It was ten years ago, Memorial Day weekend 2012, that MSNBC’s Chris Hayes admitted he was “uncomfortable” calling fallen military members “heroes.” On his Weekend Show Chris Hayes: UpThe host explained to him that the word “hero” bothers his mind.
On May 27, 2012, Hayes fretted, “I think it is very difficult to talk about the war dead and the fallen without invoking valor, without invoking the words ‘heroes.’…. It makes me feel both comfortable and uncomfortable because I believe it to be so rhetorically close to justifying more war.”
Classy way to honor the fallen on Memorial Day weekend, huh?
Hayes had to apologize for the outrage he caused two days later on his MSNBC blog.
When we were discussing how to use the term “hero” in order to refer to those who gave their lives for our country, Sunday I didn’t live up to my own standards for rigour, respect, and empathy. This is something that I deeply regret.
It’s easy for me to pontificate as a TV host about those who are fighting our wars. I have never been in a fight, guarded a place, or even walked more than a mile with them. That is the case for the majority of citizens of this country. Sunday’s program highlighted how disconnected Americans are from wars they fight. It was also discussed how small the percentage of Americans who have to bear the burden. We were able to see how it is easy to forget the names of people killed or wounded, not question the strategy for Afghanistan and then to feel a collective guilt over this disconnect by observing a short pro-forma ritual before we return to our barbecues.
However, in trying to talk about the civil-military division and the social distance that exists between the combatants and non-combatants, I only ended up confirming it. This is a stereotypical portrayal of an exempt pundit who views aren’t rooted in the painful and real experience of the long decade of war. That is my deepest regret.
The following are the Issue of May 10, 2020, The New YorkerHayes was asked to reexamine the issue. With regard to the “hero thing,” the MSNBC host It was a realization the need to be “careful and empathetic” to other people’s grief.
…When that happened, the thing that really hit home to me was just about being careful and empathetic about people’s experience of loss and their grief,It is crucial that he be remembered as both a public person and an official platform. No matter what point you’re making, in whichever political valence, people’s losses are real. They are real in their grief. They are not alone in their grief. It is important to understand this and show respect for it.
It doesn’t mean that that’s the end of the conversation from the policy perspective. It doesn’t mean you can’t oppose the war, you can’t oppose lockdown—whatever your policy preference is. It does however mean that we as humans have an obligation to act in the collective interest of democracy as citizens of civil society. Anyone with an opportunity to be empathetic, compassionate, and sensitive with others’ hearts.
For most, this conclusion already would have been obvious, but at least it’s progress.
More examples are available from the NewsBusters Time Machine weekly flashback series. Go here.
Here is a complete transcript of Hayes’s initial comments, made on May 27, 2012.
Chris Hayes: Up
5/27/12CHRIS HAYES – Thinking Today and commemorating Memorial Day tomorrow. Talked with Lt.Col. Steve Burke about his experience as a Marine Casualty Officer and was eager to inform people. [inaudible]. Um, I, I, ah, [Steve]Beck: Sorry, but it’s not my intention. It is difficult for me to discuss the fallen and war dead without referring to valor without mentioning heroes. Oh, and why am I so content? [sic]Are you curious about the term “hero” Because it’s so rhetorically close to justifying more war, I find it comfortable. It’s not my intention to desecrate the memory or disrespect anyone who has fallen. There are also individual situations in which there can be genuine and tremendous heroism, like hail of gunfire and rescuing soldiers. However, it appears to me that this word is being used in a problematic way. Perhaps I am mistaken.
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