MSNBC pundit ‘deeply sorry’ for saying he’s uncomfortable calling dead soldiers ‘heroes’

During his MSNBC show “Up” on Sunday, Hayes said he’s “uncomfortable” with the word “hero,” specifically when using it to describe soldiers killed in wars.

“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.’ 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. 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.”

The remarks (which the guests on his show generally agreed with) sparked a fiery and visceral reaction from conservative bloggers.