Comparing the Media’s Treatment of Parkland Teens and Covington Teens

 

The media didn’t exactly cover itself in glory this weekend. First, the media jumped on a BuzzFeed story that proved the Trump suborned perjury. It was debunked a day later by the Mueller team. As they wondered why Americans distrust them so, the media jumped on an anonymously posted video that proved teens at Covington Catholic High School were racists. That too was debunked a day later by a longer video of the incident.

The DC press corps screams when the President calls them “the enemy of the people.” Yet, time and time again, they prove his point. The facts no longer matter, only the narrative. Even if it means attacking teenagers.

Less than a year after the press rebuked anyone who dared question the teen political activists from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, they viciously attacked students from Covington Catholic High School. The report was based on lies that could have easily been revealed with the slightest journalistic follow-up. But the narrative fit and that’s all that matters.

Although many journalists deleted their worst tweets, I wanted to compare the news media’s treatment of one group of teenagers to the other.

Washington Post:

CNN:

LA Times:

Jeet Heer, The New Republic:

Philip Bump, Washington Post:

Kyle Griffin, MSNBC:

Jonathan Capehart, Washington Post:

Anyone who spent time on Twitter this weekend knows these examples are just the mildest examples. Activists and Hollywood celebrities demanded doxxing, acts of violence, and even death for the Covington teens. These same people heralded the Parkland teens as heroes; well, at least the Parkland teens who pushed for gun control.

If the press wants to get America to trust them, perhaps they should begin reporting honestly.

Published in Journalism
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  1. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    Wow, this is good.  That’s all I’ve got.

    • #1
  2. Judge Mental, Cromwell Wannabe Member
    Judge Mental, Cromwell Wannabe
    @JudgeMental

    Covington kids should organize the same type of school walkouts that happened last year.  One, it’s always easy to get teenagers to skip school, and the difference in news coverage might be truly illuminating.

    • #2
  3. SkipSul Inactive
    SkipSul
    @skipsul

    I’m not sure I’d say it’s an entirely fair comparison.  The Parkland kids survived a genuine horror, even if Hogg has been an irritating self-aggrandizing twerp ever since – one with a great PR machine and suddenly scads of money behind him willing to capitalize on the dead.  The Covington kids?  They were accosted by a grumpy old man with a drum who was trying to create an outrage narrative and thought he found his patsy. Perhaps the only similarities in the coverage stem from the media’s willingness to find every mote in the eyes of the right, and to think that surviving a horror makes one immune to any criticism afterwards – this being demonstrated in the way the media has savaged anyone critical of Hogg, while reflexively savaging the Covington kids themselves.

    A more level comparison of the Covington kids has yet to be found, but would really require someone on the right attempting to manufacture their own incident on as scant and doctored of evidence.

    That being said, from Kavanaugh, to Hirono and Harris applying religious tests to public office, to the savaging of high schools, there is certainly an emerging pattern of out and out bigotry towards white Catholic males.  And one need not stretch back too far in time to the manufactured campus rape charges of “Mattress Girl” and others, nor was the Duke Lacrosse team charade all that long ago either.

    Like I said, I’m not sure one can glean much by comparing Covington with Parkland, but one can glean a helluva lot from these others.

    • #3
  4. Jules PA Inactive
    Jules PA
    @JulesPA

    So, because of the MAGA hats, and the Catholic School, none of the teens connected with the Covington story were interviewed. Only the people who fit the media narrative of racist.

    Oh. I see how it works now. 

    • #4
  5. EHerring Coolidge
    EHerring
    @EHerring

    The Vietnam vet was a refer repairman for four years, was AWOL several times, served in the US, was confined and discharged as an E1.  Either he was a loser who was never promoted or he was busted in rank. The guy who investigates stolen valor has a video showing the DD214.

    • #5
  6. Clifford A. Brown Member
    Clifford A. Brown
    @CliffordBrown

    SkipSul (View Comment):

    I’m not sure I’d say it’s an entirely fair comparison. The Parkland kids survived a genuine horror, even if Hogg has been an irritating self-aggrandizing twerp ever since – one with a great PR machine and suddenly scads of money behind him willing to capitalize on the dead. The Covington kids? They were accosted by a grumpy old man with a drum who was trying to create an outrage narrative and thought he found his patsy. Perhaps the only similarities in the coverage stem from the media’s willingness to find every mote in the eyes of the right, and to think that surviving a horror makes one immune to any criticism afterwards – this being demonstrated in the way the media has savaged anyone critical of Hogg, while reflexively savaging the Covington kids themselves.

    A more level comparison of the Covington kids has yet to be found, but would really require someone on the right attempting to manufacture their own incident on as scant and doctored of evidence.

    That being said, from Kavanaugh, to Hirono and Harris applying religious tests to public office, to the savaging of high schools, there is certainly an emerging pattern of out and out bigotry towards white Catholic males. And one need not stretch back too far in time to the manufactured campus rape charges of “Mattress Girl” and others, nor was the Duke Lacrosse team charade all that long ago either.

