Am I the only one who found the character of Walt absolutely disgusting?

My father was in the Korean War as well.
He also called black people "colored" but wasn't prejudiced (he never meant it in a bad way). He grew up in Detroit and I guess that's how he was raised.

Oh, so it's a comedy?

Using politically incorrect language doesn’t make you a hate-filled bigot, and the movie shows clearly that was wasn’t full of hatred, but was just initially suspicious of and uncomfortable interacting with people he wasn’t used to (non-whites). Once he started doing so, he quickly warmed up and took Thao under his wing despite him not being white. By the way, a bigot is somebody who is intolerant of those with differing opinions, so to call somebody “loathsome” for having a different view of life than you is ironic in this case. I'll grant you the point about drunk driving, though.

I think Walt had an idea that old-school factory work like what he did for a living was hard to come by in this day and age. He seemed more bothered by Thao’s lack of general handiness and “balls”.

Just because your grandfather didn’t express hatred toward the Japanese, that doesn’t mean he didn’t feel it. And did he hang out with fellow veterans after the war? If he did, you never know what kind of things they might have said in the comfort of their shared presence.

You're supposed to find him disgusting. He IS a hate-filled bigot at least at the start of the film. As it progresses he gets to know the Hmong and develops respect for some of them. He never really overcomes his racism/hate but he does come to see some of them as good people. Some even earn his respect. That's kind of the point of the film; getting to know others will help overcome racism/hate.

He never does completely overcomes his racism. He continually uses racist statements, but he still begins to respect some of the Hmong. Recall how he interacted with the barber, and the construction foreman. they insulted each other using racist terms, but that was a sign that they liked and respected each other. Over time his insults to Thao(?) switched from genuinely insulting to [his version of] respect.

Im guessing your a millennial?

You cant judge the past in the present day ... In 50 years you may well think how disgusting it is that are adding tails, fins and *beep* to their bodies .. you may not .. but seriously alot has changed from then ..

When you claim that that generation was handed jobs ... It makes you look even more self entitled than you already are .... Yes Baby boomers had jobs more readily available .. But you also got to understand that that was when the male usually was the main provider (even still) now inflation assumes that both the male and female will be working in the household .. Its not that jobs dont pay well, or that they are harder to find .. its that they assume rather than one person is going to work that two will be ... Not that hard to understand...

Also if you noticed he used racial slurs against his FRIENDS... wow what a bigot! He saw everyone as equals (as someone else mentioned on one of these threads) he did not immediately suck up to minorities because of 'white guilt' or 'white privilege..'

He even used racial slurs against the white guy (played by his son..)

God I hate my generation...

Live for Nothing or Die for Something.
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You're a fool. There wasn't a thing wrong with Walt's character. If any characters were disgusting and despicable it was the gangbangers. Both the black racist goons who would have raped Sue had Walt not been there in his pickup truck and Thao's cousin and his gang of misfits who killed Walt. I also had no use for the white coward who pretended to be a thug instead of trying to protect Sue or Walt's useless sons and their wives and children who were just waiting for Walt to die so they could take what had been his. Walt, Thao and Sue were the only really likeable characters in what was a pretty good movie.

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Pardon the pun, but things are not black and white.

I think anyone would have a difficult time arguing against the case that, when all was said and done, Walt was a very good, albeit flawed, guy.
He cared about his neighbours and gave his life to see them free.