American Sniper

I read the book .  I saw the movie.   I've read a few articles and reviews online. I didn't really hate the book or the movie. What I hated was the fact that I've lived 45 out of my over 50 years in San Diego and I call bullshit. That's because I know of these guys and they bullshit a lot, and they back each other's bullshit up.  I'm not doubting that Chris Kyle believed in all that jingoistic bullshit and I don't doubt that he killed a shitload of Iraqis.  Or that he loved his wife and kids and Texas and the USA and blhah blah zipityfuckindoodah.  The movie made me want to drink copious amounts of tequila.

Dude has been proven a liar in court.    I also got the idea that his wife is the kind of Navy wife that turned me off to Navy wives forever.

I am a retired veteran's wife and I was born here in San Diego and have lived here for MOST of my life and was single for a long time.  I know how full of crap many military guys are.  I've seen and heard shit that wives don't see and hear.  I've worked on a base, a couple in fact.  I'm not a veteran and never thought that was a realistic goal for me.  I have asked quite a few young, active military guys  why they joined and very few spout the kind of uber-patriotic nonsense that oozes out of the book or the movie.  Their girlfriend broke their heart or their girlfriend got pregnant or they timed out of foster care or they wanted to go to college on the GI bill or there just weren't any JOBS back home. Or my favorite- they wanted to be in the MPs so they could go be a cop back home when they got out.

Frankly, I'm a much bigger Michael Moore fan than I am a Clint Eastwood fan and Eastwood became just another asshole like Charleton Heston in my mind when we were reminded of the incident where he said he would shoot MM if MM ever came to his door.

And oh by the way, Fried Green Tomatoes is streaming on Netflix right now.