You stay classy, Chris Hayes; the MSNBC anchor was “uncomfortable” yesterday calling fallen military “heroes:”
Thinking today and observing Memorial Day, that’ll be happening tomorrow. Just talked with Lt. Col. Steve Burke [sic, actually Beck], who was a casualty officer with the Marines and had to tell people [inaudible]. Um, I, I, ah, back sorry, um, I think it’s interesting because I think it is very difficult to talk about the war dead and the fallen without invoking valor, without invoking the words “heroes.” Um, and, ah, ah, why do I feel so comfortable [sic] about the word “hero”? I feel comfortable, ah, uncomfortable, about the word because it seems to me that it is so rhetorically proximate to justifications for more war. Um, and, I don’t want to obviously desecrate or disrespect memory of anyone that’s fallen, and obviously there are individual circumstances in which there is genuine, tremendous heroism: hail of gunfire, rescuing fellow soldiers and things like that. But it seems to me that we marshal this word in a way that is problematic. But maybe I’m wrong about that.
Transcript by Mark Finkelstein of Newbusters, which also has video of Hayes in action, which Finkelstein defines thusly:
Effete: affected, overrefined, and ineffectual; see “Chris Hayes.” OK, I appended the name of the MSNBC host to the dictionary definition. But if ever you wanted to see the human embodiment of the adjective in action, have a look at the video from his MSNBC show this morning of the too-refined-by-half Hayes explaining why he is “uncomfortable” in calling America’s fallen military members “heroes.”
Hayes is worried that doing so is “rhetorically proximate” to justifications for more war. Oh, the rhetorical proximity!
As Ed Morrissey writes, the Veterans of Foreign Wars aren’t happy with Hayes’ rhetoric; neither is left of center blogger Brendan Loy. Ed himself adds:
I’d suggest that Hayes needs to talk to a few veterans. We’re specifically remembering those who died in service to their country today (Veterans Day in November honors those still among us), but those veterans knew the men and women who didn’t make it back home to their families. Ask those veterans who the heroes were and are, and you won’t hear any whimpering about rhetorical proximations.
Related: Don’t question the left’s patriotism; they reserve that judgement strictly for themselves.
Update (8:56 PM): Hayes attempts a walkback.
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