Jesse Ventura won't see 'American Sniper,' says Chris Kyle is no hero

[decocker 7,198]

And there you have it! When it comes to honoring our vets with hot air and feigned outrage everyone is front and center, but when it comes to actually doing something, it's all about waiting for nanny government to the rescue. It irks me that congress would even consider passing a bill that cuts benefits to our vets, be it the VA or any other form of benefits. We seem pretty quickly to wage war but quite reticent when it comes to dealing with the consequences thereof.

true.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

see now that just sounds like a generation gap talking. get off my lawn new batch of veterans!

no?

No. War messes people up, no doubt about it. Some people deal, some people do not. It is just for this generation, too many of the folks that can deal, will not, and that creates problems for the people that can not. And it is not necessarily a generational problem, as you see it from all age groups, but it is more pervasive in the current generation. I will admit boomers were spoiled and have created a sense of entitlement in their offspring. Yeah, hippies suck, and they are in charge.

Edited January 29, 2015 by I AM NOT THAT GUY

[JohnR! 5,495]

Unfortunately that was the misguided manner by which many protested against the war. However here we are decades later and there are still many Vietnam vets suffering the consequences of that war and I bet you many might even welcome the notion of someone, anyone paying enough attention to them to even attempt to spit on their faces. These many years later, it's the complete indifference and casual acceptance of their troubled lives that are a real spit on the faces of everyone who served. No, I don't have all the answers and I don't know how to fix it. I do what I can as an individual and that includes pointing out time and again that not enough is being done for our vets. It is apparent that we have limitless funds at our disposal to wage all the wars we can get into and yet money seems to vanish the moment our guys come home.

Vietnam era veterans were happy just not to be spit on and called baby killers. I agree, this new batch of veterans has the same sense of entitlement inherent in the rest of their generation. Sickens me to hear them whine all the time, without taking anything away from appreciating their service to the country.

Edited January 29, 2015 by JohnR!

[decocker 7,198]

No. War messes people up, no doubt about it. Some people deal, some people do not. It is just for this generation, too many of the folks that can deal, will not, and that creates problems for the people that can not. And it is not necessarily a generational problem, as you see it from all age groups, but it is more pervasive in the current generation. I will admit boomers were spoiled and have created a sense of entitlement in their offspring. Yeah, hippies suck, and they are in charge.

i think you have to take into consideration what this generation's war and political climate have been all about as well. a sense of entitlement is one thing - but keep in mind that today's 17-18 year olds aren't really comparable previous generations. when my grandfather signed up he was young, i don't remember how young but i do know he married my grandmother right before he was deployed and she was 14. that was normal. society has changed. what we expect today's 18 year olds to deal with, emotionally and mentally, maybe isn't fair in relation to what we've asked them to sacrifice. maybe past generations were better wired to deal with war because they were wired to deal with adversity that nowadays we feel we've progressed beyond.

if given the choice - serve in the iraq war or serve in wwll - i feel like no one would pick iraq. iraq is a lie. that must feel terrible to know that now, after serving. i think that's why so many iraq vets end up jaded. well some get jaded and others ignore the truth. and no one is even close to being held accountable for such a horrendous decision. anyway i guess what i'm saying is the sacrifice is the same, to me, across the board it's just the situations are different.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Soldiers don't fight for a cause. Soldiers fight to stay alive, and to keep the people next to them alive, because that increases their chances of staying alive. You may be right about the maturity level, but this is the best educated generation exposed to much more information than previous generations. When you are in a high stress environment trying to make it out alive with all your body parts intact, you do not worry about whether or not the politicians got it right this time.

And don't forget - there is no draft, like there was for WWII and Vietnam. These kids signed up for this stuff, and for much longer service obligations than the 18 months or so for the draftees. They get more benefits and better care than previous generations of vets did as well.

Edited January 29, 2015 by I AM NOT THAT GUY

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

There have been enough war movies coming out in the last few years to warrant a degree of cynicism. It really depends on the message that's being portrayed I think, rather than necessarily whether the content of the film was accurate.

I haven't seen this film so can't comment on it but I do think it is disturbing to see so much jingoism around it. I think that is very dubious - even Quentin Tarantino (not the subtlest filmmaker out there) included something of that in Inglourious Basterds - oddly enough in that film it was the people watching the biopic of the sniper in the clock tower. The soldier who's story was being depicted in the film couldn't watch it because he was so sickened by what it brought up for him.

The rest of the audience in the cinema however, which incidentally included Hitler etc. found it thrilling and exciting, rather than harrowing. Incidentally, that's what the ending of that film was about - the suggestion that the horror of war doesn't necessarily cone across on film and that watching films that purport to show 'truth' as entertainment is fascist in nature, regardless of the filmmakers intent or the content of the film.

