This past week, Michael Moore made some comments about the movie “American Sniper” that got him in some trouble with many of the “American People.” He basically tweeted that he–coming from a family where his own uncle was killed by a Japanese sniper 70 years ago–grew up being told that snipers are cowards.

My uncle killed by sniper in WW2. We were taught snipers were cowards. Will shoot u in the back. Snipers aren’t heroes. And invaders r worse

— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) January 18, 2015

People basically lost their freaking minds. There was lots and lots of stuff like this: Later Moore attempted to explain on his Facebook page (you can read the whole post HERE). Among other things, he wrote, “Most of us were taught the story of Jesse James and that the scoundrel wasn’t James (who was a criminal who killed people) but rather the sniper who shot him in the back. I think most Americans don’t think snipers are heroes. Hopefully not on this weekend when we remember that man in Memphis, Tennessee, who was killed by a sniper’s bullet.” Much of the sentiment was very similar to what I wrote on this post titled “MLK and the “American Sniper” — A Tale of Two Heroes.” In fact, the first sentence of my post was “There is a film about an American hero in the theaters this MLK weekend, but that film is not called American Sniper.”

I love this guy.

BelowMichael Moore’s Facebook post there are almost 25,000 comments, and I’d say the vast majority of them are just dripping with hatred and anger at the notion that someone might speak up and question the hero-worship of a man who killed hundreds of people from very far away. Even within military circles, there is a lot of debate about the ethics/morality of killing someone from a distance, but when a liberal man like Michael Moore questions it, people get very, very angry. Now, I realize there are trolls out there who will say anything in an attempt to make people angry…. But I want you to see some of these comments. There is a lot of anger here, but sometimes it is hard to spot…. See it you can find it:

***WORDS OF WARNING***
There is some…. Let’s say “colorful” language in these posts. If you get really offended by strangers dropping F-Bombs, implying that overweight people are worthless, or calling for people’s death, you might want to find something else to read. You have been warned….

Sometimes the anger is hidden just below the surface: Sometimes the anger comes in what appears to be a stream of consciousness poem. Here is what appears to be a poem titled “Lazy Moron”: Sometimes the anger is directed at an elderly woman making a call for peace: Sometimes the anger is directed at a defender: Sometimes that defender happens to have a hispanic-sounding last name: Sometimes you can tell the angry person is really holding back: Sometimes the anger turns people into bad spellers: Sometimes the response to the anger is just perfect: Sometimes the anger is just plain scary: Sometimes the anger comes with some free advice: Sometimes anger is contagious for people on both sides of an issue: In addition to Michael Moore, Seth Rogen caught some flack over this tweet:

American Sniper kind of reminds me of the movie that’s showing in the third act of Inglorious Basterds. — Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) January 18, 2015

(The movie Rogen is referring to is a Nazi propaganda film glorifying their deadliest sniper) There were even some celebrities who got in on the action. Kid Rock, the “American Bad Ass” himself wrote, “Fuck you Michael Moore, you’re a piece of shit and your uncle would be ashamed of you. Seth Rogen, your uncle probably molested you. I hope both of you catch a fist to the face soon. God bless you Chris Kyle, Thank you for your service.” To which Seth Rogen awesomely responded….

And what’s super weird is that @KidRock IS my uncle.

— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) January 23, 2015

And you know you done messed up when Sarah Palin gets mad at you. Here is the–God help us–almost Vice President of The United States of America posing with some patriots. Notice the subtile crosshairs on the O’s of Michael Moore’s name….

It can be so very, very sad watching people get swept up in anger and hatred. It can feel overwhelming and hopeless, but once again I just want to take a moment to encourage you to SPEAK UP! DO NOT let the only voices being heard be the crazy ones who are doing their best to spread their anger, hatred, and fear like seeds on the soil of our nation’s heart. When our eyes are blinded by all that anger and hatred and fear, it can be hard to see the irony of this whole situation: That a person is being called “UnAmerican” for using his constitutionally guaranteed right to free speech, and that the people eviscerating him with calls for violence are probably the same ones speaking out those crazy Muslims calling for violence against Charlie Hebdo. It is summed up perfectly by one of the comments on Michael Moore’s page:

In response to the cries of “Michael Moore hates the troops,” Michael Moore has written something titled “My 12 Years of Support for the Troops.” <– You should definitely click on this and read it. But just in case you don’t read it, you should know this: Michael Moore has done more to support the troops than you have–Whoever the “you” is who is reading this. A couple of highlights: He is a tireless advocate for hiring vets and patronizing establishments that employ vets. He owns some theaters in Michigan, and in addition to allowing veterans to use his theaters for discussing PTSD issues and hosting PTSD summits there, his admission policy (since the theaters have opened) has been “Admission to all movies at my theaters is FREE, 365 days of the year, for ALL active duty military and their families.” He has raised tens of thousands of dollars on his website for Wounded Warriors. And in addition he writes, “From the Dept. of Irony: I only hire Navy SEALS and ex-special forces for when I need security – such as this week, when so-called supporters of those SEALs want me harmed.” 

And even on a list of ways he has actively supported our troops, there are still going to be people posting more and more anger and hatred and fear….

Anyway, despite all the haters, there is a lot more that he has done to support the troops, but you’ll need to read the link…. HERE IT IS AGAIN.

I’ll leave you with one last quote from Michael Moore, who does way more for the troops than you or I ever will do:

“Because only “haters” of our brave young men and women would recklessly send them into harm’s way for something that had absolutely nothing to do with defending the United States of America…. In the end, the thing I’m most proud of for what I’ve done for the troops was sticking my neck out 12 years ago to become a leading opponent to Bush and the war. I tried to save more lives than a sniper ever could hope to — by preventing us from going to war in the first place. Well, I failed at that. But I’ve done everything else humanly possible to try and make it up to those troops when they return home — that is, the ones lucky enough to return home.”