Troll, I do believe there are some people who treat the anger as something they value above all else. Yes, it is part of being human, but some do let it rule their lives.

Some, as you said, use Fonda as a focus. People hold her responsible for all the horrors they endured, because she's become a symbol, not a real person anymore. I can't quite see why she's become a symbol of all the war time horrors you mentioned, though. Anti-war horrors I can understand if not agree with. I can even see how Fonda could be associated with torture done by others, even if she wasn't the cause. But I don't believe in placing blame for everything on individuals unless they actually were responsible for everything.

There are opposites to the people who dwell on the past. They're the ones who say things like "It was a WAR, dammit! There's always killing and death and horror in a war! Tell all those whiny people to just get over it - I did. I don't want to hear about it anymore!" I've met a few of those, too. The ones who never admit it was anything more than a job they did. I suspect many of them may have the horrors buried under so many layers of bravado that the anger comes out in other ways.

There are all sorts of people in between. People who feel anger, sadness and fear when they remember. People who, as you said "bring it out, talk about it and get your life back under control so you can go on with it." But they go on with it. If they do venture into that dark place, they may look for real reasons and causes for what they went through and now feel, Finding a symbol to punish in one's mind is another way of not having to think about real and complicated causes.