Opinion of Chris Kyle

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

HP (not bloodthirsty/blindly nationalistic)

[Free Bird]

HP (not bloodthirsty/blindly nationalistic)

[SWE]

HP (not bloodthirsty/blindly nationalistic)

[Kushahontas]

HP (not bloodthirsty/blindly nationalistic)

[Rockefeller GOP]

Haven't seen the movie yet and don't know anywhere near enough about him to vote.

[BaconBacon96]

HP. He defamed Jesse Ventura for no reason other than because he could.

[Beet]

A film glorifying him seems to be in bad taste (I didn't see it), but at the end of the day I do think there's some merit in the argument that soldiers set aside morality and ethics on the battlefield and just do what leaders tell them to do. Chris Kyle didn't start the war; he didn't invent the position of sniper, he just did what he was called on to do, and he was very effective at it.

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

A film glorifying him seems to be in bad taste (I didn't see it), but at the end of the day I do think there's some merit in the argument that soldiers set aside morality and ethics on the battlefield and just do what leaders tell them to do. Chris Kyle didn't start the war; he didn't invent the position of sniper, he just did what he was called on to do, and he was very effective at it.

His complete lack of anything remotely resembling moral self-reflection in his life after the war zone surely is not universal of snipers.

[Intell]

HP (not bloodthirsty/blindly nationalistic)

[Deus Naturae]

Regardless of what you think of his actions in Iraq, the dude lied about beating up Jesse Ventura and shooting rioters from atop a water tower after Katrina, when in reality he had never even met Ventura or ever been to New Orleans. That alone suggests that his motivation in being a sniper was considerably less honorable than a sincere if misguided desire to serve his country.

[Panda Express]

Not sure who this is but having two first names as your full name = instant HP.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Regardless of what you think of his actions in Iraq, the dude lied about beating up Jesse Ventura and shooting rioters from atop a water tower after Katrina, when in reality he had never even met Ventura or ever been to New Orleans. That alone suggests that his motivation in being a sniper was considerably less honorable than a sincere if misguided desire to serve his country.

Yeah, I voted HP over this. I respect his service, but I don't get the idolization of him.

[Vega]

Total HP. Biggest piece of sh[inks] I've ever seen.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

If he had been born in the ghettos, he would probably be serving life in prison now.

[Vosem]

FF (not in the Atlas Forum bubble)

EDIT: In fact as literally a Freedom Fighter as you can get.

[Deus Naturae]

FF (not in the Atlas Forum bubble)

Why? The man was an attention whore who went on national TV to lie about beating up a public figure. What kind of person does that? Kyle was clearly a massive douche.

[Türkisblau]

After seeing all the crazy fighting about him almost everywhere, I've decided not to learn anything about him just to stay out of it. So:

Haven't seen the movie yet and don't know anywhere near enough about him to vote.

[Indy Texas]

A film glorifying him seems to be in bad taste (I didn't see it), but at the end of the day I do think there's some merit in the argument that soldiers set aside morality and ethics on the battlefield and just do what leaders tell them to do. Chris Kyle didn't start the war; he didn't invent the position of sniper, he just did what he was called on to do, and he was very effective at it.

Hasn't "I was only doing what I was told" been considered an illegitimate excuse for one's actions since Nuremberg?

Regardless of what he did or didn't do at war, his behavior off the battlefield was beneath the dignity of someone representing America's armed forces. He took what should be quiet, heroic public service and cheapened it into a commercialized, over-hyped way to make a quick buck off the same rubes who buy Lee Greenwood CDs and yellow ribbon magnets at gas stations.

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

FF (not in the Atlas Forum bubble)

EDIT: In fact as literally a Freedom Fighter as you can get.

A ton of people with no connection to Atlas Forum whatsoever have been pointing out that the guy was clearly an unstable, racist asshole, I assure you.

[Vosem]

FF (not in the Atlas Forum bubble)

EDIT: In fact as literally a Freedom Fighter as you can get.

A ton of people with no connection to Atlas Forum whatsoever have been pointing out that the guy was clearly an unstable, racist asshole, I assure you.

I know, but the Atlas Forum (and some similar online forums as well, probably) is the only place where you could possibly get a group of mainly Americans to give a 15%FF-85%HP rating to Chris Kyle.

[Beet]

A film glorifying him seems to be in bad taste (I didn't see it), but at the end of the day I do think there's some merit in the argument that soldiers set aside morality and ethics on the battlefield and just do what leaders tell them to do. Chris Kyle didn't start the war; he didn't invent the position of sniper, he just did what he was called on to do, and he was very effective at it.

Hasn't "I was only doing what I was told" been considered an illegitimate excuse for one's actions since Nuremberg?

Not really. If you had signed up to Iraq and killed someone there, an "enemy combatant" during a military offensive, you could still have been welcomed home as a hero, even though you committed an intentional homicide against someone who might have only been trying to defend his home (e.g., not justified in a civilian environment). The only difference with Chris Kyle is that he is that person x250. We send people over to kill, and we call them heroes for killing. Kyle did it in spades, but functionally he only did the same thing many, many other veterans have done.

Edit: Extrapolate that, and you get Vosem's viewpoint. I'm not saying I agree with it, but there is a logic to it.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

A film glorifying him seems to be in bad taste (I didn't see it), but at the end of the day I do think there's some merit in the argument that soldiers set aside morality and ethics on the battlefield and just do what leaders tell them to do. Chris Kyle didn't start the war; he didn't invent the position of sniper, he just did what he was called on to do, and he was very effective at it.

Hasn't "I was only doing what I was told" been considered an illegitimate excuse for one's actions since Nuremberg?

Regardless of what he did or didn't do at war, his behavior off the battlefield was beneath the dignity of someone representing America's armed forces. He took what should be quiet, heroic public service and cheapened it into a commercialized, over-hyped way to make a quick buck off the same rubes who buy Lee Greenwood CDs and yellow ribbon magnets at gas stations.

Paragraph one is rather weaksauce, but the rest of what you are saying isn't that far off the mark.

[Modernity has failed us]

Racist, murderer, etc. HP.

[RR1997]

HP (not bloodthirsty/blindly nationalistic)

[Dr. Cynic]

HP. He defamed Jesse Ventura for no reason other than because he could.

I was following that story in The Wrestling Observer ages ago. My opinion that the guy was a jag-o was affirmed after reading the coverage of the trial.

I also refuse to ever watch the movie because of Sienna Miller's comments about Pittsburgh years back. I will never support any project that b**tch is involved with.