I am sad to see more of this myopic view of reality being promoted through media again in America. I’m also dismayed at how many of my countrymen so quickly devolve into nationalist barbarians from watching a movie.
The glaring signs of fascism from the targeting of ethnic minorities and the promotion of a rabid, violent form of nationalism to the dumbing down of the population and denigration of intellectualism are clearly evident.
Is this what we want? Are we really sheep to be so easily led by propaganda and manipulation into becoming monsters who can be directed by the 1% ?
I hope that the sane majority speaks out against this ridiculous attitude. America, despite being founded on genocide and slavery, was founded with a certain set of ideals and a hopeful even idealistic vision of it’s goals.
Certainly a nation of fascist dogs-at-heel to their 1% masters, ever ready to be baited and set upon others fits the blood drenched birth. But this “grand experiment” was meant to rise above it’s horrific origins and chart a course to the hopes of mankind’s egalitarian future.
That it has proceeded in any manner toward the ideals and away from the monstrous is due only to the determination of American people who believe that future is our birthright.
It’s up to us to make the vision embodied in the statue of Liberty and the Constitution something more than a farce to cover up pure greed and naked violent power.
Citizens like Clint Eastwood who deny others humanity are not going to help us.
We have to ask ourselves always “Who benefits? ” Who benefits from us believing the propaganda, or some negative violence promoting view?
We have to question when we are told that America as Murderer is a patriotic vision.
Look carefully at history’s ruins; Germany and Italy after WWII are not metaphorical but real examples of where fascism leads a nation. Is it patriotic to destroy your country in order to benefit a few large corporations?
If a movie or anything else can convince you that any ethnic group or nationality is evil or deserving of violence then you must immediately question your own moral fiber. And I would say-your common sense as well!
Blessings,
ohnwentsya
American Sniper: anti-Muslim threats skyrocket in wake of film’s release
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee writes to Bradley Cooper and Clint Eastwood requesting action as threat complaints triple
Bradley Cooper in American Sniper. Photograph: Warner Bros/AP
Nicky Woolf in New York
Saturday 24 January 2015
American Sniper continues to draw record-breaking audiences as it barrels into its second weekend in wide release, but a group representing Arab-Americans says the rate of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim threats resulting from the Oscar-nominated war film has already tripled.
Citing what an executive for the group told the Guardian was a “drastic increase” in hate speech on social media, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee wrote letters this week to actor Bradley Cooper and director Clint Eastwood to ask them to speak out “in an effort to help reduce the hateful rhetoric”.
The film, which was nominated for six Academy Awards including best picture, depicts the story of Chris Kyle, the famed US navy Seal notorious for the highest known single kill count in US military history. But its all-American depiction on screen has drawn heavy criticism fromcombat veterans and viewers alike – and especially about viewers themselves, many of whom have emerged from theatres desperate to communicate a kind of murderous desire.
A quick search on Twitter leads down a rabbit hole of anger.
“Great fucking movie and now I really want to kill some fucking ragheads,” read one tweet, in a set of screenshots that quickly went viral after being collated by journalist Rania Khalek for the online publication Electronic Intifada. “American sniper makes me wanna go shoot some fuckin Arabs,” read another.
One tweet read: “Nice to see a movie where the Arabs are portrayed for who they really are – vermin scum intent on destroying us.” While the word “vermin” is not uncommon in threads about the film, that tweet was tagged not only #AmericanSniper but, mystifyingly, #DeBlasio as well.
Even the actor James Woods got in on the action, tweeting: “Every time an American Armed Forces sniper pulls a trigger, those who would kill or maim an American warrior are no longer a threat.”
Abed Ayoub, the national legal and policy director for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), told the Guardian that complaints from his organisation have skyrocketed the movie’s wide release – and $90m box-office take, an all-time high for the month of January.
“The last time we saw such a sharp increase was in 2010, around the Ground Zero mosque,” he said.
The ADC sent letters on Thursday to Cooper andClint Eastwood, the director, imploring them to condemn the threats being made against Arab and Muslim Americans.
“We want Mr Eastwood or Mr Cooper to say, ‘Don’t use our film to promulgate hatred or bigotry. Don’t use our film to push hate and bigotry, and use it as a platform for these racist views,’” Ayoub said.
“If they want to go further, they can say Arabs in America are just as American as the next person,” he added.
Representatives for Cooper and Eastwood did not respond to requests for comment.
The tweets, especially the picture made by Khalek, garnered a backlash of their own. One response read: “That’s not what you should’ve gotten out of the film. Idiots.”
Actor Seth Rogen tweeted that the film reminded him of the Nazi sniper propaganda film showing in the third act of Inglourious Basterds. In Los Angeles, the word “Murder!” was spray-painted onto a billboard advertising the film.
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jan/24/american-sniper-anti-muslim-threats-skyrocket
Spirit In Action 