# Covington Catholic High (in case it hasn't been mentioned already) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 20, 2019, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covington-catholic-high-in-case-it-hasnt-been-mentioned-already/828090 "2019-01-20T02:23:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covington-catholic-high-in-case-it-hasnt-been-mentioned-already/828090/181 "2019-01-21T16:47:56Z")
> [@Elmore](#): > > Interesting to contemplate folks who loved the Gillette ad’s take on ‘toxic masculinity’ viciously dogpiling kids who are too young to shave… Yep, bullying and harassing kids is bad, except when they have it coming. What a farce. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covington-catholic-high-in-case-it-hasnt-been-mentioned-already/828090/182 "2019-01-21T16:56:12Z")
> [@Ale](#): > > You decided that, A) I have a political party, B) It tells me what to see and C) that I’m a right winger (hint, you are wrong on all counts), while accusing me of only seeing what I want to see; the only thing you’ve demonstrated is that you are perfectly OK with manufacturing derogatory, spurious assumptions as a basis on which to judge others. Yeah, it’s probably just a coincidence that you’re arguing against truth using the same arguments that right wing networks are promulgating. You’re probably one of those “independent thinkers” who can coincidentally follow every “independent thought” with a link to a right wing site pushing that exact opinion. > [@](#): > > Rather funny though, that you went there in response to a post which included the point “it’s much easier to substitute reality with an appropriately validating narrative” Yes, and you didn’t see the irony. That was great. > [@](#): > > In any case, in case you didn’t seem to notice while busily concocting a suitably deplorable profile of me, my objections are against Internet mob behaviour, any comments on that? Yeah: I don’t really care. The kid was an asshole and now bad things are happening to him. Boo hoo. Meanwhile, in the real world, real people are having their real babies ripped out of their arms and locked up in cages, molested, harmed, and in some cases, killed. That’s not mean Tweets on the internet. That’s actual harm. Go do something about that, or fuck off. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covington-catholic-high-in-case-it-hasnt-been-mentioned-already/828090/183 "2019-01-21T17:00:40Z")
What an absolutely fascinating example of a 21st century media frenzy. My take: a) The clear villains of the episode are the Black Hebrew Israelite protestors who are guilty of vicious bigotry towards not just the Catholic students but also various Native Americans. b) Some of the students also behaved poorly but apparently under provocation. I am inclined to cut more slack for teenagers than adults in this kind of situation. Clearly there should have been better adult supervision of the group. c) If Phillips thought he was defusing the tension he chose a strange way to do it. Banging a drum a few inches from the student’s face was definitely an aggressive move. And one of his companions was shouting at them to go back to Europe. d) That one student whose face has become famous was only not doing anything wrong, I think his behaviour was exemplary, and he was clearly trying to stay calm in a difficult situation. If there was anyone in this whole sorry episode who comes out well, it is he. I think the video backs the long statement that he released. e)Early media reporting was disgraceful: inaccurate and biased. This is the kind of stuff which undermines the credibility of the media and empowers Trump. I saw many conservatives who condemned the boys based on initial media reports and then later changed their minds as more accurate reports came up. You can bet they will be more skeptical of the media next time perhaps on something that matters a lot more and when the media is reporting accurately (as it mostly does). Later reports were more nuanced but the damage was done. Coming so soon after the Buzzfeed fiasco, it’s not been a good week for the media. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covington-catholic-high-in-case-it-hasnt-been-mentioned-already/828090/184 "2019-01-21T17:09:04Z")
> [@Lantern](#): > > What an absolutely fascinating example of a 21st century media frenzy. > > My take: > a) The clear villains of the episode are the Black Hebrew Israelite protestors who are guilty of vicious bigotry towards not just the Catholic students but also various Native Americans. No one cares about the Black Hebrews because they’re known nutjobs. They stand on street corners yelling mean things looking for attention. > [@](#): > > c) If Phillips thought he was defusing the tension he chose a strange way to do it. Banging a drum a few inches from the student’s face > was definitely an aggressive move. And one of his companions was shouting at them to go back to Europe. But the kid didn’t get in that other guy’s face. He got in the face of the guy looking to calm things down. > [@](#): > > d) That one student whose face has become famous was only not doing anything wrong, I think his behaviour was exemplary, and he was clearly trying to stay calm in a difficult situation. If there was anyone in this whole sorry episode who comes out well, it is he. I think the video backs the long statement that he released. That’s delusional. He was clearly looking for a confrontation. Here’s a challenge for you: I dare you to go to the zoo, climb into the ape enclosure, and stare a chimp in the eyes with that exact smirk on your face. It’s an ape, so the outcome won’t depend on its political beliefs. Let me know how that works out for you. Hint: things will go badly, because that’s clearly confrontational, no matter how much your stupid right-wing news sources claim it isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covington-catholic-high-in-case-it-hasnt-been-mentioned-already/828090/185 "2019-01-21T17:15:04Z")
