Well, readers, it looks like that brain aneurism put me out of commission for longer than I had originally planned.
Luckily, I had help from my friends, family, and doctors to get me back on my feet. Also, I had a massive stockpile of whiskey to get me through those cold, sleepless nights of which things were done that would make George Patton blush.
Long story short, I should probably stop drinking whiskey and stay away from the state of Virginia. Apparently, the South is still a little frosty over losing the Civil War and doesn’t appreciate a drunken Yankee running through the streets yelling “Hillary for President” while wearing a Tarzan speedo. Admitting, the only “Bern” I was feeling was from my head.
And the mace. Southern Belles are NOT like they were portrayed in “Gone With the Wind.”
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get back on topic. My last rant was on the film “American Sniper” being pulled from the Sykes theatre and how hypocritical people were being over it. For those of you who don’t remember, or care for that matter, it was pulled because people on campus felt it was racist towards Muslims.
Let’s break this down, shall we?
Was Chris Kyle a racist?
Yes, yes he was.
Are most of us who came back from the sandbox (what we call the Middle East) bigoted?
Yes, yes we are.
But why, Alecc?
Well, friends, I could easily explain it to all of you who have never lived through it, which is a good 95 percent of you. The thing is, I’d have to use references to the very same movie that everyone is crying wolf over. Yes, if people had simply seen the bloody movie they’d have an idea, and just an idea, about why Chris Kyle, and many service members, are considered racist.
Oh, the irony.
Let me get something straight here. Most Muslims are not terrorists. That is a fact.
Here’s another one. To this day I don’t know who we were fighting in particular. I mean, we were fighting terrorists, sure. Now, how about the fact that the enemy dresses the same as the civilian populace and security forces, then tries to cut your throat in your sleep after they sold you a cup of coffee that very morning?
Meanwhile, the insurgents are being supplied and hidden by the civilian populace, who’s also being paid to do what they can to kill us.
Excuse me for being bigoted after that, but it’s hard not to be when you don’t know who to trust and it could cost you and your buddies’ lives.
Second point. Ladies and gentlemen, the movie was about an American sniper (see what I did there?) in the Iraq War.
I’ll ruin a part of that film for you. He shoots a bunch of Iraqis. Some racial slurs are thrown around as well. Why? Because that’s exactly what happened. It is a film about an actual event.
People, let’s be real. That’s like being mad at the movie “Black Hawk Down” for every time a black guy gets shot or Brad Pitt says “Nazis” in an accent while running around collecting scalps. The former because it was about the Battle of Mogadishu and they were fighting Africans, not Eskimos. The latter because, well, I guess it’s because he’s Brad Pitt and that’s what Brad Pitt does (and he wants his scalps).
Just like you can’t have a book like “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and have it not deal with issues of slavery, you can’t have a movie about the Iraq War and not deal with the nitty gritty of what happened. It’s not pretty, it’s not nice, it’s not happy, and it’s not politically correct, because war never is.
Or as Robert E. Lee stated, “It is a good thing war is so terrible — lest we should grow too fond of it.”
Now that my whiskey reserves are depleted, I shall bid you adieu, dear readers. Until next time.
Questions, comments, or suggestions for rants? Email me at AC688759@wcupa.edu, and title the subject bar as Disgruntled Veteran Dysfunctional Rant, (or DVDR because the military loves acronyms) and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
SPC Alecc Costanzi is a third-year student majoring in English with a minor in creative writing. Contact them at AC688759@wcupa.edu