As passions around the Monday shooting in Colorado continue to boil, filmmaker Michael Moore on Tuesday tweeted commentary over the recent disclosure of the Boulder gunman's identity, immediately prompting a wave of harsh criticism.
Moore rolled out two tweets, unsparingly slamming the vision of normality in the United States and saying that "a young man with anger issues & easy access to semi-automatic weapons who shoots up a nice town in Colorado is as American as apple pie."
In a follow-up tweet Moore added fuel to the fire surrounding the need for gun control in the US, asserting sarcastically that the life of Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, the Boulder shooter, is an illustration of how people "from all over the world" can "assimilate into our beloved American culture". He spiced his tweet with an image of the Statue of Liberty.
Not everyone online enjoyed Moore's bitter anger and sarcasm.
do you even own a brain?
— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) March 24, 2021
Turn off CNN.
— Mark Dice (@MarkDice) March 24, 2021
Wow. You do hate your country , don’t you?
— Obianuju Ekeocha (@obianuju) March 24, 2021
Some netizens slammed Moore for "hating America" and argued that "violence is a human thing". Many users denounced the filmmaker for being sarcastic one day after the tragedy.
Never heard of honor killings? People being stoned? How about the cartels? Seems violence is a human thing, pal.
— J Stephen Archer (@jstephenarcher) March 24, 2021
just gave up on being any sort of decent human then, huh?
— Jessica O’Donnell (@heckyessica) March 24, 2021
Why don’t you let the families of those who perished grieve their losses before you make a poor joke of the United States?
— Juan Cros (@DonJuan305) March 24, 2021
Many immigrants including my parents came to this country to flee oppression and I’m grateful they did!
Other twitterati sided with Moore, saying that his tweet revealed "a very sad truth".
Unfortunately, twisted but true. Or perhaps America is becoming more like a country that isn’t safe and is incredibly violent! Do some research, you will see!
— KO (@KO630531) March 24, 2021
Such a sad truth.
— Elo Phile 🌹 (@elophile) March 24, 2021
The Boulder gun killings in a city supermarket on Monday marked one of the deadliest shootings in the history of Colorado after 10 people were shot and killed, including a police officer. The gunman, Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, was taken into custody.
Moore, who frequently addresses issues of globalism, American culture and gun violence in his works, won a 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for "Bowling for Columbine", a film about the infamous 1999 Columbine High School shooting.
