Fuller video casts new light on Covington Catholic students’ enｃounter with Native American elder
…The furor over [a video seemingly showing the perceived rude] behavior of a group of Catholic school students from Kentucky toward a Native American elder…in Washington, D.C., took a turn Sunday with the emergence of a new video.
The [longer] one-hour, 46-minute video presents a fuller picture of the events Friday that culminated with Nathan Phillips, a longtime Native American activist and [military] veteran coming face-to-face with students from the all-male Covington Catholic High School, as he chanted and banged a drum in front of the Lincoln Memorial. [The teens had participated in a March for Life rally. When it ended, they did some sightseeing then met at the Lincoln Memorial at about 4p.m. to wait for their school buses].
[The original] viral 3-minute, 44-second clip that shows the teenagers – several of them wearing “Make America Great Again” hats – laughing [and because they were wearing MAGA hats, perceived as a mocking manner]…while surrounding Phillips drew widespread condemnation and prompted the school and the Diocese of Covington to issue an apology and promise to take “appropriate action, up to and including expulsion.’’
The longer version of the incident [shows a different story], and now that it has surfaced, the rush to judge the teenagers, who were in the nation’s capital for the [pro-life] March for Life rally, is coming under attack.
“The honorable and tolerant students of Covington Catholic School came to DC to advocate for the unborn and to learn about our nation’s Capitol,’’ tweeted Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, whose district includes the part of Northern Kentucky where the school is located. “What they got was a brutal lesson in the unjust court of public opinion and social media mobs.’’
In a statement on Sunday, Nick Sandmann, a junior at the school who was at the center of the students’ apparent confrontation with Phillips, defended himself and his family against “outright lies” in the media. Both videos show Sandmann, who was wearing a MAGA hat, [calmly] staring at Phillips for more than two minutes [after Phillips approached and stood] about a foot from him.
In the 2½-page long statement, Sandmann denied he was confronting Phillips, [saying] it was the activist who got in his face. He wrote:
“I never interacted with this protestor. I did not speak to him. I did not make any hand gestures or other aggressive moves. To be honest, I was startled and confused as to why he had approached me. We had already been yelled at by another group of protestors, and when the second group approached I was worried that a situation was getting out of control where adults were attempting to provoke teenagers.”.
“I believed that by remaining motionless and calm, I was helping to defuse the situation,’’ Sandmann said. “I realized everyone had cameras and that perhaps a group of adults was trying to provoke a group of teenagers into a larger conflict.’’
Sandmann also said he and his family have received death threats.
“I have received physical and death threats via social media, as well as hateful insults. One person threatened to harm me at school, and one person claims to live in my neighborhood. My parents are receiving death and professional threats because of the social media mob that has formed over this issue,” he said.
The fuller video would seem to assign more blame for the enｃounter on a group of four or five Black Hebrew Israelites. [It shows the events leading up to the shorter clip which made the teen appear to be mocking Mr. Phillips.] Sandmann wrote of the students’ enｃounter with the group :
“They called us “racists,” “bigots,” “white crackers,” “faggots,” and “incest kids.” They also taunted an African American student from my school by telling him that we would “harvest his organs.” I have no idea what that insult means, but it was startling to hear.”].
The main speaker for the Black Hebrew Israelites, hollering without a microphone for more than an hour, first tells some demonstrating Native Americans they had their land taken away because they worshiped the wrong god [an eagle — and that the name “Indian” means “savage”].
When the student party arrives later, the speaker launches into an attack on Catholics and against President Donald Trump. He also calls the mostly white youngsters “crackers.’’
Eventually, the teenagers [try to drown out the shouts of the man], with one of them taking his shirt off and leading the rest in a school cheer. Maintaining a distance of at least 15 feet, they then launch into a chant. That’s when Phillips and his fellow demonstrators walk in, banging drums and getting between the groups. [Phillips said he was tring to diffuse the situation,] although no confrontation appeared imminent.
The students initially seem to react to the drumming in a good-natured way before their participation appears to become more derisive. At one point, the students break into the kind of chant popular with crowds at Atlanta Braves and Florida State Seminoles games, and a few do a “tomahawk chop.’’
…Phillips, 64, an elder of the Omaha Nation, was participating in an Indigenous Peoples March that was concluding when he noticed the verbal clash [the teens being verbally harassed] in front of the Lincoln Memorial steps and decided to intervene. He said he became frightened as the throng of teenagers grew around him, adding that they yelled at him to “Go back to the reservation’’ and broke into chants of “Build that wall.’’ He also questioned why chaperones did not get involved. [However, there is no evidence from any video that the teens yelled the insults he says he heard.]
Part of his fear, Phillips said, arose from what he perceived as a “mob mentality’’ in the boys. “It was ugly, what these kids were involved in,’’ he said. “It was racism. It was hatred. It was scary.’’
Article Source: https://www.studentnewsdaily.com/daily-news-article/fuller-video-casts-new-light-on-covington-catholic-students-enｃounter-with-native-american-elder/
Image source : https://www.studentnewsdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019_nick_sandmann-820x448.jpg
VOCABULARY WORDS:
1. culminate / verb : to end or arrive at a final stage (usually followed by in):
2. mock / verb : to attack or treat with ridicule, contempt, or derision.
3. prompt / verb : to move or induce to action: to occasion or incite; inspire:
4. expulsion / noun : the act of driving out or expelling:
(expell : to drive or force out or away; discharge or eject:)
5. startle / verb : to disturb or agitate suddenly as by surprise or alarm.
6. defuse / verb : to make less dangerous, tense, or embarrassing:
7. holler / verb : to cry aloud; shout; yell:
8. imminent. / adjective : likely to occur at any moment; impending:
9. derisive / adjective : characterized by or expressing derision; contemptuous; mocking:
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. What was the initial reaction by adults to the perceived actions by some Catholic high school students from Kentucky?
2. How does the initial video of the teens make them appear?
3. What is student Nick Sandmann experiencing as a result of adult Twitter users rush to judgement?
4. What does the longer version of the video show?
5. Numerous adults in the media and Hollywood have tweeted criticism of the students. Reza Aslan, who is a member of the American Academy of Religion, the Society of Biblical Literature, and the International Qur’anic Studies Association and a professor of creative writing at University of California, as well as a father of 3, tweeted:
" Honest question. Have you ever seen a more punchable face than this kid's?"
a) What responsibility does Mr. Aslan, and numerous others have to take responsibility for their tweets?
b) People were calling for the teens’ expulsion from their school. Should Mr. Aslan face any repercussions for calling for violence against a teenager?
c) What is your reaction to this story?