    Like I said, I’m not sure one can glean much by comparing Covington with Parkland, but one can glean a helluva lot from these others.

    Oh, the pattern is not just white Catholic males:

    Witness last week’s [2017] Senate confirmation hearing for Amy Coney Barrett, a law professor at Notre Dame whom President Trump has nominated to serve on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. Going far beyond questions of legal philosophy and qualification, several Democratic lawmakers interrogated Ms. Barrett about her devout Catholicism, suggesting that her faith would impede her ability to serve as a judge.

    “Do you consider yourself an ‘orthodox Catholic’?” asked Dick Durbin of Illinois, himself a Catholic, taking issue with Ms. Barrett’s use of that term to describe those who strive to align their lives fully with the Church’s teachings. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii darkly insinuated that Ms. Barrett would apply Catholic morality to decide cases.

    But Dianne Feinstein of California took things furthest. “Dogma and law are two different things,” she said. “And I think whatever a religion is, it has its own dogma. The law is totally different. And I think in your case, professor, when you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you, and that’s of concern.”

    The notion that Catholics are so beholden to Rome as to be incapable of rendering independent judgment in public office has a long, sordid history. It was a mainstay of 19th-century nativist propaganda, and it would dog John F. Kennedy in the following century. Senator Feinstein later denied exhibiting anti-Catholic bias. But as with other forms of racial or religious animus, one needn’t always use an explicit epithet to arouse ugly emotions.

    • #6
  7. Clifford A. Brown Member
    Clifford A. Brown
    @CliffordBrown

    SkipSul (View Comment):

    I’m not sure I’d say it’s an entirely fair comparison. The Parkland kids survived a genuine horror, even if Hogg has been an irritating self-aggrandizing twerp ever since – one with a great PR machine and suddenly scads of money behind him willing to capitalize on the dead. The Covington kids? They were accosted by a grumpy old man with a drum who was trying to create an outrage narrative and thought he found his patsy. Perhaps the only similarities in the coverage stem from the media’s willingness to find every mote in the eyes of the right, and to think that surviving a horror makes one immune to any criticism afterwards – this being demonstrated in the way the media has savaged anyone critical of Hogg, while reflexively savaging the Covington kids themselves.

    A more level comparison of the Covington kids has yet to be found, but would really require someone on the right attempting to manufacture their own incident on as scant and doctored of evidence.

    That being said, from Kavanaugh, to Hirono and Harris applying religious tests to public office, to the savaging of high schools, there is certainly an emerging pattern of out and out bigotry towards white Catholic males. And one need not stretch back too far in time to the manufactured campus rape charges of “Mattress Girl” and others, nor was the Duke Lacrosse team charade all that long ago either.

    Like I said, I’m not sure one can glean much by comparing Covington with Parkland, but one can glean a helluva lot from these others.

    AND, the “outrage narrative” is most certainly not a small thing. These boys were facing reputational destruction, intended to foreclose college and career success. They still face significant risk, both physical (threats have not ended) and reputational (their image on the internet is terribly marred). Why hire someone with such bad virtual paper? Will leftist gatekeepers in college admission office shove them just a bit to the back of the pile?

    • #7
  8. SkipSul Inactive
    SkipSul
    @skipsul

    Clifford A. Brown (View Comment):

    SkipSul (View Comment):

    I’m not sure I’d say it’s an entirely fair comparison. The Parkland kids survived a genuine horror, even if Hogg has been an irritating self-aggrandizing twerp ever since – one with a great PR machine and suddenly scads of money behind him willing to capitalize on the dead. The Covington kids? They were accosted by a grumpy old man with a drum who was trying to create an outrage narrative and thought he found his patsy. Perhaps the only similarities in the coverage stem from the media’s willingness to find every mote in the eyes of the right, and to think that surviving a horror makes one immune to any criticism afterwards – this being demonstrated in the way the media has savaged anyone critical of Hogg, while reflexively savaging the Covington kids themselves.

    A more level comparison of the Covington kids has yet to be found, but would really require someone on the right attempting to manufacture their own incident on as scant and doctored of evidence.

    That being said, from Kavanaugh, to Hirono and Harris applying religious tests to public office, to the savaging of high schools, there is certainly an emerging pattern of out and out bigotry towards white Catholic males. And one need not stretch back too far in time to the manufactured campus rape charges of “Mattress Girl” and others, nor was the Duke Lacrosse team charade all that long ago either.

    Like I said, I’m not sure one can glean much by comparing Covington with Parkland, but one can glean a helluva lot from these others.

    AND, the “outrage narrative” is most certainly not a small thing. These boys were facing reputational destruction, intended to foreclose college and career success. They still face significant risk, both physical (threats have not ended) and reputational (their image on the internet is terribly marred). Why hire someone with such bad virtual paper? Will leftist gatekeepers in college admission office shove them just a bit to the back of the pile?

