Chris Hayes Explains His 'Uncomfortable' Calling Fallen Military 'Heroes' Comment Without Apologizing
As NewsBusters previously reported, MSNBC's Chris Hayes published a written apology last weekend for saying that he was "uncomfortable" calling fallen military members "heroes."
In his first Up with Chris Hayes program since the incident, the host opened the show explaining that he "fell short at a crucial moment" when he made that remark, but he never actually apologized for doing so (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary):
CHRIS HAYES: I cringed when I saw the headline used to describe comments I made on this show last Sunday. "MSNBC’s Chris Hayes Feels ‘Uncomfortable’ Calling Fallen Soldiers Heros."
After playing his controversial remarks, and discussing some of the email messages he received in response, Hayes continued
HAYES: And reading those messages, I had to agree. Who was I to say who is and isn’t a hero? It hardly seems a designation that is mine to deny or even to confer, which is in a very clumsy way what I was trying to say, or at least what I wanted to discuss - not what makes a hero, or who is a hero, but rather this: we have a society that on the one hand has become comfortable with war, and on the other hand wants to distance itself from it as much as possible. To outsource it to contractors, to robots, and to the 2.3 million volunteer men and women who have been asked to serve for longer durations than at any time in history.
Our political culture sometimes engineered entirely to make us hate each other. What we're trying to do here on this show, and obviously we don't always succeed, is to talk about sometimes quite sensitive topics in good faith, to explore ideas and perspectives that don't always get a hearing, and to think through the news with understanding and empathy - to wrestle with our shared public life grounded in real experiences. We tried to do that last week. But I fell short in a crucial moment.
Notice the words "I'm sorry," "I apologize," and "I regret" are conspicuously absent from this so-called apology?
In fairness, other than the opening twelve minute segment, I did not watch the entire two hour show. It is therefore possible Hayes apologized later in the program.
However, an examination of the closed-caption transcript did not identify such.
Which makes you wonder just how sorry Hayes is for what he said.
- Noel Sheppard's blog
- Login to post comments
Comments
Take a good look at the
Submitted by ricklail on Sat, 06/02/2012 - 4:34pm.
Take a good look at the idiot. Is he Madcow's twin brother?
Maybe
Submitted by CO2Maker on Sat, 06/02/2012 - 8:20pm.
He's got her glasses, that's for sure.
➚ Chris Hayes
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Sat, 06/02/2012 - 4:36pm.
Chris, I can explain your existence only in the context of your surroundings and that which you deliver.
You see, Chris, you are found only between two butt-cheeks. And you deliver what's expected.
Hey Chris! Up yours!
Submitted by rbosque on Sat, 06/02/2012 - 4:41pm.
Hey Chris! Up yours!
Whre does he get this nonsense?
Submitted by stage9 on Sat, 06/02/2012 - 4:50pm.
Who says that we've "grown comfortable" with war? NO ONE has "grown comfortable" with war"! But we're intelligent enough to realize that sometimes war is a very necessary instrument with which to RESTRAIN EVIL!
If Hitler had not been defeated by World War II, how many more millions would have been killed? If the American Civil War had not been fought, how much longer would African-Americans have had to suffer as slaves?
In the immortal words of those once great "cultural prophets" the Protest Warriors:
"Except for Ending Slavery, Fascism, Nazism and Communism, War Never Solved Anything."
War has always existed and always will so long as sinful men still walk the earth. The bottom line is that the reason there are wars is because men refuse to believe they are sinful.
"If God is dead, somebody is going to have to take his place. It will be megalomania or erotomania, the drive for power or the drive for pleasure, the clenched fist or the phallus, Hitler or Hugh Hefner." — Malcolm Muggeridge
Ah, don't feel bad, Noel.
Submitted by SickofLibs on Sat, 06/02/2012 - 4:51pm.
NOT EVEN HAYE'S heroic mother could possibly stomach watching the entire two-hour show.
Translation: His rating
Submitted by Slyrr on Sat, 06/02/2012 - 4:52pm.
Translation: His rating (which were never good to begin with) are still in the toilet after his debacle and he's still trying to smooth things over without actually smoothing anything over.
