# 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:** 14\ **Page:** 22
**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 7, 2019, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/421 "2019-02-07T17:57:21Z")
> [@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. > > 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. He didn’t just ‘turn out’ to be a mass murderer: He was a well known mass murderer at the time you were wearing his shirt. And young progressives today still wear Mao caps and Che Guevera hipster wear. My kid’s social studies classroom had a poster of Che Guevera just a couple of years ago. I’ll put up a MAGA hat any time against a shirt depicting the loving iconography of a mass murderer. How ‘safe’ would you feel if you were a Cuban refugee in college and were forced to look at T-shirts celebrating the man who cheered while your friends and family were shot in the back of the head? ---
**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, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/422 "2019-02-07T18:17:36Z")
> [@BeenJammin](#): > > What if we say NO! often enough and loud enough? :smack: (post shortened) Nothing would change. Neither side is actually listening to what the other side has to say. Yellow dog Democrats actually tell each other not to talk to the other side. Facts no longer matter, actions can/will be spun, haters will continue to hate, etc. Unfortunately, this is now considered SNAFU. ---
**Author:** ![phxjcc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phxjcc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phxjcc)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/423 "2019-02-11T07:01:28Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …I’m an SJW. The “Fakestream media” or whatever the fuck you want to call it is **not on my side**. If they were on my side then they would be in the process of furiously changing the narrative of this story, throwing Phillips under the bus, and elevating the Covington Kids to sainthood. They aren’t on my side. They are on “both sides.” And that is the fucking problem. This is the best statement. It is all about ratings and clicks, which drives revenue. You REALLY think that editorial content is presented without ratings consideration.? Seriously? Watch the news with a stop watch. When a story comes on that DIRECTLY affects you health, wealth, safety, warmth then time it. The murder in the next town? Nope Trump saying something stupid? Nope Bezos shows off his d!ck? Nope Pelosi saying something stupid? Nope Town expanding library hours? Yup Apple releasing iWhizbang 25.12 next week? Nope Carco recalling 3 million 2014-2019 econoboxes? Maybe Iron man 13 sets box office record? Nope Sports? Nope Cute puppy gets adopted? Nope Stock report? Yup Weather? Yup Old couple celebrates 50 anniversary skydiving? Nope All the rest is grand drama to retain your interest. And get you to buy the iWhizbang and see Ironman 13…which coincidentally have miraculously supplied commercials during the newscast. This is why Paley didn’t want the news division to be a revenue center. Sheep get sheared, pigs get slaughtered. FFS. Log off, shutdown and go talk to someone that you disagree with. Then you might really learn something. They might also. It’s a start. Because all of the foregoing? Mental masturbation. But I am warm in my sweater and enjoy the bacon. ---
**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 11, 2019, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/424 "2019-02-11T16:54:42Z")
> [@phxjcc](#): > > This is the best statement. Both sides? No side? Because why? What is their motivation? Simple - same as EVERYONE else: Payday! Woo HOO!! What gets me the most $$$$? Validity? Truth? Bollocks, we don’t care, just give us the money. All the while we’ll continue browbeating you with the tired old “fair and balanced” bullshit and other similar slogans designed to channel your thought process. It’s not the truth that matters - only what you “think.” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/425 "2019-02-11T17:22:59Z")
> [@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. Because we didn’t. That’s the conservative narrative about what happened. But the actually true narrative is that all of this additional context did not substantially change anything. Where it has changed things, we have backed down. But the conservative narrative is that we’re all SJWs who saw something that looked racist and assumed it was racist when in fact it never was. But that story DID NOT HAPPEN. But since we won’t give in and say that’s what happened, the narrative of the stubborn liberals who won’t admit they are wrong is spreading. Unless we say “the college kids did nothing wrong,” we are called the bad guys. And we won’t lie, so we are called the bad guys. That’s just the way it is, and hopefully we can have the character to remain steadfast in this, rather than buckle because the media this time decided to give into the conservative narrative. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/426 "2019-02-11T17:52:40Z")
What were the Covington kids supposed to do when Phillips approached? Take off their hats and bow? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/427 "2019-02-11T19:05:25Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > What were the Covington kids supposed to do when Phillips approached? Take off their hats and bow? They were supposed to be provoked into doing something that he could make hay out of. They didn’t, so he had to lie about what they did. He was trying to start an incident with the white kids in the MAGA hats. That’s why he went up, not to the Black Israelites who were screaming racist and homophobic insults, but to the white kids. Phillips was trying to create a narrative - racist fascist Trump supporters attack innocent Native American. The facts didn’t fit the narrative. So he changed the facts, and the MSM ran with it. Because that narrative fit their preconceptions better than the facts. Regards, Shodan ---
