don’t have the intelligence to construct a real argument in a debate, so instead you guys go right to violence. MLK Jr would be SO desperately against your types if he were alive.

    You are a loser. Give up the typical talking points and learn to think a bit deeper, and for certain try not to point your wrinkly old irrelevant jobless finger at a whole group of peaceful people because remember…when you point a wrinkly old irrelevant finger at someone else, 4 wrinkly old irrelevant fingers are pointing back at you.

    Thanks for inspiring this shooter to go balls out. I’m sure if he could talk to you he’d thrust his “peaceful” fist up in the air next to yours.

    • By the way, violence is NEVER the answer…can you communite that to all your violent lefty pals for me? Start with Bill Ayers.

  14. Jane, do you care that a conservative judge was killed? Or is it only pleasurable to stroke the victim nerve by mentioning the democrat?

    Did you speak out publicly like this about The Weather Underground and Joseph Stack?

    Could you please provide the evidence you have gathered that this shooting is connected to what other people say on TV?

  15. .
    The AZ shooter was a total nut-case, and a Left-Wing nut-case to boot.

    By far, most of the political violence comes from the Left, from the evil Marxists and their thuggish sycophants.

    Someone would have to be a racist like Woodrow Wilson or Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger to not want a black POTUS.

    absurd thought / your Supreme God says / YOU’RE A RACIST / if you dare disagree / with Socialist policies *

    🙂

  16. You are So right. But what can we as individuals do?

  17. This is NOT a right or left-wing thing, but it’s being turned into one. The only vitrol I’m seeing is from the Left taking the opportunity to condemn the right as the culprit.

    Read some of the tweets about this guy from those that knew him. The words that describe him are below:

    @lakarune I haven’t seen him since ’07. Then, he was left wing.

    @noboa more left. I haven’t seen him since ’07 though. He became very reclusive.

    @antderosa he had a lot of friends until he got alcohol poisoning in ’06, & dropped out of school. Mainly loner very philosophical.

    @ @antderosa As I knew him he was left wing, quite liberal. & oddly obsessed with the 2012 prophecy.

    @ @antderosa he was a pot head & into rock like Hendrix,The Doors, Anti-Flag. I haven’t seen him in person since ’07 in a sign language class

    @ @antderosa He was a political radical & met Giffords once before in ’07, asked her a question & he told me she was “stupid & unintelligent”

    If you are fair, you will allow these statements to be posted. If you aren’t, then I guess that’s sad for you.

  18. You also need to look at some of the statements by Obama if you want to be logical about the rhetoric being used. These two spring to mind:

    This one in 2008: “If they bring a knife to the fight, we’ll bring a gun” regarding Republican opponents.

    Calling people “enemies” if they disagree with his policies when he was talking to a hispanic crowd in 2010: “We’re going to punish our enemies and we’re gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues…”

  19. Very sad indeed. Apparently we have forgotten as a nation that with rights come responsibilities. Prayers going up.

  20. It was a very sad day. I realize the shooter was very much mentally unstable. I’m not sure what his reasons for the shooting were. I don’t even know if it was politically motivated. I think he might have just been nuts, which of course you have to be to do such a terrible act. Time will tell. I do, though, think we should take this tragedy as a time to reflect on how politics have been operating. Such an aggressive environment has been created between all of the political parties, which spills out into the citizens of our country. We are lucky as Americans to be able to share our views, but the politicians of our country need to be aware that they are creating an unhealthy environment outside of Washington. There is so much false information given out there by politicians and the media, the public just eats it up. It seems that false information and aggressiveness is no longer seen just during the campaign season, but seen all year long, every year. We need to unite as Americans, working together to solve the problems of our country and the world.

  21. Sorry, Jane, you are way off base. The suspect is by all accounts a left wing radical.

    I’m always amazed how Fox News and Glen Beck get blamed for EVERYTHING.

  22. Fantastic post, Jane. This is a shocking incident which MUST make some people stop and think. The Independent newspaper of London has a great comment about this story from reader Peter Gee:

    The owning of a gun implies the wish to use such a weapon against another human being. It is not a method of calming someone (would you feel calmed by someone waving a gun in your face?) and it is not a defence against another gun-totting person with evil intent. It is a token of aggression, nothing else.

    The USA has long seen itself as a card-carrying aggressor in the world around it – a kind of Billy the Kid character, against the bad guys (even though Billy the Kid was a criminal himself). The whole mentality of someone that claims that having a gun will be a sure-fired way to guarantee peace is, I have to say, an abberation of thinking that can only come from the brain of someone deeply convinced that Hollywood western films depict true life, with true grit being the by-word. Guns kill. Guns are designed to kill. pointing a gun at someone is inviting them to point a gun at you -and pull the trigger first. Guns have no other purpose at all other than killing another human being. To say otherwise is demonstrating such a complete ignorance of everything based in the real world that you should be forced to spend time in a jail to observe what the other gun users actually think.

    In other words, in my opinion, so long as guns are allowed to be carried, the country in which this is allowed will continue to experience shootings, murders, killings and deaths directly attributable to having guns.

