Jesse Ventura vs Chris Kyle

Jesse Ventura won his defamation case against Chris Kyle.  But did he win?  Kyle is dead and therefore his testimony (face to face) is unavailable.  There are opinions on both sides as to whether or not there was a fight between the two of them.  But I feel that Jesse lost far more than he bargained for. 

From the sofrep website:  "Lots of lessons can be learned from Jesse’s lawsuit. The main takeaway is that family should be off limits; if you have an issue with a teammate then take it behind the proverbial mil van (Navy talk for behind the woodshed), and don’t drag uninterested parties involved.

Read more: http://sofrep.com/36086/truth-jesse-venturas-navy-seal-status/#ixzz38vFSZqX3"
He may have won 1.8 million dollars and vindication, but he lost the Brotherhood of the SEALs.  Which is more important? He pissed on what the SEALs believe in, and therefore lost them.  With them goes the court of public opinion.  He lost his good name because he sued Kyle's widow and the Estate (he added Kyle's widow after Kyle's death).  Whether or not it was to clear his name no longer matters.  And if he thinks to continue his political career...well, I think he could kiss it goodbye. 

Had a heated discussion about it on FB and I just couldn't get the arguers to see my side. They're of the mindset that "right is right".  One of them went so far as to say to me "Well that is a separate issue...Kyle had every chance to come clean...He ruined someone elses life by lying...Dead or alive he needed to be accountable...and he was... Knowing you, you would have never let someone do that to you..."

My reply was "If you knew me, you'd know better. I believe that sometimes the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one. I would've called the person a liar, I would've put it out there so people could hear my side and I would've let it go after he died. If you really knew me...you'd know that I've had to bite my tongue and suck up shit for the good of certain people who didn't choose to be in the position they were in. Even though I knew certain people had spread lies and positioned themselves to make themselves look great...because I could bear the weight of the shit...and the defenseless could not. I do not regret my choice because Karma has a way of coming around and finishing it for me...and in the end, I got the better part of the deal."

Yes, he truly doesn't know what it's like to let something go for the good of someone else.  I could've sat on my self-righteousness and demanded/proved that the other person was a piece of shit, but the lives/future of children was involved.  And there is no amount of shit I wouldn't eat for them.  

Ventura should've let this go for the sake of Kyle's wife and family...for the sake of the SEALs, he should've been the bigger person, but now the majority of the military family will only see him as someone who picked on a family during a tragedy.  

Again...was it worth it?  Only Jesse can answer that.