Were the CovCath Students Wrong?

I haven't commented a great deal on the incident involving the Covington students in Washington, D.C. because I hadn't had a chance to watch the videos. Until now, I had only seen the reports, and a few screengrabs and clips. Now that I've watched some of the longer videos (which can be watched here), particularly those showing how the confrontation between the student (I'm not a journalist, but I generally refrain from naming minors) and Nathan Phillips, a Native American activist and Marine veteran, I'd like to offer my thoughts.

First, the arguments from both sides contain a grain of truth, but one side is still in the wrong. The students do not appear to have started the confrontation, but they are responsible for not ending it. They are correct in their claims that the group speaking before the confrontation, called the Black Hebrew Israelites (not Muslims, as some of them and their parents have erroneously claimed; the fact that they claimed this shows they are at best ignorant and at worst blatantly Islamophobic), which is considered a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, did say numerous hateful things. Whether or not every single insult and slur was directed at the students is difficult to say from the videos, but they were saying indefensible things. I am a staunch advocate of the First Amendment, but some of the things they said honestly border on hate speech.

This is actually why the confrontation began. The students were clearly baited into acting like a bunch of spoiled, entitled, ignorant jackasses. The protesters wanted these kids to react, and the kids fell for it. They were understandably upset at the things being said, and felt the need to speak out (which I might have done myself).  The problem is that instead of peacefully addressing the protesters, they proceeded to yell and jeer at them.  One of the students ripped off his jacket and shirt and led the entire group in a bizarre dance/chant; some have suggested that the chant was an imitation of apes, which would be incredibly racist, but the students claim it was their school chant.  I cannot ascertain what was chanted, and I know nothing of their school chant, so I will offer no judgment on the precise nature of it, other than that it was a clear attempt at intimidation.

At this point, things began to grow more and more heated.  Both sides were yelling at one another, but the students completely surrounded the protesters in a blatant attempt to intimidate them.  This was when Mr. Phillips began to approach the groups.  He claims he and his fellow Elders were concerned at how heated things had gotten, and that they walked over simply to defuse the situation.  Phillips and the other Elders calmly walked over, beating their drums and chanting.  They stood between the two groups to keep them apart.

This is where the videos most have seen start.  Phillips and the student at the center of this were initially several feet apart, but Phillips walked towards him calmly, continuing to chant and drum.  There was no malice or ill intent in his actions.  Yes, he ended up being so close to the student that his drum was just inches from his face, but this is where so many have misinterpreted what actually happened, including the student and his classmates.

Phillips and the Elders were trying to push the students away because they saw the mob mentality within the group.  They never laid a hand on a single student, preferring to use peace and love rather than force.  The students responded by jeering and mocking Phillips.  They refused to move, and make Tomahawk chops and whoops, which are incredibly offensive to Native Americans.  The student in question did nothing other than stand with a smug smirk.  He has suggested that he was confused and scared, and there may be a degree of truth in this, but I know that look all too well.  Many who bullied me wore a nearly identical look when I would confront them.

That’s the real truth of all of this.  These kids acted like bullies to a group of remarkable Native Americans who were simply trying to break up the protest before things got out of hand.  Yes, they were baited into acting out by the Black Israelites, but it is still their fault for taking the bait.  These kids are from a Catholic school, meaning they should know better than most the teachings of Christ, which include turning the other cheek and responding to hatred with love.  Furthermore, their treatment of Phillips and the other Native Americans was reprehensible and inexcusable.  I hold the students responsible for what happened, but I also hold the chaperones responsible; I didn’t see a single one in the videos, and they clearly failed in their responsibility.  Yes, some of the students should be disciplined, but so too should the chaperones for failing to act.

That being said, these kids are a symptom of a much larger problem.  In the days since the videos first surfaced, multiple other reports have come out showing a systemic problem with their school’s diocese.  People familiar with this diocese, particularly former students, have suggested that it is a haven for bullying and intolerance.  A report came out that the school cancelled graduation speeches by the Valedictorian and the Class President at the last second because they were deemed “inappropriate” because they claimed the speeches were too polarizing and confrontational (they weren’t), and that they weren’t submitted before the deadline (both students have said they were unaware of any deadline).  Another report came out that a former student had been charged with a brutal rape.  I cannot judge the school or the diocese based purely on a few disparate reports, but they do suggest a serious problem within the community there.