  23. Actually, the shooter’s favorite book was the Communist Manifesto, and on Youtube he indicated he liked a video showing the American flag burning. More of an extremest left-winger, like Amy Bishop. Not a tea party guy at all.

  24. Would you please make sure that you at least have a clue about a subject before posting such baseless accusations. You, Ms. Fonda have done far more hate mongering in your life than Sarah Palin, Glen Beck or the entire Tea Party movement combined.

  25. Yes! Too many people let the media ‘think’ for them. They can check out stories on Snopes where I go to double check emails (forwards) I get that sound unbelievable and/or mean.
    With a heavy heart,
    Millie

  26. Jane,

    Thank you for posting this blog. This is such a tragedy and my heart goes out to Rep. Giffords and all who were involved in this tragedy. Again, thank you Jane for posting this.

  27. I have for some time now worried greatly about the hatred, anger and division in our country. I am 60 years old and I see wonderful people that I went to high school with spewing this evil rhetoric and seeing nothing wrong with it. This shooting is indeed a tragic event and I must agree that the feeding of this disease of hatred definately has its consequences. I pray that our country can come together into a higher degree of civility. Peace & love

  28. I agree Ms. Jane. It’s horrid what happened. I’m sure the right wings pundits will be sure to call your bluff in no time flat, but don’t waste any of your energy on them.
    My prayers are with the family. stay strong.

  29. So, violent speech is only ok when it is for liberal causes? Come on, this guy was a lunatic who was affiliated with an anarchist group not the Tea Party. Enough already…

  30. Shame on you…..using such a tragedy for your political platform

    Shame on you.

  31. You should do a world tour with the play. please? pretty please??? You should come to Brazil – Sao Paulo (city) where people are crazy about theather. Isabelle Hupert was here, twice, doing a play with sold out EXPENSIVE tickets. AND people would pay A LOOOOOOOT to see you. FOR SURE!

  32. I am so saddened by this news yesterday in Arizona. I can’t even express words to describe my feelings for this tragedy. I am so sorry for all those who were involved and seriously affected by this Political madness.

    Obviously security and metal detectors have to be implemented for any Political speech or future rallies anywhere in this Country to hopefully avoid these crazy people.

    My heartfelt condolences and prayers are with all those involved and affected in yesterday’s tragedy.

    Noel Anthony Haughey

  33. Jane – you are so talented, so remarkable, but WHY do you insist on assuming and, worse, asserting something that is unproven and turns out to be wrong? This can feed the dialog of hatred, and as is usual in said dialog both sides see only the other as needing not to assert emotional inaccuracies. C’mon … Palin is wrong for her cross-hairs graphic on the website and in her speeches, I’m no fan, but can we wait for the investigation to proceed before you paint all “right wingers” with the same broad stroke?

  34. Jane, as a person, I like you. However, I don’t agree with your politics. Why do you automatically blame Sarah Palin, Glen Beck, etc. for the horrific events in Arizona?

    Do you think it’s possible this guy is just a complete wacko? His politics are all over the place. Have you seen his YouTube videos. I can’t make heads nor tails of them. They make no sense to me. Crazy is crazy, no matter what side of the political spectrum.

    Please do not incite more hate towards one side or the other because of what this lunatic did. It only serves to give him more power and expand the chasm between the political parties.

    Respectfully,
    Kristina

  35. Well, looks like you were wrong about the gunman, will you be retracting YOUR hate rhetoric, that you threw out without having the facts. Turns out that he was not even close to conservative. But like so many on the left you have condemned half of the country for the actions of one deranged individual, who it turns out is looking a lot more liberal than conservative. This is just purely irresponsible! Using the murder of innocent people for your political grandstanding. You should be ashamed.

  36. It reflects a bizarre set of values that Jared Loughner was barred from joining the US Army and attending college because he couldn’t prove he was mentally fit.

    Yet he was able to buy a gun without questions asked, with murderous consequences.

    Are politicians finally going to get to grips with this issue?

  37. I can’t believe that a 9 year old girl had to get killed. I have a nine year old daughter right here and my heart goes out to the parents.

  38. It would appear that the perpetrator is just a random nut job, who leans much more to the left than to the right. None of the people you mentioned ever advocated violence.

  39. Oh, Jane, please…

    We don’t know yet if any comments by Palin, Beck, or Tea Party people pushed Loughner over the edge.
    So stop speculating.
    And, are you really unaware that the left and Dems also engage in violent rhetoric?
    – President Obama: “If they bring a knife to the fight, we’ll use a gun.”
    – President Obama: “I’ll kick their asses.”
    – Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee also put out a “cross-hairs target” map, just like Palin’s.
    – An AZ Congressional candidate also put out a “cross-hairs target” on his opponent.

    Stop being so unconscious!

  40. Thank you, Jane. Thank you for being among the courageous ones holding that reckless mouth responsible for her hatemongering. I too am filled with sadness. God Bless Giffords and all people hurt by this tragic event. My mind is troubled today.