Banging a drum a few inches from the face of the student wasn’t calming things down; it was confrontational. There was plenty of space around the student for Phillips to walk around. He had no business just standing there continuing to bang the drum. The student actually wasn’t smirking the whole time. Most of the time he was just staring calmly. Not to mention the other guy who was shouting at the students to go to Europe. Was that calming things down? ---
**Author:** ![l0k1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@l0k1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/l0k1)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covington-catholic-high-in-case-it-hasnt-been-mentioned-already/828090/186 "2019-01-21T17:18:52Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > So Christian schools can fundraise off of being assholes in the name of the Lord. > > How jesusfreakin’ wonderful. :rolleyes: I guarantee that if you go to this school’s website, or any of the other schools that sent students to this march, you will find photos from previous years. This event is complete bullshit. The adult organizers don’t care about abortion, the teen attendees don’t care about abortion. They’ve been doing this march for 45 years, and the demographics of it never change, teens, their teacher, their religious leaders, an odd politician hear and there that’s going to use photos or videos of his appearance to raise funds for reelection. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covington-catholic-high-in-case-it-hasnt-been-mentioned-already/828090/187 "2019-01-21T17:19:20Z")
> [@Lantern](#): > > Banging a drum a few inches from the face of the student wasn’t calming things down; it was confrontational. There was plenty of space around the student for Phillips to walk around. > He had no business just standing there continuing to bang the drum. The student actually wasn’t smirking the whole time. Most of the time he was just staring calmly. Not to mention > the other guy who was shouting at the students to go to Europe. Was that calming things down? Why were those students there? What was it they were shouting/chanting? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covington-catholic-high-in-case-it-hasnt-been-mentioned-already/828090/188 "2019-01-21T17:23:14Z")
We have a national crisis of great proportion, one that must be dealt with as soon as possible, if not sooner. I refer, of course, to the plague of getting in people’s faces… ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covington-catholic-high-in-case-it-hasnt-been-mentioned-already/828090/189 "2019-01-21T17:23:33Z")
> [@Lantern](#): > > Banging a drum a few inches from the face of the student wasn’t calming things down; it was confrontational. There was plenty of space around the student for Phillips to walk around. > He had no business just standing there continuing to bang the drum. The student actually wasn’t smirking the whole time. Most of the time he was just staring calmly. Not to mention > the other guy who was shouting at the students to go to Europe. Was that calming things down? Then go stare at an ape the exact way that kid was staring at the elderly Native American veteran, with or without a smirk. Fuck, go do it to a strange dog. You won’t (you lying coward) because you fucking know its confrontational, and you don’t actually believe your shit enough to get bitten for it. P.s. Note that nothing actually happened, except that an asshole got exposed as an asshole. So the drumming did, in fact, work. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covington-catholic-high-in-case-it-hasnt-been-mentioned-already/828090/190 "2019-01-21T17:25:41Z")
> [@Lantern](#): > > Banging a drum a few inches from the face of the student wasn’t calming things down; it was confrontational. There was plenty of space around the student for Phillips to walk around. > He had no business just standing there continuing to bang the drum. The student actually wasn’t smirking the whole time. Most of the time he was just staring calmly. Not to mention > the other guy who was shouting at the students to go to Europe. Was that calming things down? See post [#113](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21442399&postcount=113). ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covington-catholic-high-in-case-it-hasnt-been-mentioned-already/828090/191 "2019-01-21T17:31:09Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > Yeah, it’s probably just a coincidence that you’re arguing against truth using the same arguments that right wing networks are promulgating. > > You’re probably one of those “independent thinkers” who can coincidentally follow every “independent thought” with a link to a right wing site pushing that exact opinion. > > Yes, and you didn’t see the irony. That was great. > > Yeah: I don’t really care. The kid was an asshole and now bad things are happening to him. Boo hoo. Meanwhile, in the real world, real people are having their real babies ripped out of their arms and locked up in cages, molested, harmed, and in some cases, killed. That’s not mean Tweets on the internet. That’s actual harm. Go do something about that, or fuck off. Pathetic. :rolleyes: You say don’t care, but you are happy to see bad things happen to someone you don’t know or care about. Your behaviour is dehumanizing, you don’t care about the intentions or actions of individuals, you don’t care about the circumstances of events in which they are involved, you just make up your own version of reality that allows you to feel good about yourself while wishing harm against others. Here, lefty Cult of Dusty showing the kind of integrity you can’t seem to muster: [https://youtu.be/jVvpVRJ-NH4](https://youtu.be/jVvpVRJ-NH4) ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covington-catholic-high-in-case-it-hasnt-been-mentioned-already/828090/192 "2019-01-21T17:32:42Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > Then go stare at an ape the exact way that kid was staring at the elderly Native American veteran, with or without a smirk. Fuck, go do it to a strange dog. You won’t (you lying coward) because you fucking know its confrontational, and you don’t actually believe your shit enough to get bitten for it. > > P.s. Note that nothing actually happened, except that an asshole got exposed as an asshole. So the drumming did, in fact, work. You seem to be under the impression that this student walked up to Phillips and stared at him. In fact it was Phillips who walked up to him and started banging his drum a few inches from his face. Maybe you can try that in front of a dog and reports its reaction? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covington-catholic-high-in-case-it-hasnt-been-mentioned-already/828090/193 "2019-01-21T17:33:21Z")