Still the same old nonsense. Liberal X says something totally stupid, moronic and indefensible. Then when they're called out for it, and suffer real life consequences for their idiocy, they double down and make it worse by saying everyone who's complaining is a moron who just 'doesn't get' how brilliant they are.
Keep digging that hole, Hayes-ey boy. We want it to be plenty deep when you, your foul show, and your pet liberal president are buried.
Chris Hayes wins the title...
Submitted by CT on Sat, 06/02/2012 - 5:20pm.
For being the most disgusting host on MSNBC a difficult task to be sure. It's not fair because Chrissy had a head start being raised in the fetid swamp of extreme liberalism, but he is now the lowest of the low at MSNBC and yet he hasn’t a clue why.
Hey, Chris
Submitted by CO2Maker on Sat, 06/02/2012 - 8:22pm.
Lose the glasses. Stop shaving your chest. Stand up to pee.
Liberal means...
Submitted by bigdaddy on Sat, 06/02/2012 - 8:25pm.
...never having to say you're sorry...
We don't need his apology, and our service men and women . . .
Submitted by Galvanic on Sat, 06/02/2012 - 8:55pm.
. . . could care less what he says.
Let Hayes remain the schmoe that he is. That goes for Gov. Chris Christie, too, for his lowering the US flag to half-staff in honor of the tragically drug-addicted Whitney Houston.
Neither was apologetic, and that's okay by me. The fact that they took these positions tells us alot about who they really are and what they really think.
Read this article. It's right on point
Submitted by CO2Maker on Sat, 06/02/2012 - 9:09pm.
James Fallows, "Why Americans Hate the Media," The Atlantic, February, 1996.
http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/96feb/media/media.htm
"Why has the media establishment become so unpopular? Perhaps the public has good reason to think that the media's self-aggrandizement gets in the way of solving the country's real problems."
Great article CO2
Submitted by dyardley on Sun, 06/03/2012 - 11:00pm.
Thanks very much for the link.
Noel....I'm extremely disappointed in you. How can I trust that
Submitted by Rush Fan on Sat, 06/02/2012 - 9:36pm.
your information is completely accurate, if you failed to watch every stinkin' dreary second of that two hour miserable, disgusting, unimaginative and distasteful show. Please remember that we depend on you, as the rest of us cannot stomach watching MESSNBC for even a minute without digestive problems.
Please don't give me the excuse that with the exception of 12 minutes, you had better things to do with your time. :-)
Sounds like the old joke
Submitted by CO2Maker on Sat, 06/02/2012 - 9:45pm.
"I had a 20-minute obscene phone call last night."
HIs comment of: " we have a
Submitted by BD on Sun, 06/03/2012 - 12:48am.
HIs comment of:
" we have a society that on the one hand has become comfortable with war, and on the other hand wants to distance itself from it as much as possible. To outsource it to contractors, to robots, and to the 2.3 million volunteer men and women who have been asked to serve for longer durations than at any time in history."
Is assenine on so many levels.
1.) But to start with only the media twits like hayes have become comfortable around a war. That is because he has no part in it other than bitching about our actions.
2.) THe bitching about our actions includes his conclusion that those who have faced the fire are not heroes. Like most leftists if he does not wish to consider those who fight heroes, then fine. But it is instructive of who they DO consider heroes. Late term abortion doctors, Berkley Radicals, communists, and "Community organizers....
3.) He has a beef with our use of UAV's to gain some standoff distance from our enemies? I guess he would prefer it if we all went room to room, trench to trench, like the old days? Yeah, Only those who do not have to fix bayonets would bitch about our use of the drones.
4.) Compalin about contractors? Fine, put the muscle back into the force that BIll Clinton stripped out of it and we will not be forced to use contractors. We have been MISSING those two last divisions Billy C stripped out in the 90's and trying to make due any way we could with the smallest per capita force this nation has seen since the 1800's.
5.) Regarding the indian wars comment, what a load of hooey. We had forces committed against the plains indians for 30+ years. So this is not even close yet.
It is bizarre.
