"...Almost ALL the movie-goers were military..."

Soldier's Letters

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October 8th, 2004 2:13 PM

"...Almost ALL the movie-goers were military..."

From: [e-mail address omitted]
Sent: Sunday, August 15, 2004 11:12 PM
To: soldiers@michaelmoore.com
Subject: Fort Bragg

Dear Mr. Moore,

I read your most recent newsletter, and was astonished when I saw at the bottom a link for an article from our local newspaper, the Fayetteville Observer. I live in Fayetteville, NC, home of Ft. Bragg, and am the wife of an Infantry soldier. I already read your book, so I felt like I knew what to expect when I patiently waited in line at the Cameo Theater for over an hour that opening weekend to get a ticket to see your movie (it was sold out for two days, by the way, before I finally got in).

My husband just recently returned from being away for a year, and was home with the baby while I went to the movie (getting to know our son I had while he was away). I figured the movie theater would be full of long-haired radical liberals who were also disillusioned with our current government; people like me in other words. Well, Mr. Moore, I was wrong. The newspaper didn't tell the whole story, because from the way it sounded, the reporter didn't even go inside the theater. Almost ALL the movie-goers were military, and very few were "husbands and wives," as the paper quoted. Mostly it was full of single guys, two who sat beside me.

At one point when you had a clip of George Bush saying "We have proof that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction," the soldier sitting beside me yelled (and I mean YELLED) "BULLSHIT!" I laughed. Lots of other people clapped. There were two other times when there was a sudden outburst of clapping during the film. At the end, everyone stood and clapped. I wanted to stand up and clap with them, but I was too shaken. I guess seeing the horror of seeing what your spouse does for a living, and especially over a politician's lie, is a little unsettling. The soldiers sat with me a little while, and through tears I told them thanks, just for joining the Army. I don't know if they were in Iraq or not, I'm assuming they were. They said they loved your film, by the way.

I just wanted to thank you, too, Mr. Moore, for giving soldiers a voice in this hell of a so-called "war" they've been asked to risk their lives for. Speaking on behalf of the soldiers I saw at your movie that day I can tell you they truly appreciated you speaking out for them.

Sincerely,

L. Little

Ft. Bragg, NC

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