# Has the media misrepresented the incident with the Covington Cathlic kids? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 22, 2019, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210 "2019-01-22T17:23:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 21
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2019, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/401 "2019-01-27T15:05:42Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > I’ve made Züricher Geschnetzeltes that’s less rich and white than hiring a PR firm to handle your son being part of a racist, misogynistic mob. 😕 I will agree it is upper middle class to rich to hire a PR firm, but I maintain it is a sensible way to address unfair portrayals of your son’s actions. The kid just stood there. Phillips walked into the crowd and directly up to him. Sandmann didn’t move out of the way because he didn’t know what to do, so he wanted to stay still and calm and smile to let Phillips know he wasn’t a threat. Phillips could have walked around him, or back out the way he came, or any other direction, but didn’t even try to do so. Yet you are making the kid out to be a racist and misogynist because he wore a MAGA hat and attended a Right to Life rally. Let’s be clear - you have no record of this kid doing anything - yelling at women, saying racist comments, getting violent… none of it. Yet he’s evil for hiring a PR firm to address a PR situation that falsely shows him in a negative light. Let’s ask this - if you were in his family’s shoes, how would _you_ address the negative PR and negative social media onslaught for an unfair portrayal? > [@Procrustus](#): > > I suppose I am in a bubble. I don’t interact with anyone who I know or suspect voted for, or supports, President Trump. ( Other than here at the SDMB) I find this unlikely. I have relatives that voted for Trump and support his positions. Though interestingly, one of my more conservative uncle’s who is a bit racist doesn’t like Trump. Go figure. Anyway, **Velocity** said it better. You likely interact with people at work or school or stores or just generally in your life that voted for Trump, and support his positions, even if they don’t wear a MAGA hat or bring it up in conversation. > [@](#): > > The very idea is still incomprehensible to me. Literally. I can not comprehend. > > I do understand the problems people are facing. To believe Trump is anyway connected to solving those problems is the mystifying part. I’m, with you there. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2019, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/402 "2019-01-27T20:18:12Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > 😕 I will agree it is upper middle class to rich to hire a PR firm, but I maintain it is a sensible way to address unfair portrayals of your son’s actions. The kid just stood there. Phillips walked into the crowd and directly up to him. Sandmann didn’t move out of the way because he didn’t know what to do, so he wanted to stay still and calm and smile to let Phillips know he wasn’t a threat. Phillips could have walked around him, or back out the way he came, or any other direction, but didn’t even try to do so. Yet you are making the kid out to be a racist and misogynist because he wore a MAGA hat and attended a Right to Life rally. > > Let’s be clear - you have no record of this kid doing anything - yelling at women, saying racist comments, getting violent… none of it. Yet he’s evil for hiring a PR firm to address a PR situation that falsely shows him in a negative light. Agree with this. It’s hard to understand how someone can watch the longer video and come to such biased and non-factual conclusions as I’m seeing in this thread. It’s frankly a little scary. I saw on some news item that Phillips “forgives” the kid. WTF? For what exactly? Just absolutely bizarre. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2019, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/403 "2019-01-28T05:38:02Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > Agree with this. > > It’s hard to understand how someone can watch the longer video and come to such biased and non-factual conclusions as I’m seeing in this thread. It’s frankly a little scary. > > I saw on some news item that Phillips “forgives” the kid. WTF? For what exactly? Just absolutely bizarre. He is guilty of not taking his hat off, throwing it to the ground, stomping on it, while all the time bowing down to Phillips and apologizing for being white and apologizing that his people killed his people and so on and so on… I wonder if even then Phillips would have been happy? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2019, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/404 "2019-01-28T05:45:37Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Even in the most liberal cities, around 15-20% of people voted for Trump. Some of your co-workers or neighbors or mailmen or store clerks or doctors or whoever are statistically likely to be Trump voters, no doubt, even if they don’t wear MAGA hats or anything that screams Trump. I’m sure there are some. But not my coworkers. And none of my relatives (Except my mother in law, but we don’t discuss it.). So, yes, I probably run into Trump voters now and then. But I don’t think I’ve ever run into anyone in real life who admitted it (one taxi driver in Vegas is the exception that proves the rule ) ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2019, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/405 "2019-01-28T23:34:34Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > He is guilty of not taking his hat off, throwing it to the ground, stomping on it, while all the time bowing down to Phillips and apologizing for being white and apologizing that his people killed his people and so on and so on… > > I wonder if even then Phillips would have been happy? Not likely. Team Phillips was probably very happy that someone in the main stream media was finally paying attention to them, and their cause. