Civil rights attorney Leo Terrell is disgusted with Chris Hayes

[loyalsister]

25. breaking through rhetorical armlock....

Is a great exercise in a classroom. But, he is in the business of speaking too more people than who would take an interest in that kind of exercise.
Language is used carelessly for the most part, and in some contexts linguistic shorthand should be respected.

To the family members of soldiers the word 'hero" has a meaning that goes beyond "valor" in the pursuit of a morally admirable cause.
I think that it is possible for a person to take part in military actions for reasons outside of the militaristic goals.
Maybe they fought so they could feed their families, or to get an education so that they would be able to contribute more to their families and society in general. To other soldiers it may refer to a specific incident. To our government maybe it refers to risking their lives on behalf of the voters who supported the war. It was a bad idea. They shouldn't have been there, but if they weren't maybe there would have been a draft.

I like Chris Hayes, but I do think that this professorial analysis of language on a nationally broadcast television show was not wise and to some extent arrogant.

To limit the meaning of the word to one's own interpretation is fine.
But, we all know that people widely apply this word in circumstances that are painful. To challenge the meaning of an emotionally charged word that is used and understood with specific personal contexts was a mistake.
I'm glad he apologized.