# 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:** 1\ **Showing post:** 155
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2019, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210/155 "2019-01-23T10:06:42Z")
Meanwhile, I’ll just quote myself from the other thread on this… > [@Covington Catholic High (in case it hasn't been mentioned already)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covington-catholic-high-in-case-it-hasnt-been-mentioned-already/828090/341): > > Having now seen more of the video… > > [New Video Shows MAGA Teens Are Just As Awful As Everyone Thought](https://theconcourse.deadspin.com/dont-doubt-what-you-saw-with-your-own-eyes-1831931203?utm_medium=sharefromsite&utm_source=theconcourse_facebook&utm_campaign=bottom) > > Jesus that’s a fucking mob screaming “WALL WALL WALL” at a tiny group of black preachers (who are being jerks) while wearing the modern equivalents of white hoods and mocking a veteran who comes in to try to break it up. Fuck all this nonsense about how it isn’t what it clearly is. > [@Covington Catholic High (in case it hasn't been mentioned already)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covington-catholic-high-in-case-it-hasnt-been-mentioned-already/828090/345): > > Pretty much. From that same Deadspin article: > > Last night, the smirking teen, Nick Sandmann, was identified in **a statement issued in his name by the publicity firm his parents hired for him** , in which he suggested that he was in fact the victim in the situation. > > (Bolding mine). > > Digging deeper: [Covington Catholic video: RunSwitch PR helped Nick Sandmann](https://eu.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2019/01/21/covington-catholic-runswitch-pr-helped-student-in-controversial-video/2638400002/) > > Asked about its role, RunSwitch released a statement saying that the firm "has been retained by the Sandmann family to offer professional counsel with what has become a national media story. We are working with the family to ensure an accurate recounting of events which occurred this past weekend.” > > So yeah, while a 16-year-old maybe could have written that, we know that this kid’s parents _hired a fucking PR firm to run damage control_. > > Holy fucking shit. > > Can you imagine being so fucking privileged that when a picture of you being an asshole goes viral, your parents will hire a PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MARKETING COMPANY to help manage your image. That they not only have the money to be able to afford to hire a PR firm, but are so interested in coddling their brat that they’ll _actually fucking do it_. > > [This is how you get Affluenza, kids](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethan_Couch). This is why this particular strain of bully wins. Also, let’s not forget that their bad behavior was not limited to being a rowdy, racist mob. They were also horribly misogynistic and _definitely_ looking for trouble. Here’s testimony from someone else who was there: > > [@](#): > > Powerful testimony from Chase Iron Eyes bearing witness to what really happened: > > -Black israelites were kicked out earlier by the native americans. > > -Maga kids were roaming around accosting passers-by, seeking people to harass long before they crossed. > > From what it looks like: > > -The black israelites were harassing people and being confrontational - they suck, and are also horrible homophobes btw. > > -The maga kids were also harassing people and being confrontational. > > -Nathan Phillips was attempting to defuse their encounter. > > Some more details: > > \*\*-The situation was out of hand for a while and the adults with the covington group were encouraging their hostile behavior. > \*\* > > What Chase Iron Eyes described was consistent with other footage of the covington group before their encounter there - there’s footage of them roaming around harassing women’s march attendees. And here’s that footage: > **[MAGA hat boys 'filmed harassing girls' before troubling stand-off with Native...](https://www.indy100.com/news/maga-hat-boys-covington-catholic-harassing-women-washington-nathan-phillips-twitter-video-8739981)** > > A video has emerged on social media reportedly showing the Covington Catholic High School boys 'harrassing' young women, said to have taken place before the viral moment with the Native American protestor happened. A young woman posted a video to... And here’s one of them screaming “it’s not rape if you like it”. [https://millennialpolitics.co/new-covington-catholic-footage-shows-teenager-yelling-its-not-rape-if-you-enjoy-it/](https://millennialpolitics.co/new-covington-catholic-footage-shows-teenager-yelling-its-not-rape-if-you-enjoy-it/) Oh, and there’s the whole “blackface” thing. > **[Covington Catholic High School students ‘wore blackface’ to pep rallies](https://www.indy100.com/news/convington-catholic-high-school-blackface-students-pep-rally-basketball-8740116)** > > Covington Catholic High School has landed in even more hot water after photos and video have emerged showing students wearing blackface to sporting events.This comes after students were filmed taunting Native American Vietnam war veteran Nathan... Which one of the shitheads at that school defended by saying, “We always dress up like that for basketball games”, which, as far as defenses go, is pretty fucking weak. So yeah. The media fucked up. It dropped the ball badly. But it didn’t drop the ball by making villains out of poor innocent high-schoolers. [It dropped the ball by apologizing](https://rewire.news/article/2019/01/22/white-washing-white-supremacy-media-rushes-to-excuse-covington-catholic-students/), by pretending this was anything but a gang of rabble-rousing, shit-stirring, racist, misogynistic thugs out for trouble, by falling for the spin of the public relations firm Sandmann’s mom hired for her son, as if this story couldn’t get any more fucking embarrassing. And in reward for their actions, they’re getting booked to mainstream talk shows and invited to the white house. Nicely done. Obviously, death threats are wrong. Obviously nobody should be threatening violence on the school. But… I have trouble feeling any degree of outrage over that, because this school needs to be burned to the ground. It is the result of a broken culture actively breaking those who come out of it. There are countless stories swirling around about just how awful the culture there is - how sexism, racism, and homophobia are enabled and endorsed, how bullies are empowered, and how children there are taught to hate and never face backlash for it. And these kids are a result of that culture. And because they’re rich and white, and _their parents have a direct hand in enforcing that culture_ (who hears “your son was part of a racist, misogynistic mob harassing people and looking for trouble” and thinks, "Shit, I’d better hire a PR firm so that my kid doesn’t face any backlash from this?!), they will never, ever face consequences for their actions. Sandmann’s punishment for this was being invited to the [Today Show](https://www.today.com/news/nick-sandmann-encounter-native-american-elder-nathan-phillips-i-respect-t147217) and [possibly the white house](https://eu.courier-journal.com/story/news/2019/01/22/trump-reportedly-invites-covington-catholic-students-to-white-house/2650406002/). What lesson do you think they learned from this? Nobody should face online death threats, but as of right now, that is literally the only consequence these little shitheads are going to take from this, so excuse me if my outrage meter is running at less than 100%. Or, to paraphrase one media creator I’m a big fan of: “I get death threats on a daily basis without being a total shithead, and I’ve never been invited on national television to talk about it.” (He gets death threats for writing articles and making videos on gaming that gamergaters don’t like.) --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-misrepresented-the-incident-with-the-covington-cathlic-kids/828210)._