American Sniper’s Classy Response To Michael Moore ‘Snipers Were Cowards’ Comments [Video]
An Army Ranger sniper has a classy response to Michael Moore’s comment about American Sniper, in which he categorized those in his profession as “cowards” on Twitter.
The statement by the largely irrelevant Moore ignited a firestorm of controversy, after he posted this tweet in reference to the box office hit that is American Sniper. The film is based on the book of the same name by Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, the most lethal sniper in U.S. history, played by Bradley Cooper.
The tweet has garnered dozens of responses from incensed users of the social media site, as you can see in the link. One of those taking issue with the controversial director is Sgt. Nick Irving, author of the book The Reaper — a nickname he earned from his colleagues — who served as a sniper with the Army’s Third Ranger Battalion and has 33 confirmed kills.
In his book, Irving relates the story of the first time he had to kill another human being at the age of 18. He was doing surveillance of a suspect outside Ramallah in Iraq, when the man made eye contact and his superior ordered him to “Shoot! Shoot!” as the individual turned his car around.
The sniper fired seven rounds into the man’s head and witnessed the explosion that followed. Months after the kill, Irving was having nightmares of his victim, as he writes in his memoir.
“I was in a room with a ceiling fan spinning above me. The blades of the fan were the man’s four limbs plus his head and chest. He was staring at me with that same dead-eyed stare, but as the fan spun faster and faster, he started screaming at me open-mouthed.
“Eventually the fan got spinning so fast that his limbs were whipped off and he sprayed the room with blood and guts, covering me as well with gelatinous goo.”
This sniper has every right to take issue with Michael Moore’s direct statement and what many see as offensive comments, but he didn’t resort to threats or bad language. Instead, Irving had a very classy response to Moore’s characterization, during an appearance on Fox and Friends on Monday morning.
“I’ll just say, Michael Moore, he wasn’t there in Afghanistan and the last time I checked, he’s never shot anybody with a scoped rifle. So I don’t think he deserves the breath that comes out of me right now for that statement.
“I don’t really care what he gives me, a thank you or not. A lot of good guys and a lot of my friends died, you know, for his right of freedom of speech. So I’m not really worried about what he has to say.”
What do you think of Michael Moore comments and the American sniper’s response?
[Image via Supplied]