> [@l0k1](#): > > I know I’m repeating myself, but these schools organize these field trips to take their students to DC to march in an anti-abortion rally. These kids are in town to make a political statement. These schools are actively encouraging these kids to make a statement, and represent their school while doing so, so that the school can fundraise behind it. A political statement… with the symbols from the pussy grabber in chief and [former supporter of abortion.](https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-35912638/donald-trump-on-abortion-from-pro-choice-to-pro-prison) Again, ignoring the MAGA hats is being disingenuous. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covington-catholic-high-in-case-it-hasnt-been-mentioned-already/828090/194 "2019-01-21T17:35:20Z")
> [@Lantern](#): > > You seem to be under the impression that this student walked up to Phillips and stared at him. In fact it was Phillips who walked up to him and started banging his drum a few inches from his face. Maybe you can try that in front of a dog and reports its reaction? How many inches from his face? You keep repeating this over and over and over again, but how many inches? 2? 3? 5? 12? 24? ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covington-catholic-high-in-case-it-hasnt-been-mentioned-already/828090/195 "2019-01-21T17:37:26Z")
> [@Ale](#): > > Pathetic. :rolleyes: > You say don’t care, but you are happy to see bad things happen to someone you don’t know or care about. Your behaviour is dehumanizing, you don’t care about the intentions or actions of individuals, you don’t care about the circumstances of events in which they are involved, you just make up your own version of reality that allows you to feel good about yourself while wishing harm against others. Yeah, you don’t care either, buddy. You’re just pretending outrage. Here’s a challenge for you: the most visible recent victim of mob mentality is Dr Ford, who’s had to move several times to avoid death threats simply because she testified that she’d been attacked by a conservative. Now, either show that you actually care about mob mentality by linking your posts decrying those mob attacks, or fuck off with your pretend outrage, internet tough guy. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covington-catholic-high-in-case-it-hasnt-been-mentioned-already/828090/196 "2019-01-21T17:38:50Z")
Does the exact number really matter. Judging from the [photo](https://reason.com/blog/2019/01/20/covington-catholic-nathan-phillips-video)in this article maybe 3-4 inches from his nose? ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covington-catholic-high-in-case-it-hasnt-been-mentioned-already/828090/197 "2019-01-21T17:39:46Z")
Oh noes! Someone was wearing a hat. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covington-catholic-high-in-case-it-hasnt-been-mentioned-already/828090/198 "2019-01-21T17:41:11Z")
> [@Lantern](#): > > You seem to be under the impression that this student walked up to Phillips and stared at him. In fact it was Phillips who walked up to him and started banging his drum a few inches from his face. Maybe you can try that in front of a dog and reports its reaction? If I’m walking down the street and someone doesn’t get out of my way, in fact stares me in the eyes with a smirk on his face, and his friends surround me, yeah, I’m about to get attacked. I don’t need an experiment to show that because I’m not some moron desperately trying to deny simple reality. ---
**Author:** ![Elmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e9a140/32.png) [@Elmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmore)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covington-catholic-high-in-case-it-hasnt-been-mentioned-already/828090/199 "2019-01-21T17:41:55Z")
> [@](#): > > Yeah: I don’t really care. The kid was an asshole and now bad things are happening to him. Boo hoo. Then you’re an asshole. Cyber bullying kills. This is cyber bullying on an international level. > [@](#): > > Meanwhile, in the real world, real people are having their real babies ripped out of their arms and locked up in cages, molested, harmed, and in some cases, killed. That’s not mean Tweets on the internet. That’s actual harm. Go do something about that, or fuck off. Same bullshit logic can be applied to Phillips. Awwwww, diddums. An ex-soldier has to put up with a bratty teenager smirking at him for a whole two minutes. Meanwhile, in the real world, real people are having their real babies ripped out of their arms and locked up in cages, molested, harmed, and in some cases, killed. That’s not teenaged posturing. That’s actual harm. Go do something about that, or fuck off. Of course, I’d never say that, because I’m not an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covington-catholic-high-in-case-it-hasnt-been-mentioned-already/828090/200 "2019-01-21T17:42:03Z")
> [@Lantern](#): > > Banging a drum a few inches from the face of the student wasn’t calming things down; it was confrontational. There was plenty of space around the student for Phillips to walk around. > He had no business just standing there continuing to bang the drum. The student actually wasn’t smirking the whole time. Most of the time he was just staring calmly. Not to mention > the other guy who was shouting at the students to go to Europe. Was that calming things down? [Plenty of space?](https://www.instagram.com/p/BszyfEMFgw-/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_video_watch_again) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covington-catholic-high-in-case-it-hasnt-been-mentioned-already/828090.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covington-catholic-high-in-case-it-hasnt-been-mentioned-already/828090.md?page=11)