  41. Jane,

    Thank you for mentioning Gabrielle Giffords. At this point in time people in this country should be thinking about what politicians say and the potential consequences. This is important.

    On a lighter note–“Flight Attendant” – Josh Rouse- from “Eat Pray Love” is a haunting melody worthy of Oscar consideration.

    gf

  42. Sorry, I disagree w/most out there that are trying to blame Sarah Palin for the murder of anyone. I am positive that she had no involvment. If you expressed to one neighbor that you had a dislike for another neighbor, and yet another neighbor shot one of the neighbors, would you be to blame? Grow up! There are some crazy individuals out there. This happened because the crazy EGG did not get help. So the real quesstion is how do we help these individuals before things escalate to this point!

  43. Agree with you. So sad that the 9 year old killed was interested in politics and was going to learn more about the process. And you can be sure she was not inspired by the “stupid” adults who put targets on others. She most likely wanted was encouraged by positive change goverment can create. So sad and ironic when a child is more of an adult than the pundits and people who spawn fear in bad economic times. We can all do better.

  44. I came across your site by accident and your words mirrored mine about the Gifford shootings and murders. I have a schizophrenic son who tried to kill before. Paranoia is a terrible thing and also people treat the mentally ill so….what can I say………fearfully and in a way that is even more harmful to the mentally ill person. I mean society just dumps them out of the classroom and out of everything. And I am sure that Ms. Gifford was a helper of the disabled and mentally ill. But as I have so found out myself — often helping others ended me up in trouble.

    I am proud of you Jane Fonda and have followed your life. If you want some insight into the mentally ill go to Graduate House on Robertson Blvd. in Los Angeles where my son has lived last 12 years. It is for the mentally ill and very near Beverly Hills. The contrast is overwhelming…my son has a tiny crummy room (he likes it however) with almost no room and the food is not healthy and he weighs over 400 pounds and so does his roommate and they all smoke cigarettes all day. My son has Iranian relatives who are very wealthy who try to never give him a dime. I am also disabled and little money. I find all my family wants to ignore my son and act like he doesn’t exist. Luckily my son likes the Graduate House (1765 Robertson Blvd.).

    I encourage anyone who does not like violence to help the mentally ill more. I went almost totally blind with Optical Neuritis in 2001 and lost memory and cognitive function and ended up homeless in Palm Springs and Los Angeles/Beverly Hills and I can only tell you I was treated very badly. This kind of inhumane treatment is leading up to anger. But the world has so many problems we cannot solve them all. The shooter’s words and personality are very similar to my son, Joseph Afaghi. I have MS and it is hell to do anything but I have gotten better despite lack of medical help or social understanding. from 64 year old lady in Oregon.

  45. I submitted the comment about the Gifford shooting and murders. I had almost your exact reaction and posted it immediately on facebook.

    Something I forgot to say: one reason I followed your life was that you were one of the first persons to admit about boulemia. I suffered from this problem very badly since College and until this day but am a lot better. So congratulations you look in good health but I weigh 300 pounds. And here is my second commment: how do you have no double chin. I have this terrible double chin. Well congratulations Jane and I will tell you someting really odd. There was a hotel in Berkeley California called something like the Henry ….well I don’t remember it’s exact name but it was on Durant Avenue and one time a man came in there who looked exactly like your father to every detail. And I thought it was your father, but it was after he died.

    Thank you from a lady that has always respected you and your life.

  46. the only chance for good from this horror is if it shocks the country back to sanity. k

  47. I was anxious to see what you’d have to say about the tragedy. Rush Limbaugh is dodging and denying and telling his adoring followers and anyone else stupid enough to believe him not to blame $aint $arah of the Cross Hairs and others he likes. When it’s someone he dislikes (liberals, uppidy women) that person or group is “dodging responsibility.” When it’s someone he adores it’s “don’t blame them.” If you want to see some damming evidence check out the campaign rhetoric of the wounded Congresswoman’s opponent. He advises those who oppose her to ‘pick up a gun with him.’ It’s that bad. Thank you for speaking out so forthrightly. It’s one of the many things I love you for. Again I say break a leg with the play’s return. I was a drama minor.

  48. Arizona Rep Gabrielle Giffords was not attacked by a right wing fanatic, or our kind of terrorist as Hillary Clinton says to the world. This is a deranged individual acting out, he didn’t even pass his army drug test. Blaming the Tea Party Members for this is unconscionable. So who really is being the hypocrite here?

  49. The first thing that needs to be addressed is mental illness — and it is never really addressed. The guy who did the shooting sounds like a paranoid schizophrenic who probably got caught up in all that horrible rhetoric. It would be nice if Patrick Kennedy could take a stand on this as I believe he is now devoting time to speaking out on behalf of brain disorders.

  50. Thanks for your honest and upfront words on the growing danger of Tealibanisation of US politics via the Extremist Tea Party and assorted crazies that infest Fox News!

    Americans need to look at the extremism within – first thing Sarah Palin and Glen Beck should be charged as accessories in this ‘terrorist attack’

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