Similarly, I think anyone who promotes a film like this for no other quality than jingoism about patriotism is fascist also.

[decocker 7,198]

Soldiers don't fight for a cause. Soldiers fight to stay alive, and to keep the people next to them alive, because that increases their chances of staying alive. You may be right about the maturity level, but this is the best educated generation exposed to much more information than previous generations. When you are in a high stress environment trying to make it out alive with all your body parts intact, you do not worry about whether or not the politicians got it right this time.

And don't forget - there is no draft, like there was for WWII and Vietnam. These kids signed up for this stuff, and for much longer service obligations than the 18 months or so for the draftees. They get more benefits and better care than previous generations of vets did as well.

of course not. that's why it's a complete travesty that no one has been held accountable for sending our troops to die so flippantly - for a lie. we don't even care to address the iraq war for exactly what it was.

i was 22 when 9/11 went down. my brother was a senior in highschool. and while there wasn't a draft - recruiters where everywhere. do you remember? there were parents who complained to high school admins because they felt recruiters were acting in a predatory nature. so many signed up because 'its a good way to get job skills' or 'the army can put you through college' or wanting revenge for 9/11. i'm not saying choosing to sign up wasn't their own choice, i'm just saying kids are stupid. and nowadays i think you're a kid until at least 25. i'm being generous.

Edited January 29, 2015 by val erie

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

of course not. that's why it's a complete travesty that no one has been held accountable for sending our troops to die so flippantly - for a lie. we don't even care to address the iraq war for exactly what it was.

I wasn't happy about Desert Storm either, but I was in the queue and within weeks of going, when that ended abruptly. Of course I would have gone, without hesitation.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

i was 22 when 9/11 went down. my brother was a senior in highschool. and while there wasn't a draft - recruiters where everywhere. do you remember? there were parents who complained to high school admins because they felt recruiters were acting in a predatory nature. so many signed up because 'its a good way to get job skills' or 'the army can put you through college' or wanting revenge for 9/11. i'm not saying choosing to sign up wasn't their own choice, i'm just saying kids are stupid. and nowadays i think you're a kid until at least 25. i'm being generous.

It was a blast, and if I was younger, or at least in better shape physically, I would do it again. Almost every vet I know feels the same way.

[decocker 7,198]

I wasn't happy about Desert Storm either, but I was in the queue and within weeks of going, when that ended abruptly. Of course I would have gone, without hesitation.

i don't remember much from that time.

It was a blast, and if I was younger, or at least in better shape physically, I would do it again. Almost every vet I know feels the same way.

yeah, i don't know anyone who's that gung ho about it. guess i know vets of a different age group.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

i don't remember much from that time.

yeah, i don't know anyone who's that gung ho about it. guess i know vets of a different age group.

Maybe is just something that develops with old age when you start reminiscing about fading glory.

[decocker 7,198]

Maybe is just something that develops with old age when you start reminiscing about fading glory.

i take that back. the vets i know are as gung ho regarding the commraderie they have with the people they served with. they have plenty of good memories, just not necessarily relative to their actual job/service.

[Rattlehead 69]

I haven't cared what JV thinks since Predator and I don't see any reason to start now.

[lostinblue 1,989]

There have been enough war movies coming out in the last few years to warrant a degree of cynicism. It really depends on the message that's being portrayed I think, rather than necessarily whether the content of the film was accurate.

I haven't seen this film so can't comment on it but I do think it is disturbing to see so much jingoism around it. I think that is very dubious - even Quentin Tarantino (not the subtlest filmmaker out there) included something of that in Inglourious Basterds - oddly enough in that film it was the people watching the biopic of the sniper in the clock tower. The soldier who's story was being depicted in the film couldn't watch it because he was so sickened by what it brought up for him.

The rest of the audience in the cinema however, which incidentally included Hitler etc. found it thrilling and exciting, rather than harrowing. Incidentally, that's what the ending of that film was about - the suggestion that the horror of war doesn't necessarily cone across on film and that watching films that purport to show 'truth' as entertainment is fascist in nature, regardless of the filmmakers intent or the content of the film.

Similarly, I think anyone who promotes a film like this for no other quality than jingoism about patriotism is fascist also.

liberals have owned Hollywood for years and crank out film after film portraying the American military as a force of evil in the world. American Sniper represents a threat to their control of the narrative and they can’t have that.

[LostInAK 43]

liberals have owned Hollywood for years and crank out film after film portraying the American military as a force of evil in the world. American Sniper represents a threat to their control of the narrative and they can’t have that.

Normally I would chalk that up to crazy paranoid talk, but after seeing all these Hollywood types coming out against this movie, it makes me wonder if there isn't some truth to it.