American Sniper: Reactions

I was being sarcastic.

In my circles I haven't seen represented as a hero, but I do see it in some public circles. Che Guavera is too though so it's not really all that surprising to me. I don't much care about that to be honest.

If we're talking about the movie, then it's a really good movie. A great movie even. Bradley Cooper makes you really feel and understand the stresses of war and how it will affect families.

 

The first paragraph -- I don't believe him. I don't know many that do.

The Ventura thing is frustrating. He didn't name Ventura in the book. In interviews that followed, he did. Did it happen? I don't know. But $2 million? For what? Ventura isn't doing anything and the slander (if it was), surely didn't effect him. Going after a widows estate (which is her and their 2 children) is petty, IMO. Ventura doesn't need the money and he's not hurting Chris Kyle. he's hurting innocent people. Not cool in my book.

 

I agree. But the Ventura thing just shows Kyle was a lier apparently, so the thing about Katrina he was either lying, or a murderer. Neither is hero material.

 

FWIW my brother was living in New Orleans during Katrina. He left pretty quickly, but when he was leaving he saw a friend going back into New Orleans to get his mother out. My brother told me then that he didn't offer to go help the guy because of the gunfire he'd heard in the city. People were doing that, for what it's worth. I don't know whether I believe this sniper fellow was one of them, but I don't know the guy at all or anything about him.

 

I think asking that of a person in any war situation, whether the cause is 100% just or not, is going to have the absolute deepest psychological impacts.

My favorite parts of the movie weren't the action, it was the interactions he had with his wife and the population back home. I have family members and friends that have served and they'll occasionally act the same way (the drill scene specifically comes to mind). Eastwood did a great job of tying those experiences in the field with experiences back home that can trigger unwanted memories.