**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 11, 2019, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/428 "2019-02-11T21:11:52Z")
Yep, People should actually read what he said. The ‘peacemaker’ says he was trying to protect the _Black Israelites_, who he described as ‘prey’, from the children, who he described as ‘beasts’. This is so twisted, so wrong that it makes me wonder if Nathan Phillips is actually crazy. > [@Nathan Phillips](#): > > They were in the process of attacking these four black individuals. I was there and I was witnessing all of this … As this kept on going on and escalating, it just got to a point where you do something or you walk away, you know? You see something that is wrong and you’re faced with that choice of right or wrong. " > … > “There was that moment when I realized I’ve put myself between beast and prey. These young men were beastly and these old black individuals was their prey, and I stood in between them and so they needed their pounds of flesh and they were looking at me for that.” Apparently the process for young children to attack four adult black men involves standing peacefully for about an hour while racist insults are thrown at them. And everyone knows that typical ‘prey’ behaviour is to find a predator and heckle it. And the ‘pound of flesh’ that kid extracted from Nathan Phillips appears to largely consist of standing still while having a drum beaten in his face. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/429 "2019-02-11T22:00:32Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Phillips was trying to create a narrative - racist fascist Trump supporters attack innocent Native American. The facts didn’t fit the narrative. So he changed the facts, and the MSM ran with it. [And he is having his ass sued for it](https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/covington-students-lawyer-nathan-phillips-will-be-sued-first-round-of-lawsu). ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/430 "2019-02-11T22:19:28Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Yep, People should actually read what he said. The ‘peacemaker’ says he was trying to protect the _Black Israelites_, who he described as ‘prey’, from the children, who he described as ‘beasts’. > > This is so twisted, so wrong that it makes me wonder if Nathan Phillips is actually crazy. > > Apparently the process for young children to attack four adult black men involves standing peacefully for about an hour while racist insults are thrown at them. And everyone knows that typical ‘prey’ behaviour is to find a predator and heckle it. And the ‘pound of flesh’ that kid extracted from Nathan Phillips appears to largely consist of standing still while having a drum beaten in his face. Scarily, many people have the attitude of, “Who cares if the kids were harassing Phillips or not - the very fact that they were wearing MAGA hats makes them worthy of punishment.” ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/431 "2019-02-11T22:19:43Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > [And he is having his ass sued for it](https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/covington-students-lawyer-nathan-phillips-will-be-sued-first-round-of-lawsu). Good. Maybe Phillips will think twice next time for being a jerk and thinking just because he’s native american he’s entitled to go around beating his drum in some kids face and lying about it later to get his name in the news. Although I doubt Phillips has any money. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/432 "2019-02-11T23:45:07Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Because we didn’t. That’s the conservative narrative about what happened. But the actually true narrative is that all of this additional context did not substantially change anything. Where it has changed things, we have backed down. > > But the conservative narrative is that we’re all SJWs who saw something that looked racist and assumed it was racist when in fact it never was. But that story DID NOT HAPPEN. But since we won’t give in and say that’s what happened, the narrative of the stubborn liberals who won’t admit they are wrong is spreading. > > Unless we say “the college kids did nothing wrong,” we are called the bad guys. And we won’t lie, so we are called the bad guys. > > That’s just the way it is, and hopefully we can have the character to remain steadfast in this, rather than buckle because the media this time decided to give into the conservative narrative. WHAT didn’t happen? That the kids weren’t harassing the old man? Because there was shown no proof of it. None whatsoever. And how did it not change anything? You mean to tell me that the video was false, and they actually DID say “build the wall!”? And that the Black Israelites weren’t really there? (BTW, both the ADL AND the SPLC have designated them a hate group). They wore hats we didn’t like. That’s it. But they were not harassing some old man. Why wouldn’t you be happy that it didn’t happen? > [@](#): > > “The real test is this. Suppose one reads a story of filthy atrocities in the paper. Then suppose that something turns up suggesting that the story might not be quite true, or not quite so bad as it was made out. Is one’s first feeling, ‘Thank God, even they aren’t quite so bad as that,’ or is it a feeling of disappointment, and even a determination to cling to the first story for the sheer pleasure of thinking your enemies as bad as possible? If it is the second then it is, I am afraid, the first step in a process which, if followed to the end, will make us into devils.” > > -C.S. Lewis (Oh, and they were high school kids, not college kids) ---
**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 11, 2019, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/433 "2019-02-11T23:59:01Z")
And they weren’t all wearing MAGA hats, either. From what I could see of that crowd, it was a small minority. And apparently those hats are for sale everywhere on the mall, So the few that had them probably purchased them there as souvenirs. The horror. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/434 "2019-02-12T02:40:47Z")
FWIW, I think the school should’ve told them to take the hats off. They were there to represent the school, and it would be a bad idea to try and display any kind of partisan symbol. I’d say the same thing about any kind of left-wing politician. But then, I think if we’re going to blame anyone, it should be the chaperones. They were adults, and supposed to be in charge of the whole thing. I don’t know WHY they’re not getting more heat than these kids. (In fact, I’ve hardly heard any complaints against them) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210.md?page=21)