Why I Won't See "The Butler"

The new movie, "The Butler" opened recently to great reviews and big draws at the box office.  Forest Whitaker is said to deliver an amazing performance as Cecil Gaines, butler to eight presidents from Harry Truman to Ronald Reagan. That doesn't surprise me. He's a great actor.  I've been a fan of Forest Whitaker since I saw him as Big Harold in "Platoon" and Edward Garlick in "Good Morning Vietnam."

With and all-star cast and a historical story line similar to Forest Gump, I'm sure the movie is excellent for the most part.  (Some reviewers say Lee Daniels portrayed Ronald Reagan as a racist.)  But I won't go see it - for two reasons.

First of all - I am disgusted that Jane Fonda was chosen to portray Nancy Reagan.  I doubt there could be any poorer choice of actress to portray Mrs. Reagan.  Jane Fonda, Hanoi Jane, committed treasonous acts in North Vietnam back in 1972.  She praised the North Vietnamese, posed for a photo at a Communist anti-aircraft gun emplacement, made several radio broadcasts for the Communist North Vietnamese in which she called American military leaders "war criminals," then when some of the POWs returned home and described mistreatment by the North Vietnamese, she said Americans should "not hail the POWs as heroes, because they are hypocrites and liars."

There is another story that says she was handed pieces of paper containing Social Security numbers of POWs and she gave them to the camp staff, resulting in the deaths of three POWs at the hands of their captors.  That story has not been verified.

In 1988 in an interview with Barbara Walters on 20/20 Fonda said, "I would like to say something, not just to Vietnam veterans in New England, but to men who were in Vietnam, who I hurt, or whose pain I caused to deepen because of the things that I said or did.  I was trying to help end the killing and the war, but there were times when I was thoughtless and careless about it and I'm...very sorry that I hurt them.  And I want to apologize to them and their families."

In 2005, Fonda published her autobiography in which she described in detail her decision to go to North Vietnam. She said it was primarily motivated by her desire to document the U.S. bombing of important dikes that, if destroyed, could kill tens of thousands of people and devastate the lives of millions.  The U.S. had denied the bombings. In the book, Fonda is unapologetic about the trip or her participation in broadcasts on radio Hanoi but regrets the pictures taken of her at the gun emplacement.  She said it made it appear as though she was celebrating armaments aimed at American planes, which was not how she felt and was not the context in which the pictures were taken.  She reminds readers that the U.S. investigated her trip and found no reason to bring any charges against her.  She also describes her longstanding support of, and interaction with, U.S. military personnel and says her only beef was with the U.S. government, not the troops.

Nice try, Jane.  To many of us veterans you are and will always be a traitor to the United States.  

The other reason I won't go see "The Butler" is because of remarks made by its director, Lee Daniels.  Asked in an interview by that America loving (snic) Piers Morgan if he thinks America is more racially biased since President Obama's election, Daniels said  "I think that people are angry that he's president, and I think that they're showing their true colors. And I think that, you know, when Danny Strong wrote those words, "Any black man could be killed by any white man and get away with it," Trayvon Martin had not happened. I end the movie with hope, you know. He's walking down, and Obama's giving that famous speech, you know, and then I come out of my edit room and Trayvon Martin has happened. So, yeah, I think so. Sadly, I think so."

Basically I've been called a racist by Lee Daniels.  Daniels is just one more person who refuses to accept the facts of the Martin case (like Oprah) and wants to make George Zimmerman (and anyone who believes justice was served) out as racist.  And he obviously believes if you disagree with President Obama, regardless of your stated reasons, you're a racist.  Certainly he and Oprah are entitled to their opinions, right or wrong, but I don't have to put money in their pockets.  And I won't.

I won't encourage a boycott of the movie.  Everyone has to make their own decision on that.  And I won't think less of any of my friends if they decide to go see it.  This is my choice for the stated reasons.  Believe them or not - that's also a choice.

I'm sure I will miss some wonderful acting by Forest Whitaker and other stars in the movie.  That will be my loss.  But I would rather miss the movie than support people who turn everything into a race issue.  And you already know how I feel about Hanoi Jane....