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2019, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/406 "2019-01-28T23:43:11Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …nope. I’m literally saying the opposite of that. > > And you live in a bubble as well. The difference between you and I though is that you can’t admit it. > > What is it, exactly, do you think “living in a bubble” means, and why do you think you are uniquely immune? > > You are welcome to believe whatever the fuck you want to believe. Perhaps, in your spare time, you could provide a definition of what you mean when you say you live in a bubble. Just for the purpose of clarification, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2019, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/407 "2019-01-30T13:05:43Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Let’s be clear - you have no record of this kid doing anything - yelling at women, saying racist comments, getting violent… none of it. If the kid had been there alone, I would agree with much of what you said. Take away the dozens of other white, privileged teenagers who were openly mocking Phillips with chants, dancing, and tomahawk chops and you’d have one kid, standing alone smirking, who is approached by a Indigenous person who played his drum and chanted too close for comfort at the kid (I know, horrible crime right?). You need to completely ignore everyone else except that one kid to buy into the current narrative the right is trying to sell. Ignore what you actually saw, focus only one person, and vilify a guy for playing a hand-drum and chanting too close. The problem with that rips any context away from what actually occurred. It ignores the racist mocking that Phillips was subjected to. It ignores the tension between the teens and the other idiots that Phillips was trying to defuse. And it ignores the difference between how a person acts alone, and when surrounded by a group of like-minded people. Of all the assholes in the video, the kid was clearly much less blameworthy than much of the group. After all, all he did was allow others to do the racist mocking and then smirk at a guy. It’s the problem of trying to simplfy a chaotic event and find a good guy and a bad guy that caused his vilification. But it also ignores everything else we actually saw in the video. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2019, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/408 "2019-01-30T20:50:51Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …nope. I’m literally saying the opposite of that. > > And you live in a bubble as well. The difference between you and I though is that you can’t admit it. > > What is it, exactly, do you think “living in a bubble” means, and why do you think you are uniquely immune? > > You are welcome to believe whatever the fuck you want to believe. HEY **Banquet Bear**!!! How about a little help here. You brought it up. I’m trying to understand how to speak New Zealand. What do you mean when you say, “live in a bubble”? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/409 "2019-02-04T23:02:55Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > If the kid had been there alone, I would agree with much of what you said. Take away the dozens of other white, privileged teenagers who were openly mocking Phillips with chants, dancing, and tomahawk chops and you’d have one kid, standing alone smirking, who is approached by a Indigenous person who played his drum and chanted too close for comfort at the kid (I know, horrible crime right?). You need to completely ignore everyone else except that one kid to buy into the current narrative the right is trying to sell. Ignore what you actually saw, focus only one person, and vilify a guy for playing a hand-drum and chanting too close. I’m not trying to “vilify” Phillips, or anyone (except maybe the racist instigators - the Black Hebrews or whatever). I’m describing accurately what happened. It’s **Urbanredneck** and the like that are twisting things the other way. Yes, there was a crowd of teens who, as a group, were rowdy and disrespectful and standing for opinions I don’t support (“MAGA”, pro-life). But the media (especially social media) singled out this one kid as the symbol of all that was wrong in that interaction and treated him like the social media does - hate and disparagement and threats of violence. When in fact the Native Americans were just as much to blame for the weird conflict. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/410 "2019-02-05T21:24:01Z")