Submitted by The Vet on Sun, 06/03/2012 - 9:35am.
...we have a society that on the one hand has become comfortable with war...
There is absolutely no evidence to back that up.
To outsource it to contractors, to robots, and to the 2.3 million volunteer men and women who have been asked to serve for longer durations than at any time in history
We outsource the fighting of a war to our military (2.3 million volunteer men and women)? What? No, really, what? We outsource fighting a war to our very own military? And their purpose is what outside of that?
We outsource fighting a war to contractors? That is a lie. We have outsourced some of the supply and support jobs to contractors to release more of our soldiers to do the job they were trained to do.
We outsource to robots? Another lie. Robots are not in widespread use yet. Their primary use is finding and defusing roadside bombs. A job suited to a disposable machine. Is this asshole saying we should risk human life so as not to be too techno? This is an even bigger insult than his original hero comment.
You are right
Submitted by Bliggie on Sun, 06/03/2012 - 11:10am.
It is bizarre, but that's how Liberals/communists/progressives roll, they try to fit issues into certain templates while explaining the deficiencies and epic failures of their ideology and opinions. For example this a$$clown says, we have become comfortable with war. Who the hell knows where he gets such garbAge but mindless liberal zombies will hear things like this and NEVER question it. Another example is every liberal I've questioned about Obamas failed economic spending says without exception, "the stimulus wasn't big enough" and "the tea party is bankrupting the country". They never elaborate or explain, just base thier opinions on such false BS. It's sad but true.
Outsourcing to robots?
Submitted by CobraMan on Sun, 06/03/2012 - 12:32pm.
Outsourcing to robots? What does that even mean? I guess this idiot isn't aware that the robots used in things like bomb disposal all require 6 man squads to operate them. Even "unmanned aerial vehicles" require men to operate them.
"and to the 2.3 million volunteer men and women who have been asked to serve for longer durations than at any time in history "
That's not true.When I joined, minimum active duty was 4 years, and inactive was 4, for a total of 8. Now it's a minimum active duty time of 3 years, but the total remains the same. And during wars like WWII, there wasn't any time limits. You served for as long as you were needed. Men served for 6 years or more, thanks to the fact that even after "Victory" was declared, many men still served in the "reconstruction" of both Germany and Japan, without any 're-enlistment." You served until you were discharged, period!
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
More pablum
Submitted by The Vet on Sun, 06/03/2012 - 10:04am.
...volunteer men and women who have been asked to serve for longer durations than at any time in history.
Prior to the Korean War, you were expected to be assigned to the theater for the DURATION OF THE WAR.
For Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) combat tour lengths for the U.S. Army have gone from 12 to 15 and back to 12 months again. Our Marines serve 6-7 months tours. The Air Force initially has served 4-month tours (dating back to 1991 and the Persian Gulf War) but now has seen 4/6/8/and 12-month tours served depending upon service In Lieu Of (ILO) Army forces. The Navy typically serves 6-7 months tours and also supports ILO programs.
Back in the days of the Vietnam War, Army forces served a 12-month tour. It should be noted that Officers completed twelve months tours, with only six months spent in combat in charge of troops. The Marines served 6-month tours, but were given incentives to served 13-month tours. The Navy and Air Force had similar tour lengths.
During the Korean War, services member who were drafted served 24 months, but with training, etc. most did not spend this long in the combat zone.
In World War II, service members served for the duration. If a soldier enlisted at the beginning of the war and survived, that soldier would have served the whole period of the war.
For a short time, tours were a few months longer than Vietnam, the only time in our history tours in theater were shorter.
I don't give a donkeys hind
Submitted by mattm on Sun, 06/03/2012 - 4:12pm.
I don't give a donkey's hind quarters what this punk thinks or says.
Hey Chris
Submitted by LibsRevil on Mon, 06/04/2012 - 9:53am.
For what it's worth, let me give you a nickels worth of free advise. It isn't the Constitution that guarantees freedom of the press, it's the men and woman of our armed forces that put on a uniform every day that give you the right spew your garbage. Let's hope for your sake that when the poop hits the fan, there's someone around wearing a uniform, otherwise your own.