Republicans, Jesus, and Chris Kyle

This is going to be a rant. If you don't like those & think you won't like my opinons, you should leave now. I know a lot of you reading this remember be from the good old twitter days where I would rant endlessly about anything and everything. This is going to be one of those posts. You've been warned.

First, I'm just going to get my opinion of Chris Kyle out of the way. From here, this post (hopefully) will flow freely & together.

While I support our veterans and have the utmost respect for what they do, I do not condone war. I understand & respect the struggle that military personnel go through to keep us safe; I realize what their families go through, but that doesn't mean I have to respect WHY they're doing it.

Just about twenty minutes ago, I read an article about how Bill Maher called Chris Kyle a "psychopath Patriot." And I get it, I do. It makes sense with what Chris Kyle has been reported to have said about his tours of war (taken from article above):

     ·   “I hate the damn savages”—talking about the Iraqis—“and I’ve been fighting and I always will.”

        ·   “I love killing bad guys.”

        ·   “Even with the pain, I loved what I was doing.”

         ·   “Maybe war isn’t really fun, but I certainly was enjoying it.”

See, like, that's an issue. Who *likes* killing people? He was “America’s most lethal sniper” and he bragged about it. That’s messed up. If you ask any vet “the question(s)”, you’re most likely only going to get a very uncomfortable silence. The question(s) being "have you killed anyone? How many?" That's just something you don't ask. It's also something that shouldn't be bragged about. Heroes don't brag, do they? And can we talk about something else just real quick? Chris Kyle took a guy to a gun range who had PTSD. A gun range. PTSD. I mean...

Here's what I don't get: most of the people I've seen talking about this movie and about how Chris Kyle was such a hero are republicans. Guess what, friends? Bills over the years to help vets with housing, jobs, health/life insurance have failed. Why? Because republicans have voted against them. Republicans do not love our veterans. They love war & they love money. If they loved and supported our vets...can you guess? That's right. We wouldn't have (near as many) homeless veterans. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), it's estimated that 49,933 veterans are homeless on any given night. 

Check out these stats from the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. It's disgusting. If you don't want to see the link, these are some of the stats: 

12% of the homeless adult population are veterans

20% of the male homeless population are veterans

68% reside in principal cities

32% reside in suburban/rural areas

51% of individual homeless veterans have disabilities

50% have serious mental illness

70% have substance abuse problems

51% are white males, compared to 38% of non-veterans

50% are age 51 or older, compared to 19% non-veterans

Now tell me, dear reader, if the republicans cared so much about our veterans, why would they strike down bills that can help them? $$$. There are serious problems in this country and this is a major one. 

In the article about Bill Maher, he is quoted as saying "And if you’re a Christian — I know this is a Christian country — ‘I hate the damn savages, I don’t give a f*ck what happens to them’ doesn’t seem like a Christian thing to say." 

Time out! First of all, we all know what Bill meant by this. Obviously it isn't a Christian country, only Christians think it is. The only time this country is "Christian" is when it suits some people. It's "Christian" in that people who are prejudice don't want gay people to get married. It's "Christian" in that people who want to police women's bodies say that a fetus is a child. It's "Christian" when a kid comes home from school & tells their parents they were forced to pray. 

Second, "I hate the damn savages, I don't give a f*ck what happens to them" most definitely isn't a "Christian" thing to say. So let's talk about this for a minute. Christians are hypocrites (trust me, I used to be one). How can one, a Christian, follower of CHRIST, be all for the sanctity of life but be the first to flip the switch on the electric chair? How can a follower of Christ say "turn the other cheek" but blast those who've done them wrong? How can a Christian be so violent? How can they have guns in their homes, saying things like "my right to bear arms is a god-given right"? I don't know about everyone else, but I highly doubt God/Jesus/Christ would authorize such violence. 

Right-wing Christians in the country are the first to complain that they're being persecuted. They're the first to say "we're so Christ-like, we love veterans, we want to make abortion illegal." But let me tell you something, RWNJ's, you are nothing like Christ, you do not love our veterans, and you don't want to kill a fetus but don't want to take care of the child once it's born. You would rather see homeless veterans than to pass a bill that "costs too much." You'd rather be able to carry openly and freely than to keep our children safe. You would rather see a child enter the system than to let a woman practice her bodily autonomy. 

You, right-wing Christians...you will be the downfall of our country.