Filmmaker Michael Moore really stepped in it last Sunday when he posted his opinion about snipers right on the cusp of the release of the Oscar-nominated film American Sniper.

Moore posted on Twitter that he believed that “snipers were not heroes,” which set him up for a barrage of criticism that must have certainly sent his head spinning, as reported by CNN.

Not only did Michael Moore say he believed that snipers were not heroes, he decided to go a bit more colorful with his descriptions of snipers by calling them cowards. Yes, the men who are trained and spend their lives fighting for our freedoms so that Michael Moore can have his freedom of speech to criticize them, he calls cowards.

After receiving an overwhelming amount of backlash for his bold statements, Michael Moore is now using social media to explain his thought process behind those earlier tweets. Moore began his backpedalling by explaining on Facebook that he was raised to believe this about snipers. He “inherited” these opinions from his father.

Does that mean Michael Moore has no true opinion of his own? Does that mean Michael Moore isn’t capable of thinking on his own and coming to his own conclusions about things as opposed to simply “inheriting” ideals and beliefs? Yet, he strives to portray himself as a man of his own strong opinions.

People Magazine reported on his explanation as Moore began to explain his feelings towards snipers in general, wanting the public to believe that his remarks had nothing to do with the film American Sniper released just two days prior.

“My dad was in the First Marine Division in the South Pacific in World War II. His brother, my uncle, Lawrence Moore, was an Army paratrooper and was killed by a Japanese sniper 70 years ago next month. My dad always said, ‘Snipers are cowards. They don’t believe in a fair fight. Like someone coming up from behind you and coldcocking you. Just isn’t right. It’s cowardly to shoot a person in the back. Only a coward will shoot someone who can’t shoot back.'”

Bryan Sikes is a Green Beret Sniper and has voiced his opinion in a very public letter to Michael Moore that has now gone viral, per Bro Bible. The response Sikes has received from the general public regarding his letter lets us all know that Michael Moore’s opinions are not worth much.

“Mr. Moore — Good afternoon there sweetheart, I hope this finds you alive and well. You can thank our men and women of the armed forces for that, by the way, and that also includes us cowardly snipers. It seems you’ve found time between licking the jelly off your fingers and releasing your grasp of a bear claw to tweet some junk about snipers being cowards. My buddies and I got a good laugh over the tweet, so I thank you. For a guy worth $50 million dollars, you sure have quite a bit to bitch and cry about. I guess like a moth to flame, you too gravitate towards things that are popular and in the moment — in this case it’s snipers. Too bad for you that your attempt at being relevant via your 70+ year old family experience has failed. It has only made you look dumber than a bag of hammers. Next time you should try something more original than going after snipers for one reason or another…that was so last month. It’s typical of “men” like you to criticize the intestinal fortitude, focus, discipline and patriotism of a sniper. It must stem from an inferiority complex or something. But hey, it’s okay cupcake. We snipers are thick skinned and the efforts of world class turds such as yourself to portray us in a negative light only makes us laugh. If you and I were in the same room, I’d throw you a smile and gently pat you on the head knowing you’re nothing more than a mouth breathing, Crisco sweating waste of space not even worthy of being in the presence of a sniper. It’s almost funny how people like you preach things like ‘acceptance’ and ‘not passing judgement’ or ‘labeling people’, but then are the first to do so when a person is in some way dissimilar from you. So tenderfoot, I leave you with this final thought: what if you found yourself in some sort of hostage situation where you were held at knife-point by some crazed person and they were dead set on making an example of you by bleeding you out on Hollywood Blvd in front of the world, and the only way out was with the precision aimed fire of a sniper? Would you want that coward to take the shot? Because knowing how you feel about snipers such as myself and your hatred of firearms, I’d probably drop the mag, roll the bolt and go get a Jack & Coke before helping you out. Very Respectfully,

Sikes”

[Photo Credit: BroBible.com]