Covington Confrontation

Editor:

A short video showing a confrontation between Nicholas Sandmann, a Catholic school student,  and Nathan Phillips, a Native American activist, went viral on the internet as well as in the media. It  first appeared that Nicholas disrespected Nathan when they came face to face. Of course, the internet exploded from all sides vilifying Nicholas.

As more and longer videos appeared,  a different story was unraveling: the schoolboys were being harassed by Black Hebrew Israelites. It was Nathan who approached Nicholas, not the other way around, as perceives by the media.

By this time, the damage had pretty much been done. The boys and school were receiving threats, some calling for their deaths. Even the diocese and Bishop Roger Foys, after public pressure, condemned the actions of the boys. While the media was backtracking and making apologies (probably on page 24 and in small print), the media failed to mention anything about the wrongdoings of the Black Hebrew Israelites and Nathan Phillips. They got off scot free.

The diocese and Bishop Foys eventually apologized for their rushed judgements. Is an apology enough? I only hope that their faith remains strong during this trying time.

This is not Nathan Phillips’ first time in the news. According to Wikipedia, in 2015, he alleged a group of students from Eastern Michigan University harassed him. According to the Washington Times, Nathan and his drum-and-chant group attempted to disrupt Catholic church services after the Covington confrontation (cannot verify this through video or recording).

The media continues to look for ways to antagonize them. The MAGA hat, they claim, is racist. That does not seem to be a valid point, as the boys were attending a pro-life rally and President Trump is probably the most pro-life President we have ever had.

My question is why did the Indigenous Peoples March plan their march the same day the pro-lifers had theirs? Were they planning to stir some disruption?

I will point out that we should look at our “news” sources as forms of entertainment, not as “fair and balanced” news as they claim to be.  It is time to look at the whole story and not make rash judgements that we might regret later.

Mark Rogers

El Dorado Springs