News flash: Large group of kids on a field trip has a few unruly members. Stop the presses. Destroy them. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/411 "2019-02-05T22:56:34Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > News flash: Large group of kids on a field trip has a few unruly members. Stop the presses. Destroy them. News flash: Large group of kids is shot at and killed while in their own school. Stop the presses. Destroy them. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/412 "2019-02-06T01:10:37Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > News flash: Large group of kids is shot at and killed while in their own school. Stop the presses. Destroy them. Is that what the lame stream media, and racists, were hoping would happen when they began vilifying a teenager for simply standing on a step at the Lincoln Memorial when an old man tried to bully him into standing aside? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/413 "2019-02-06T01:17:01Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Is that what the lame stream media, and racists, were hoping would happen when they began vilifying a teenager for simply standing on a step at the Lincoln Memorial when an old man tried to bully him into standing aside? You left out the part about his offensive headwear. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/414 "2019-02-06T17:58:21Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Is that what the lame stream media, and racists, were hoping would happen when they began vilifying a teenager for simply standing on a step at the Lincoln Memorial when an old man tried to bully him into standing aside? It’s hard to speculate about what imaginary people would have done in a hypothetical situation. On the other hand, actual right-wing media and actual right-wing politicians and actual right-wing posters on this messageboard engaged in an extended campaign of vilification of actual students after they were actually shot at and, in some cases, actually killed in their own schools. But at least they weren’t criticised for their hats. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/415 "2019-02-07T02:03:38Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > You left out the part about his offensive headwear. Haters will find anything to justify their hating. The old man didn’t chose to bully the teenager because of a cap. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/416 "2019-02-07T02:07:27Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > It’s hard to speculate about what imaginary people would have done in a hypothetical situation. > > On the other hand, actual right-wing media and actual right-wing politicians and actual right-wing posters on this messageboard engaged in an extended campaign of vilification of actual students after they were actually shot at and, in some cases, actually killed in their own schools. But at least they weren’t criticised for their hats. But, “Has the media misrepresented the incident with the Covington Cathlic kids?” I believe that the answer to the OP’s question is, Yes. ---
**Author:** ![BeenJammin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beenjammin/32/448_2.png) [@BeenJammin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeenJammin)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/417 "2019-02-07T03:18:06Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > I believe that the answer to the OP’s question is, Yes. What if we say NO! often enough and loud enough? :smack: Sadly, the outcome to this type scenario really can go either way these days - no different than ever, just happens faster and harder now. ---
**Author:** ![Batano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b487fb/32.png) [@Batano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batano)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/418 "2019-02-07T11:24:07Z")
I’m not sure why is it’s so hard for liberals to say we over-reacted to the video. We saw a story that fit out narrative and ran with it. It’s the same thing that happens with right-wing memes like Comet Pizza, Benghazi, Vince Foster, birtherism, etc. The moral is that all of us should take a deep breath before we share viral videos. It’s bad when the right shares bullshit it and it’s bad when the left does it as well. Yeah the kid had a MAGA hat. A lot of us had Mao shirts when we were younger, and he turned out to be a mass murderer. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/419 "2019-02-07T13:21:02Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > News flash: Large group of kids on a field trip has a few unruly members. Stop the presses. Destroy them. I’ll go out on a limb and say “unruly” is selling the conduct of the group and their racist mocking of Phillips and his group way short. But, as always, YMMV. Boys will be boys after all. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/420 "2019-02-07T13:34:12Z")
Maybe the young man simply suffers from Resting Smug Smirk Face a.k.a. Shkreli’s Disease. > [@Batano](#): > > I’m not sure why is it’s so hard for liberals to say we over-reacted to the video. We saw a story that fit out narrative and ran with it. It’s the same thing that happens with right-wing memes like Comet Pizza, Benghazi, Vince Foster, birtherism, etc. That is reflection of another narrative: The one where the Right Wing stands fast and doubles down when called out on their memes, and it does not hurt them, while the Left Wing folds and puts on sackcloth and ashes when called out on ours, and we end up the worse for it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210.md?page=20) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210.md?page=22)