The number-one movie in America this week is Clint Eastwood’s “American Sniper,” which glorifies a sniper who bragged about murdering over 100 innocent Iraqis and Afghans in the course of America’s illegal invasions of those countries.
Cinematic Heroes of the Terror Wars
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication, WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal, a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "The Stringer."
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In this regard, I’m on the side of Michael Moore (whose uncle was killed by a Japanese sniper). 🙁
Here, mein verehrter Lehrer, a link to Michael Moore’s piece, just in case anyone has difficulty finding it : http://www.thewrap.com/michael-moore-fires-another-subtle-shot-at-american-sniper/….
Henri
Sniper action is so passe.
Real heroes rectal feed.
The hero’s dilemma:
“So many known, & unknown, unknowns … and so few recta”!!!
In their warfare, snipers are so-much-more asymmetrical. It’s not particularly that they’re unconscionable cowards (the real cowards are those high-flyin’, B-1 and Stealth-bomber pilot-types whose greatest fear is mostly bad maintenance-managers, and fighter/interceptors), but that their specialty can make them uncommonly lazy and petulant warmongers.
They are best described as “pre-drone jockeys.” It’s the drone-meister that has taken cowardice to humanity’s lowest levels of inhumanity.
DanD
Ted,
You’ve only brought the point halfway though.
Why do so many people admire these military “heroes”? And on a related point: I see plenty of commercials about “wounded warriors.” And usually, there’s a tearful wife describing husband’s noble sacrifice. Where are the wives waving piles of medical bills and asking, “Why can’t the government, which sent my husband to fight and die for their business interests, cover these bills? Why does George H.W. Bush get rushed to the hospital by ambulance for shortness of breath while my husband can’t get necessary therapy?” Where are the limbless vets looking into the camera and saying, “I was sent to fight and die in a shithole country most of you can’t even point to on a map. The civilians of that country posed no threat to us until we invaded. Now, most of them hate us. Now I can’t even wipe my ass. You think Bush or Obama spends a single second between holes at the golf course crying over me?”
Just three ways of defending freedom – the freedom to defend freedom to defend freedom to defend freedom….
Henri