American Sniper: Anti-Muslim threats skyrocket in wake of film's release

Nicky Woolf, The Guardian
24 Jan 2015 at 09:14 ET                  
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American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee writes to Bradley Cooper and Clint Eastwood requesting action as threat complaints triple

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American Sniper continues to draw record-breaking audiences as it barrels into its second weekend in wide release, but a group representing Arab-Americans says the rate of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim threats resulting from the Oscar-nominated war film has already tripled.
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Citing what an executive for the group told the Guardian was a "drastic increase" in hate speech on social media, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee wrote letters this week to actor Bradley Cooper and director Clint Eastwood to ask them to speak out "in an effort to help reduce the hateful rhetoric".
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The film, which was nominated for six Academy Awards including best picture, depicts the story of Chris Kyle, the famed US navy Seal notorious for the highest known single kill count in US military history. But its all-American depiction on screen has drawn heavy criticism from combat veterans and viewers alike - and especially about viewers themselves, many of whom have emerged from theatres desperate to communicate a kind of murderous desire.
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A quick search on Twitter leads down a rabbit hole of anger.
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"Great fucking movie and now I really want to kill some fucking ragheads," read one tweet, in a set of screenshots that quickly went viral after being collated by journalist Rania Khalek for the online publication Electronic Intifada . "American sniper makes me wanna go shoot some fuckin Arabs," read another.
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