By AWR Hawkins
Russell Brand: Americans Need Guns And Chris Kyle Because They’re Afraid
Washington DC – -(Ammoland.com)- On January 23 2015 Russell Brand said Americans were motivated by a “fear” that caused them to want guns and to “embrace heroic figures like Chris Kyle.” He also questioned whether the drive toward guns and heroes is so strong that America’s love of “American Sniper” will mute criticism of guns and war altogether.
Speaking in a video released on his “The Trews” YouTube channel, Brand segued into his questions about “American Sniper” by pointing to the backlash Liam Neeson faced after criticizing private gun ownership while standing in front of a poster of himself holding one in “Taken 3.”
Brand sarcastically quipped: “You’re very ignorant there, Liam, suggesting that guns and death from guns are somehow linked.” He then mocked those who don’t understand that Neeson can use guns in the imaginary world of film yet criticize the ownership of guns in the “physical, shared, consensual world that we all inhabit.”
Brand asked if the film’s critics must be keep their criticism of America’s gun culture to themselves.
He admitted that he hadn’t seen the movie, but said he fears the film “legitimizes a certain kind of sentiment” nonetheless. He said “you’ve got to applaud that sense in” military personnel who “are prepared to go and risk life and death, but it doesn’t mean “you can’t question what happens with their energy; where it’s put.”
To those who’ve defended Chris Kyle’s service as a sniper, Sarah Palin in particular, Brand stressed that war isn’t fought for regular people or so movies like “Taken 3″ can be made, “but mostly for energy companies, arms companies, [and] political elites.”
Toward the end of the episode he brought the topic back to guns and asked if America’s love for certain films and guns means Americans can no longer “distinguish between Liam Neeson being in a film and then sort of saying, I don’t really like the idea that I’m tacitly supporting the gun trade.”
He said “fear” is driving people and “as long as people are frightened people will want to buy guns. As long as people are frightened they will want to have heroic figures like Chris Kyle knocking off Iraqis and not thinking about the consequences, like whether or not some of those people were children and non-combatants.”
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter: @AWRHawkins.
Just another sad and useless parasite on society that is willing to tell everyone else what to do/think.
He obviously knows little about the nature of sniping, but at least he admits he didn’t see the movie (had he done so, he might have actually learned something). Snipers are not the ones who shoot innocent civilians as he implies. Snipers actually look their targets over very closely, and KNOW they are enemy combatants before they shoot them. There also is no accidental “collateral damage” to innocent civilians or bystanders, when a sniper takes his shot. They only hit the identified enemy combatants, unlike artillery, tanks, cruise missiles, air-dropped bombs, and drone missiles. If you have to kill enemy… Read more »
Why the hell is Ammoland even wasting space on this irrelevant idiot?
“war isn’t fought for regular people, but mostly for energy companies, arms companies, [and] political elites.” This is true, regardless if hes an anarcho-communist hypocritical 1% windbag. However, just because someone doesn’t align politically with you, doesn’t mean you can disregard their words as totally invalid. Often times there is some truth in them, and this is true, even if it is uncomfortable for me to agree with him. Most modern American wars are not fought for defense of this country, only to prop up the economy from total collapse, which is coming regardless, all the while we have our… Read more »
Who really gives a crap what that dirt bag has to say.
Another wind bag. Easily ignored and forgotten.