COVINGTON, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky boys' school shut down its campus Tuesday as a precaution and a small protest was held outside their diocese as fallout continued over an encounter involving white teenagers, Native American marchers and a black religious sect outside the Lincoln Memorial last week.
President Donald Trump tweeted early Tuesday that the students at Covington Catholic High School "have become symbols of Fake News and how evil it can be" but says he hopes the teens will use the attention for good, and "maybe even to bring people together."
The recorded images that initially generated outrage on social media were tightly focused on the students wearing "Make America Great Again" hats, who seemed to laugh derisively as they surrounded an elderly Native American beating a drum.
Longer videos from wider perspectives emerged later over the Martin Luther King holiday weekend. They revealed the drummer — Omaha Nation elder Nathan Phillips — had intervened between the boys and the religious sect. That came when the teens seemed to be getting rowdier, and the black street preacher who had been shouting racist statements against both groups was escalating his rhetoric.
The American Indian Movement Chapter of Indiana and Kentucky held a small protest outside the Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington, with activists outnumbered by the media.
Soon, all sides were pointing fingers, giving their own accounts about feeling victimized and misunderstood.
"We just don't know what the volatility of the situation is with these people that react and they don't know the full story. And it's very scary," Jill Hamlin of Cincinnati, who was a chaperone as the boys attended an anti-abortion rally, told FOX News Tuesday morning.
The American Indian Movement Chapter of Indiana and Kentucky held a small protest outside the Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington, with activists outnumbered by the media.
Albert Running Wolf, a Native American from Fort Thomas, Kentucky, referred to Nathan Phillips during the event as "an honorable man" who was trying to be a peacemaker, but ended up being verbally attacked. He said that Phillips deserves an apology for what he endured.
"It doesn't matter what color they were, what political factions they were. It was disrespect— straightforward."
Protesters ended the rally on a street corner near the diocese by singing a song from the American Indian Movement while two Native Americans beat on drums.
Kathleen Seither of Cold Spring, Kentucky, said she attended the rally in support of Native Americans, saying later she was appalled by the students' behavior.
"They have embarrassed their school, their city, their parents, their state, their country."
Seither said their actions are an example of "white male privilege, a product of everything in today's world including the president. It's frightening."
A smaller group that came to support the teens converged closer to the diocese building.
Among them was Cincinnati resident Maureen Green, a former Catholic and mother of three. She held a sign that said: "I stand with the boys. Facts not fiction." She said she thought the boys had been mispresented and "railroaded" by some media accounts.
"I think these boys are learning a lot about how the world really works. It's a life lesson," she said.
Meanwhile, the school's principal, Robert Rowe, said that "after meeting with local authorities," they decided to close the campus "to ensure the safety of our students, faculty and staff." Police cars blocked school entrances Tuesday afternoon.
Phillips, for his part, offered to visit the boys' campus for a dialogue with them about cultural appropriation, racism and the importance of listening to and respecting diverse cultures.
"Let's create space for the teaching of tolerance to happen," his statement said, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer. "I have faith that human beings can use a moment like this to find a way to gain understanding from one another."
The diocese, which issued a weekend statement criticizing the boys' behavior, was unavailable for comment Tuesday. The school and the diocese websites were taken offline.
The diocese, which issued a weekend statement criticizing the boys' behavior, was unavailable for comment Tuesday. The school and the diocese websites were taken offline.
Twitter, meanwhile, has suspended an account that helped the video go viral. Twitter prohibits the creation of "fake and misleading accounts," and the encounter once again demonstrated the power of social media to not just amplify but manipulate narratives, aided by bots and malicious actors out to shape public discourse.
A Twitter representative wrote in an email that "Deliberate attempts to manipulate the public conversation on Twitter by using misleading account information is a violation of the Twitter Rules." It didn't elaborate.
Kentucky's governor also weighed in, saddened by what happened.
"It was amazing how quick those who preach tolerance and non-judgment of others were to judge and label some high school students based on partial information," Gov. Matt Bevin tweeted. "In a world where we have a wealth of information at our fingertips, we have increasingly little discernment and wisdom... Facts matter...The truth matters...Context matters... A little more genuine caring for one another and a little less digital vitriol would be good for all."
It's an interesting question to what extent the rush to judgment by various Catholic elements such as the bishop of Covington, the school administration and America magazine were responsible for generating the climate of hate evidenced by postings from the likes of Reza Aslan, Kathy Griffin, Sarah Beattie, Erik Abross and others (google them to get the gory details). Interestingly, while the diocese of Covington was quick to condemn the students, it is giving itself far more time, and the cover of an independent third party, to see if any backtracking might be justified. In the absence of any statement to the contrary, however, their original statement must still be regarded as the party line.
Andrew,
I agree with you—the Diocese was hasty in their condemnation of the boys’ behaviors, and seeks third-party verification albeit the Diocese has not walked back its hasty reaction. The Diocese could do a mea culpa for hastiness, which would include an apology to the boys and to their parents. And still subject its students to an independent review—preceded by a request of the boys’ parents for permission to do so. Of course, such a review probably won’t query the Native Americans who came to stand inches away from the boys with their drums. But if this review did include the latter group, then I imagine such Qs as these could be put to them: Did you recognize and seek out the adult chaperones of these (mostly) minors—to engage them first with any concerns? If so, what did you say and what was the chaperone response? If not, why not? . . . Just a last consideration: Were anyone to think it a good idea to allow the Native American elderly man a forum to speak to the high school boys about toleration, etc., let that person consider that, in justice, first the Native American man owes a response to the above Qs re why he did not first explain himself to the adults with responsibility for the boys. Hear, hear, dear Diocese and school administration.
Shout out to Jim Wilson. It was evident from the lengthy video that you were active in shepherding the boys away from the vitriolic taunts directed at the boys be several dark-skinned “Hebrews.”
MORE nonsensical posts from Commenters here that take great delight in muddying the water, attempting to turn the conversation into another Trumpian "black is white, night is day, so what if it's true, the boys are merely exercising their right to wear whatever hateful anti-Christian campaign fluffery they choose, etc." rant that ignores the REAL problem - - Covington Catholic students wore the Klan Hood of 2019, the Red Hat, and forever identified their silly "school" as nothing more than another Kentucky Yokel Encampment, based on toxic white male superiority, with no regard for the word "catholic" in their name.
There WAS no "rush to judgement;" we all saw quite plainly that the "catholic" in the name of that school is totally meaningless.