It's not in my character to preface anything I say with a (genuine and sincere) disclaimer, but what's on my mind today may offend or agitate some of the Americans I hold in the highest regard - current and former members of the United States Armed Services - so to those people specifically, please understand that I am only trying to clarify and bring to light factual information that I think is being largely ignored or misconstrued. It is not my intention to discredit or defame former Navy SEAL and sniper Chris Kyle.
It seems the Associated Press poked a bear most of us (myself included) were hoping had gone into hibernation. Jesse Ventura was recently asked if he would be viewing American Sniper in the theater. Why was he asked? Because the media loves a sound byte and they knew ol' Jesse would give them one. Jesse loves hearing Jesse talk. Most of the English speaking world loves it when Jesse doesn't talk, especially people like me who used to respect his honesty and candor and feel he won some important victories against "politics as usual" when he served the people of Brooklyn Park and then the State of Minnesota. Any lucid person will likely agree that Ventura's train jumped the tracks at some point. I feel it happened sometime between when he left office and when he publicly accused the federal government of masterminding the 9/11 attacks, but some people believe it was much earlier than that, which is fine. That's just, like, your opinion, man...
Anyway, Jesse didn't fail to live down to his expectations in this round of "show the world what a jackass media whore I've become" as he thrust himself back into controversy with his comments about Chris Kyle not being a hero. I'm not going to post a link to the article, because I'm not trying to promote Ventura and what an idiot he is. The man is an American citizen, a veteran, and a former public servant and he deserves his opinion just like you and I do but I believe his opinions have been largely wrong for over a decade and it's not my intention to give him any more distinction. However, having read some of the misinformation that continues to surround the civil case Ventura brought against Kyle, I feel the need to offer a few clarifications and interpretations. It seems some of the most eager to weigh in on the situation have not done their homework, have misinterpreted facts, or are letting emotion get in the way of reality.
Here are a few of the more common fallacies regarding the defamation suit Jesse Ventura VS. Chris Kyle:
1. "Jesse Ventura sued a widow" - This is exactly the kind of headline designed to play on our emotions. What kind of monster would sue the grieving widow of an American hero?
The facts: Ventura filed suit in January 2012, more than a year before Kyle was murdered on 2/2/2013. Moreover, the lawsuit wasn't a kneejerk reaction nor was it motivated by greed. Prior to the lawsuit, Ventura asked simply for a public apology and retraction. Long after his request was ignored, he followed through with the defamation suit. In fact, one could argue that Kyle divulging the identity of "Scruff Face" as Ventura only after he began to tour promoting his book may have been the clearer example of seeking financial gain through this story.
2. "Ventura is just embarrassed he got his ass kicked" - Multiple credible witnesses said it didn't happen the way it was written. Kyle himself recanted part of the story when he admitted tables didn't go flying as he had written in his book. By his own testimony, some of the story was embellished. Moreover, the only hard evidence either way seems to be the fact that Ventura was on blood thinners and would be more susceptible to bruising, and was photographed the following day with no visible damage. Kyle also recanted this as he had originally stated that "Scruff Face" had a shiner, and then later in his sworn deposition he admitted it was hearsay.
3. "Ventura was never a Navy SEAL" - Technically, no he wasn't. He was, however a UDT which was the predecessor to the SEALs. In 1983 when the UDT program was discontinued, remaining members were re-trained and designated SEALs. For the sake of practical reasoning and simplicity, Ventura was basically a SEAL.
4. "Chris Kyle was a hero, Ventura had no business suing him" - Reverse the roles... do you still feel that way? Justice is blind. The law doesn't give a damn that Chris Kyle was a revered hero and Jesse Ventura is a washed up nutjob. If Ventura had written a book and told lies about Chris Kyle that cost him public favor and potential career advancement, would you think Kyle should have left well enough alone? A jury was charged with looking at evidence and making an unbiased decision in this matter. They weren't given the luxury of seeing it as hero vs. villain although reasonably they probably did to a small degree, which likely shows just how compelling the case was in favor of Ventura that he'd win this uphill battle.
5. "Ventura should have dropped the case after Kyle was killed" - Because Kyle being murdered changed the evidence against him or the alleged injustice to Ventura? It's common practice for a civil suit to shift to the estate in the event that the defendant dies prior to or during a trial. The fact that Kyle was murdered didn't change what he had said about Ventura, and it certainly didn't hurt sales of the book or the movie rights.
It is my opinion that Chief Petty Officer Chris Kyle was a hero, as is every other man and woman who has ever put on the uniform and fought to preserve our way of life. That doesn't make him perfect, and it doesn't make him immune to the law of the land. If you fabricate, or even embellish a story for profit that defames another human being, they have a right to defend themselves no matter what kind of person they are and they may have a legal claim to some of that profit. Such was the case here. Jesse Ventura was a crazy asshole before he met Chris Kyle (if, in fact he ever did) and he's a crazy asshole today. I hope to never see his name in the news again, although I know that prospect is too good to be true. I hope the estate of Chris Kyle makes enough money from his book and from Clint Eastwood's movie so that Kyle's wife, kids, and grandkids never have to work. I hope that someday people will stop believing that someone's social status, service record, or resume makes them somehow impervious to the justice system.
THEN AGAIN, YOU CAN HOPE IN ONE HAND AND SHIT IN THE OTHER AND SEE WHICH ONE FILLS UP FIRST...
-DS
