MSNBC host Chris Hayes apologizes for troop comments
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Chris Hayes, host of ‘Up With Chris Hayes’ on MSNBC, has apologized for comments he made about American soldiers during a pre-Memorial Day discussion Sunday.
During a discussion of family notification about the death of a loved one on the battlefield, Hayes told his panel, ‘I think it is very difficult to talk about the war dead and the fallen without invoking valor, without invoking the words ‘heroes.’ Why do I feel so [uncomfortable] about the word ‘hero’? I feel comfortable — uncomfortable — about the word because it seems to me that it is so rhetorically proximate to justifications for more war.’
While Hayes went on to say that he didn’t mean to disrespect those fallen soldiers who truly were heroes — and even qualified his statement by saying he might be wrong in his thinking — he set off a controversy nonetheless.
After a day of angry comments from bloggers, Tweeters and commenters, Hayes released a statement on his website, apologizing for his comments.
‘On Sunday, in discussing the uses of the word ‘hero’ to describe those members of the armed forces who have given their lives, I don’t think I lived up to the standards of rigor, respect and empathy for those affected by the issues we discuss that I’ve set for myself. I am deeply sorry for that.’
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— Patrick Kevin Day
