The young men of Covington Catholic High School in Park Hills, Ky., have been rudely and crudely handed an incredible opportunity.
These are the students who gathered on the National Mall on the Martin Luther King holiday weekend, meeting up to march in an anti-abortion March for Life, and inadvertently stumbled into a political minefield.
They gathered within earshot of a small group of Black Hebrew Israelites and a small gathering of Native Americans who had earlier marched in a demonstration of their own.
The Black Hebrew Israelites and the students began exchanging words and gestures and chants, and at some point a Native American elder marched between the sides, chanting and beating a drum. This culminated in a sort of stare-down between the drummer and a white student, viral images of which took off around the world before any context could be provided.
The confrontation is still hotly debated, and it has become another set piece of our interminable national political drama.
Judging from lengthy video evidence, the young men of Covington reacted to the situation as many teenagers would: cluelessly and immaturely.
And that will remain the upshot if the students do nothing more with it — not necessarily today but when they are older and not surrounded by worried parents, hired crisis managers and conservative media bent on using the incident to “own the libs.”
For those of good will and open mind, the salient lessons of the confrontation are how susceptible social media are to deception, and how easily social media users can be turned into a howling mob.
When the story first trended on Twitter, less than four minutes of video was available, and it presented the young men in a highly unfavorable light. Shortly thereafter, nearly two hours of further footage became available, and while it also didn’t really do the students any favors, it filled in some missing context.
I watched the full video, beginning with the antics of the Black Hebrew Israelites early Sunday morning. I’ve followed the aftermath and have been mortified, but not surprised, that online trolls have viciously come down on the teenagers, their school and community.
The Israelites deserve condemnation for their provocative tactics. They knew what they were doing. It’s their thing to hurl insults and slurs at anyone who dares to come within their view. On the day in question they had a target-rich environment: Native Americans, women and the white young men.
“We love you as much as Donald Trump loves us,” one of the Black Hebrew Israelites yelled at the young men, many of whom were wearing Trump’s trademark red MAGA hats.
That’s a statement with two meanings: Trump doesn’t love us, and we don’t love you. Then again, the slogan on the Trump hat also has many meanings. Make America great again? Like when our nation refused to even recognize native people as citizens? Like when it barred immigrants from nonwhite parts of the world? Have the students ever considered that Donald Trump’s slogan is inseparable for many people from his highly prejudicial policies and declarations?
I accept the possibility that Covington junior Nick Sandmann’s much-discussed smirk as he stared down Omaha elder Nathan Phillips wasn’t meant as a taunt. It may have been the grin of a teenager who was temporarily bewildered and yet conditioned to stand his ground. Sandmann may also have instinctively regarded Phillips as his inferior, and meant to let him know. We don’t know.
Why didn’t he, or any of the young men, consider it an option to speak with Phillips? Was it unfathomable that this elderly man deserved that most basic level of respect?
In the video, some students looked uneasy and uncertain about how to behave. Others performed a tomahawk chop and jokingly joined in Phillips’ chanting, probably not understanding it as prayer.
What do we know about the students who appear in the video? Some likely come from families of considerable social and financial capital. Many likely grew up knowing that they will be college graduates; some may know that they won’t be paying the tuition themselves. All benefit from an exclusive private education. Most likely have a bright future ahead of them, and some no doubt will ascend to positions of power and influence.
How will they perform then?
The term “white privilege” is often carelessly applied to such lucky backgrounds. It’s often poorly explained and dumped on people.
My hope for the young men of Covington is that they will explore their experiences and influences with depth and honesty. That they will be able to move on from this encounter without adopting a sense of victimhood.
As one young man noted in the video, many aren’t old enough to vote yet.
They will be one day. May this experience add to their wisdom as citizens.
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