Chris Kyle, author of American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
In 2003 he was in Iraq, and a woman holding a chinese grenade pulled the pin and approached group of Marines. Kyle described what he saw to his superiors, and he was given authorization to shoot her. He did. What was going through his mind? I’m repeating from memory, but what struck me is how this was the immediate, “obvious” answer to him:
“First, I wondered if I had it in me to kill another human being. I also wondered if the U.S. government would support me, or if they would just turn around and charge me with murder. Especially since it was a woman.”
Having accepted for himself that the killing was ethical, his next worry was that the government might be more concerned with appearances.
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Is it weird that makes perfect sense to me?
Not weird at all; I have the same concerns frequently.
Aside from that…did he REALLY title that book, about himself…himself? Badass you may be, my friend, but lemme just give you a hand with that patting yourself on the back, looks like you’re gonna pull something.
As well it should be concerned with appearances. When the government no longer has to fear what it appears to be, it’s past the point of saving.
Particularly in cases of torture; it should be illegal, and should someone in the line of duty find it ethically justified, and they do it, and save the day, they should still be punished. Because doing the right thing – if you really believe it is the right thing – should not be affected by whether the government will punish you for it or not.
HP– no, he says it was the publishers that made him title it that.
Wilyliam– my surprise was that in the moment of battle, he was worried his own team didn’t have his back. This is quite the opposite perception that civilians have about the military, i.e. that they’d do anything to protect their own including cover things up. Follow me? So it reveals a gigantic disconnect between how the military personnel feel about their overlords, vs. how the public sees that same relationship.
It’s almost like dating, where men think women have all the sexual power, and women think that men do– so they’re not just disagreeing, they are 180 degrees apart.
Believe me, we’re well aware that it’s often more important to look like we’re doing the right thing than to actually be doing the right thing. Anyone who wants a promotion understands that appearance is often more important than reality. I’ve seen way too many good guys get in trouble for ridiculously stupid trifles, while undeserving people get rewarded just because they know how to manage their appearance.
Honestly, that particular aspect is more pervasive in the military than in the civilian world.
TLP – Mostly tongue-in-cheek on my part, but good to know it was the publishers that made him do it.
A small thing to note: it wasn’t his team he was worried about having his back, it was his overlords – who are not part of his team.
Barrkel – Legality should serve ethics, not the other way around. If it doesn’t (and often in these cases, it does not), then the legality needs to be changed.
Finally, note the wording of the concern. It’s already accepted that killing is quite ethical; it’s how we have a military at all. Furthermore, it’s accepted that murder is unethical – it’s why we have courts martial, among other things. This man’s problem is that while he executed a completely ethical (and legal) killing, he had to worry that the government which is overconcerned with appearances would cast it (completely incorrectly) as a murder.
I thought he would only feel the recoil. Seriously, maybe he had time to think. But what if he didn’t? In any case they would cover up for him.
Shoot second, ask questions first. Progress.
“Shoot first, shoot later, ask questions when the smoke clears.” Sometimes that’s what survival takes.
The best way to “survive”, of course, would be to not put yourself in that situation to begin with.
Legalism and ethics aren’t mutually exclusive. He sounds like a man with a strong sense of self preservation. I’m glad ethics came first in his thoughts, but I see no fault in him or anyone else that self preservation came second. It was as it should be.
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