These kids are also a symptom of everything that is wrong with the MAGA movement.  Many of them were actually wearing MAGA hats, so we know they are Trump supporters and proponents of this movement.  I want to make it clear that the majority of Trump supporters are good, decent people.  There is no evil in their hearts.  But there is a great deal of evil, malice, and racist within the movement itself.  We have seen HUNDREDS of instances of people shouting horribly racist insults at minorities, followed by “Make America Great Again!”  However, the true racists make up only a small fraction of the MAGA movement; the true problem is ignorance and misinformation.  So many do and say racist things not out of malice or evil, but because they were taught wrong.  Ignorance is the source of most racism and hatred, and I’ve witnessed it firsthand.

For most of the past year, I have fought alongside Native Americans to get my high school to change their mascot due to its offensive nature.  Everyone in my group, as well as the school board and the committee formed to explore the issue, was subjected to terrible treatment by those who wish to retain the mascot (most of whom were unabashed MAGA supporters).  They were insulted and mocked.  They were booed and jeered.  They were bullied and intimidated.  I witnessed them call the Native Americans who spoke, remarkable people that I have had the privilege to work alongside, liars on multiple occasions.  They acted much the way the kids did at the protest, and in many ways, far worse.  It would be easy to call them evil, racist bullies, but I know better because I’ve lived alongside them my entire life.  I know they aren’t evil or malicious.  They are good, decent, hardworking people.  The problem is that they were taught wrong.

This is the real issue at play with the incident in Washington.  These kids aren’t bad or evil in any way.  They are just ignorant and misinformed.  They weren’t taught how to behave in such situations, and they have been taught a badly distorted view of history and race relations, which is sadly still commonplace across the country.  I live in Ohio, just a few miles from their school, and my community suffers from the same problem, as shown by our mascot fight.  We aren’t being taught the real truth about the abhorrent things we’ve done to anyone who isn’t a straight, white, Christian male for the past four centuries, and as such, we’ve never come to terms with this legacy.  We barely even acknowledge that it happened, and we’ve certainly never moved beyond it.  Instead, we pretend that such things are in the past even as they continue to happen.

The rise of Trumpism is proof of this.  That these kids were wearing MAGA hats, which are a symbol of hate and racism to many, shows that they’ve been taught the wrong lessons.  Hateful treatment of minorities and women is on the rise around the globe, and it has risen exponentially here since Trump became president.  The statistics are there for anyone to see, and numbers don’t lie.  That people defend such behavior, insisting it isn’t harmful or disrespectful or racist, shows that ignorance and misinformation still reign.

That being said, ignorance and misinformation are no excuse.  I received the same lacking education that others did, yet I can easily identify what is and isn’t racist or disrespectful.  I have an open mind and a strong sense of empathy, which I choose to exercise instead of ignore.  That is the true source of these incidents: people who choose to act this way, who choose to live in ignorance and fear instead of opening their minds and hearts.  These kids chose to mock, jeer, intimidate, and bully both the Black Hebrew protestors and the Native Elders.  They could have chosen to ignore the bile being spewed at them, to walk away and do anything else, but they didn’t.  They could have let Nathan Phillips and the other Elders through, but instead they chose to close ranks around them and mock them in a terribly offensive way.  The chaperones and teachers that were (allegedly) present could have chosen to intercede, to take the students away from the protestors, but they chose to be silent and let the students turn into a mob.  It is on these choices that we must judge them; to quote Albus Dumbledore, “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”  My judgment is simple: they were wrong.  Their behavior was inexcusable and an example of the hatred, bigotry and ignorance that grips our country.

That being said, I want to end this by saying that I firmly believe that some of the flack being thrown at the students and teachers is over the line.  They made all the wrong choices, but that doesn’t excuse destroying their lives before they start.  Many judged them unfairly by taking video clips out of context and even suggesting they did things that they didn’t.  We cannot relinquish the grip of hatred by acting out of hate; to paraphrase Dr. King, only love can drive out hate.  We have every right to be angry and upset by what these kids did, but that doesn’t excuse lashing out at them or their families.  Instead, we must reach out to them to help them learn and change.  My hope is that this incident will serve as a potent lesson to these kids that choices have consequences.  They cannot be escaped, especially in the digital age.

Making choices is easy.  Making the right choice, especially in the heat of the moment, isn’t as easy as it seems.  It’s easy to judge these kids for making all the wrong choices, it’s easy to make the wrong choices when you’ve been taught to fear differences instead of embrace them.  We should be angry about what happened, but we should also pity these kids because they cannot yet fathom the consequences of what they’ve done.  But if we help them, if we teach them, they will.