When I was a student there I watched all kinds of crazy political films that swung in every political direction--Night and Fog, Triumph of the Will, Hearts and Minds--sometimes in my classes. To censor this film is just stupid. My daughter is a student there and she said there are just too many snowflake kids sucking their thumbs looking for a reason to be outraged. She said she feels intimidated to offer up certain opinions because she knows she'll get shouted down. The university, at the administration and faculty level, needs to be "leaders" and allow a free exchange of ideas.

I spent four tours in Afghanistan and Iraq and I think UM needs to do some serious work creating a constructive dialogue about veterans' perspectives.  I completed my M.A. from 2010-2012 and was surprised at how rclosed minded and relutctant folks were to discuss war and veterans.  The forums for discussing vets' issues were pretty lackluster, especially considering how open folks were to discussing just about anything else (LGBT issues, animal rights, feminism, etc.)  and how well done presentations on those topics often were.

As for the movie, I initially hated it because it does glorify some aspects of war that shouldn't be glorified.  After awhile though, the movie grew on me because many of its faults reflect naive US perspectives that created a lot of problems.  The Iraqis, for example are so shallow and in the background that it almost seems intentional (sadly, I don't think it was).  Additionally, if Sunni insurgents ever went into Sadr City like they supposedly did in the movie, the US wouldn't have to worry about it because the Shia militias would kill them well before we would even know what was going on.  These and other flaws are reflective of the US-centric mindset and complete lack of situational awareness that plagued US warfighting throughout the war.

As for Kyle's character, I don't know the man.  However, I think the movie also does a good job of capturing the personal struggles and mindset of many US Soldiers.  In the movie, Kyle's view of the world as black and white/good and evil is overly niave, but it is the way many American warfighters saw the war.  This is dangerous and isn't necessarily praiseworthy, but, on a daily basis, US soldiers demonstrated awe-inspiring courage to confront what they saw as evil.  That courage is certainly praiseworthy.  The struggle of helping foreigners and fellow soldiers while your family falls apart is as real as it gets too.

It would be nice if UM would encourage students to watch this movie with a diverse group of vets to get there perspective, rather than shutting it down for somewhat bizzare reasons. 

Be careful of taking too much from the movie about Iraq, though.  It shows what Iraq was like from a lot of US soldiers' perspectives, but that's not actually what the Iraq war was in an objective sense.

I don't see how those things you said are different, I guess. 

I was shocked that Hoke appologized for that steak.  I would have thought that he loves steak.

I hope next year we bring something bigger than a stake. Maybe we can put up an entire tent this time.

I agree fully on your distinction between policy and implementation.  

Many of the military members themselves don't even support the majority of policy and while some are vocal, many more are afraid to voice their opinions in fear of reprise.

If anyone wants to hate their country, offices, individuals in the military, they have misguided frustration.

Bless her for her service.

Paddington was light years better than this crappy movie. 

Clint Eastwood probably thought it was a real baby, since he talks to empty chairs...

The CCI claimed that it was cancelled because it created an atmosphere that didn't make students feel "safe".  Safe from what I ask?  Should student-veterans feel as though their past in the military makes their classmates feel unsafe?  Should ROTC members be barred from wearing uniforms on campus?  Maybe we should all take a moment to read Omar Mahmood's astute and, apparently, timely column that got him fired from the Daily for "creating a hostile environment" while at the same time getting his house vandalized.

"After his column was published last week, Mahmood tells The College Fix: “I received a call from the editorial editor [of the Daily] telling me that I had created a ‘hostile environment’ among the editorial staff and that someone had felt threatened because of what I had written … The issue had been taken to the editor in chief who procured a bylaw by which I was given an ultimatum to leave the Review or leave the Daily within a week. I was not allowed to know the name of the offended individuals.” He added the newspaper’s leaders are “forcing me to write a letter of apology as a condition for staying on the Daily” and suspended his regular column in theDaily."

http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/20236/

that the film is being shown politically, I just don't understand why he is subjecting them to such a bad, bad movie. If you are going to show Eastwood, hit up Mystic River or Unforgiven. Showing them this just seems cruel and unusual.