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cynatnite

(31,011 posts)
Mon May 28, 2012, 12:24 AM May 2012

What is a hero?

MSNBC's Chris Hayes says this:

“I feel… 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, you know, 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.”


I think I agree with Chris Hayes. I always saw heroes as those who put their lives at risk in order to save others. Whether it's in battle, a house fire, drowning or other dangers...if someone risked their life in order to save someone, they were a hero.

It seems like that the term "hero" gets tossed around so easily to apply to anyone that's ever put on a uniform. Maybe it's used to make it easier to send our troops off to war and to not mind so much when they die.

Do you think this is an overused word? How do you feel about it?
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marasinghe

(1,253 posts)
1. i agree
Mon May 28, 2012, 12:42 AM
May 2012

my personal definition would be the same as yours, & Chris Hayes':
a hero is someone who puts his life on the line - to save another's life - regardless of personal considerations.

like this guy: Dennis Weichel
http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/29/10925357-us-soldier-dies-saving-afghan-girl?lite

WillParkinson

(16,862 posts)
2. Agreed...
Mon May 28, 2012, 12:45 AM
May 2012

I saw a sign on a car the other day that said Scott Walker (Governor - WI) was a 'hero'. How so? Please enlighten me. What personal safety did he risk for others?

amerikat

(4,902 posts)
3. Hero is a word that's greatly over used in my opinion. Much like the tag "Diva"
Mon May 28, 2012, 01:18 AM
May 2012

Just because you served in the armed forces doesn't make you a hero. To me a hero
has unselfishly given a part of himself/herself for the greater good of his fellow
citizens, be they brothers in arms or family or strangers. One who to help others
risks personal injury, economic loss, loss of status.

I'm having a real hard time with the Memorial Day thing. To me it brings up Abu Garib
prison in Iraq. Not many hero's there except the whistle blowers that got effed up by the
system.

My hero's are protest singers and marchers that march into violent cops and teargas and
pepper spay and arrest. And get up the next day to march and protest again. They
are the true hero's to me.

amerikat

sad sally

(2,627 posts)
18. Call me a day late (and always a dollar short), here's one that sez' what you've said so well:
Tue May 29, 2012, 10:40 PM
May 2012

As I was testing the beer yesterday at a Rockville, Maryland, Memorial weekend event, my eye was caught by a t-shirt with the following bilingual motto:



The black t-shirt was worn by a late 20-something with a military-style haircut. He was accompanied by his wife who was pushing baby stroller. I ambled around to get in front of the guy – his shirt had some type of unit logo but it was obscured by the baby he was holding up against him. Unfortunately, I did not have the ol’ Nikon D-40 hanging around my neck.

This “100 meters” warning sign was commonplace for U.S military vehicles in Iraq. I glanced at a few photos of such vehicles online and I wondered how close a person would need to be to read such lettering. Probably far closer to 100 meters.



But since the vehicles had the warning notice, any resulting killings of civilians were justified – because the victims should have known.

Shootings of innocent Iraqis at U.S. checkpoints and near U.S. vehicles were so commonplace that the military usually ignored the carnage. U.S. checkpoints were often poorly marked – turning them into death traps for unwary Iraqis. Here is one of the most iconic photos of the Iraq war, depicting Samar Hassan wailing after U.S. troops killed her parents at a checkpoint in Tal Afar in 2005.



-snip

When I see Iraq vets proudly wearing the “100 meters… or be shot” slogan on their shirt or car, I can’t help wonder: Was this the guy who made Samar Hassan an orphan?

http://www.antiwar.com/blog/2012/05/27/iraq-vet-bravado-100-meters-or-you-will-be-shot/

amerikat

(4,902 posts)
19. Thanks Sad Sally.
Tue May 29, 2012, 11:32 PM
May 2012

I thought I might take some flak for that post. Hero is a touchy word for many.
Glad you understanding my thinking on this issue.

SoCalDem

(103,856 posts)
4. A hero is a Mom/Dad who rushes into traffic to save another's child
Mon May 28, 2012, 01:26 AM
May 2012

or a stranger who intervenes to save another.

people who are hired to do dangerous jobs are not necessarily "heros" when they perform that task.

 

Jigs

(15 posts)
6. I've seen them and call myself a friend of many...
Mon May 28, 2012, 01:38 AM
May 2012

This is all well and good (and I understand where you are coming from)... But let us not trivialize the individual's simply because it may be a war that you feel is wrong. At the end of the day these folks do things most of us would piss our pants even thinking about. Even in unpopular wars there are still heros... Men and women who do uncommon things under the most horrible situations that most of us could never understand.

So YES let us not throw the word around like candy... But let us also not disregard it because of something they had no control over.

Jigs

cynatnite

(31,011 posts)
10. I view a hero as anyone who puts their life at risk in order to save another...
Mon May 28, 2012, 01:49 AM
May 2012

It's not about whether or not I believe in a war or if I don't like their political views. To me, it's always been about the unselfish risk of one's own life for another.

I did not mean to trivialize anyone or the sacrifice they made.

The other part of this I have difficulty with is whether someone is a hero because they sacrificed for something they believe in. Are they a hero if they died fighting a war I did not believe in? Are they a hero because they died protesting? Are they a hero because they died for something they believed in, but I did not? Who am I to say if they are not a hero?

 

Safetykitten

(5,162 posts)
7. I am starting to think that anyone that can make it through a day in our society without flipping
Mon May 28, 2012, 01:42 AM
May 2012

out is a hero.

Some are bigger, some don't know they are, some are quiet, some sacrifice everything, some give what little they can.

 

Marr

(20,317 posts)
8. Labelling everyone who wears a uniform a "hero" is, I think, a mark of
Mon May 28, 2012, 01:42 AM
May 2012

a bloated empire.

I enjoy reading a lot of older British books, and I've often noticed a shift in tone in the descriptions of the British military and the men in it. In the 1700's, it was openly described as horrible work for men with no other options. By the mid-late 1800's, they were all heroes. It could just be the particular things I've read-- I'm certainly no expert.

madamesilverspurs

(15,784 posts)
9. Real heroes
Mon May 28, 2012, 01:45 AM
May 2012

would get more respect if we stopped cheapening the concept with sports stars. Somehow, throwing a ball just isn't the same as running into a burning building. . .

-

 

dinopipie

(84 posts)
13. A hero is one who
Mon May 28, 2012, 06:46 AM
May 2012

puts their own safety and security at risk to help others or for the good of the many.

Yes it is way over used.



Enrique

(27,461 posts)
14. the RW blogs are going crazy with this
Mon May 28, 2012, 10:40 AM
May 2012

shockingly, their criticisms of him are somewhat less thoughtful than his comments.

LovePlanters

(1 post)
16. My problem is that everybody uses "Hero", even us on the left side
Mon May 28, 2012, 01:46 PM
May 2012

Just a quick search, I found a member here saying Chris Hayes is a "hero".

Chris Hayes is a hero.

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