“Do it for the children” is how the Left sometimes sells a policy. But what the media did for some children (adolescents, actually) this past weekend is worth noting: They viciously maligned a group of Catholic teens who’d attended the March for Life in Washington, D.C., causing them to endure scorn, character assassination, and even threats to their safety.
The story certainly was damning — in how it was portrayed. Mostly white teens in MAGA hats, from Covington Catholic High School (CCHS) in Park Hills, Kentucky, were said to be taunting an American Indian “elder,” identified as Nathan Phillips, at the Lincoln Memorial. A 60-second video showed one teen in particular face-to-face with the man, smirking in what was cast as silent mockery, and allegedly blocking his path.
That video and others went viral, resulting in national condemnation, including by some politicians and the boys’ own school. Most disgracefully, the drummed-at boy was doxxed, meaning, his personal information was released to the public. The idea, of course, was to facilitate harassment of him — or worse.
But in keeping with how “a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting its boots on,” the reality of what transpired was quite different:
A longer video appears to show that Phillips approached the boy — not the reverse — and gets in his face while continuing to pound on the drum.
At 4:42 (video below), the crucified Catholic kid (CCK. I won’t print his name) can be seen in the screen’s center, smiling, perhaps over the spectacle, but that’s speculation. The drum pounder (Phillips) can also be seen, advancing slowly toward the crowd; then around 4:44 he makes a slight right turn, moves toward CCK, and gets “in his face” as he continues drumming.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGiVylLJeJQ
CCK initially stops smiling, and is serious for much if not most of the drum pounding. But it does seem, understandably, that he’s somewhat bemused and amused by the bizarre spectacle and has to at times suppress a smile.
Then there’s the video below, which shows Phillips approaching the crowd of teens in the first place.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxOjg_DVfWI
So the real question here is why Phillips, a grown, ostensibly mature man, invaded the minor’s personal space and stayed there like a South-going Zax. Perhaps he was trying to intimidate the boy, wanted to make some point, or was effecting a publicity stunt (he was followed by other activists who were filming the affair).
Moreover, why did Phillips apparently lie about the matter on CNN (video below), saying “This young feller’ put himself in front of me and would not move.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jvbsqk0HOWw
Perhaps the answer is that Phillips isn’t merely some kindly grandpa type ceremoniously beating his drum as (he put it) a “supplication to God.” Rather, he’s “a radical separatist who flew the U.S. Flag upside down at a Dakota Pipeline protest,” reports the Independent Sentinel.
Additionally, he also claimed harassment after a 2015 incident in which he “confronted Eastern Michigan students who were at a themed party[,] with some dressed as Native-Americans,” the Sentinel further informs.
Phillips claimed he was disturbed by the boys allegedly chanting “Build that wall!” There also were allegations that the students invaded the Indians’ space (the latter were attending an “Indigenous Peoples Rally,” which was held concurrently with the March for Life).
Yet a letter written to local news outlet WKYT by a CCHS pupil present at the march tells a different story. He explains that the students were at the Lincoln Memorial because their chaperones and teachers told them to be there at 5:30 p.m. to board buses for the trip home. He then wrote, in part, as presented by WKYT:
… We decided to do some cheers to pass time. In the midst of our cheers, we were approached by a group of adults led by Nathan Phillips, with Phillips beating his drum. They forced their way into the center of our group…. He came to stand in front of one of my classmates who stood where he was, smiling and enjoying the experience…. It was not until later that we discovered they would incriminate us as a publicity stunt. As a result, my friend faces expulsion for simply standing still and our entire school is being disparaged for a crime we did not commit.
(The full letter is at the Gateway Pundit.)
While scores of people were present at the Lincoln Memorial at the time, and no doubt much was said, the short video below lends the above student’s claims credence. Note that the boys can clearly be heard chanting “C-C” (Covington Catholic) — and then the next letter isn’t clear — and then concluding with a cheer.
Then there’s CCK’s mother. According to Heavy, she sent an email that included the following:
Shame on you! Were you there? Did you hear the names the people where calling these boys? It was shameful. Did you witness the black Muslims yelling profanities and videotaping trying to get something to futher (sic) your narrative of hatred?? Did you know that this “man” came up to this one boy and drummed in his face? Shame on you. Only reporting what you want. More fake news.
A more sober account was provided by CCK himself. He wrote, in part, that four black protesters (identified by others as “Black Israelites”) “said hateful things. They called us “racists,” “bigots,” “white crackers,” “faggots,” and “incest kids” [one of them also used the term ni**er]. They also taunted an African-American student from my school by telling him that we would ‘harvest his organs.’”
Note mainstream media characterized these protesters as innocents “preaching the Bible” and stated that the Catholic kids shouted at them. Yet watch the video below (relevant portion begins at 4:35), which captured the preachers, and ask yourself who’s telling the truth.
Then there’s the tough-talking, foul-mouthed Indian activist below — seen in some of the other videos as well — telling the kids to “go back to Europe.”
Now know that CCK added perspective, writing that it was because they were being taunted that “a student in our group asked one of our teacher chaperones for permission to begin our school spirit chants to counter the hateful things that were being shouted at our group.”
In fact, the kids clearly were happy to leave the toxic environment, chanting “Let’s go home!” when the buses arrived (in the second-to-last video).
None of this stopped the mainstream media — on the heels of their Buzzfeed, fake-news trespass — from leaping on another lie and demonizing the youths, claiming they taunted, mocked, harassed, and racially abused an old Indian man, jeopardizing the kids’ safety in the process. Hey, you have to break a few eggs if you want to make an omelet, right?
Nor did it stop the kids’ own school and the Diocese of Covington from jumping on the bandwagon, issuing an immediate apology and stating that they “condemn the actions” of the students. They also wrote that the kids’ “behavior is opposed to the Church’s teachings on the dignity and respect of the human person.” Well, Diocese of Covington and CCHS, there’s something else opposed to the Catholic Church’s teachings.
It’s called “rash judgment.”
Look in the mirror — you may owe the kids an apology.
Conclusion? There would actually be nothing wrong with a chant of “Build that wall!” (I’d be happy to lead it), but I’ve seen no footage showing the CCHS kids doing even this. Virtually everyone has a video-recording device today, and events such as Friday’s are shot by multiple people, from multiple angles and vantage points. Had the Catholic students done what they’re accused of, it’s inconceivable there wouldn’t be video evidence — as there is of their tormentors’ vile trespasses. Yet there’s nothing.
The truth is, as the Spectator put it, “The progressive media doesn’t care about what really happened when it has white boys in MAGA caps to hate.” For sure, do it for the children — do it to the children — whatever it takes to win power.