    Quite true.  The Parkland kids (the politically useful ones anyway) have it made.  The Covington kids?  Far different story.

    • #8
  9. Clifford A. Brown Member
    Clifford A. Brown
    @CliffordBrown

    The Covington students and their parents need to go full Joan Rivers.

    “I just went NUTS!” she tells me. “I stopped the whole show, and just SCREAMED at him: ‘How dare you! I am not a racist!’ I demanded an apology. I stopped the whole show until he finally said he was sorry.

     

    • #9
  10. Judge Mental, Cromwell Wannabe Member
    Judge Mental, Cromwell Wannabe
    @JudgeMental

    These Black Hebrew Israelites sound just like the Nation of Israel guys who used to hang out in Times Square haranguing the passing crowd.  I used to stand and listen to those guys; they were hilarious.

    • #10
  11. James Taylor Inactive
    James Taylor
    @mechafenris

    SkipSul (View Comment):

    I’m not sure I’d say it’s an entirely fair comparison.

     I’d say it is rather exacting, mainly because criticizing David Hogg (who is now an”adult”) and the Parkland students was considered a sacred cow by the Press and any criticism of him or his positions was met with stern rebuke about “picking on kids.” Even pointing out his ludicrous claims about the NRA’s lobbying money was met with righteous mobs of supporters who shouted down the criticism.

    But see how the Covington kids were not “off limits” to the press, nor were they treated with kid gloves or even a modicum of fairness (or even dispassionate reporting). The verifiable mob that is going after these students and their families is nothing short of fascism, but the press simply doesn’t see it, because of some stupid hats. The moron banging the drum got caught in not one, not two, but SEVERAL lies and has backpedaled faster than Marty McFly going to 1955, and yet the press is STILL carrying water for him. The “Black Hebrews” are seen on video taunting the Catholic kids with some of the most vile insults and vitriol. Yet the press is  still fixated on their bloody hats. Is that an agenda I see them pushing? Sure looks like one to me.

    Like I said, I’m not sure one can glean much by comparing Covington with Parkland, but one can glean a helluva lot from these others. 

    You can glean something quite obvious to us, but not to the greater American people:  that is if you’re speaking the “correct” things, the Press will cover for you and protect you and yours. If you hold views the press dislikes, or even appear to, you’re a pariah and “deserve what’s coming to you.”  I’m pretty sure that’s the most prominent lesson to take from this, aside from the Press that keeps reaffirming their affinity for fake news. It’s not simply bad reporting. It’s lying.

     

    • #11
  12. Yehoshua Ben-Eliyahu Inactive
    Yehoshua Ben-Eliyahu
    @YehoshuaBenEliyahu

    The assault on these Catholic kids is an assault on G-d.

    It used to be that presidential candidates needed to pay at least lip service to religious observance by showing up at a place of worship during their campaign.

    The day is coming when the opposite will be true; religious service attendance will be seen as a sign of intolerance.

    • #12
  13. James Lileks Contributor
    James Lileks
    @jameslileks

    James Taylor (View Comment):
     I’d say it is rather exacting, mainly because criticizing David Hogg (who is now an”adult”) and the Parkland students was considered a sacred cow by the Press and any criticism of him or his positions was met with stern rebuke about “picking on kids.”

    I’m sure people on Twitter were horrible to him, but there’s a tendency in the online press to equate criticism from the right as an attack, and criticism from the left as pushing back or making a strong case or defending, because they’re the underdogs and voices of reason in this capitalistic hellscape.

    The left regards their protests as expressions of self-evident virtue: if young people can be photographed with their faces contorted with rage AND the topic conforms to the accepted parameters of liberal concerns, they are passionate heroes, motivated by justice. If they are equally passionate about abortion or a Constitutional provision the left prefers to wipe away, they are dangerous and threatening. The former is a beleaguered group of Freedom Fighters; the latter are the last angry thrash of the dinosaur’s tail.

    I keep remixing the famous – nay, Iconic! Smirking Photo, and wondering how it would be received if the composition was changed.

    Young White Girl protesting high abortion rates in the African-American community, photographed smiling at an older African-American woman: straight-up Becky privilege narrative. Six hours on the BuzzFeed homepage.

    Young African-American woman who opposed abortion smiling at a 70-year-old white abortion activist: eh, no story here.

    Young white gay man smiling at Westboro types haranguing him: big story. Courage and grace under pressure.

    Young white gay man smiling at Hebrew Nationalists shouting anti-gay rhetoric: eh, non-story, those guys are whack, although maybe we’ll show his Instagram where he threw some shade

    Young Black lesbian smiling at Hebrew Nationalists shouting anti-gay rhetoric: a day on the BuzzFeed LBGTQ page, with a possible angle on how the Hebrew Nationalists incorporated colonialist narratives and learned from Orthodox Jewry’s homophobia, and maaaaybe a paragraph about homophobia in rap lyrics but TBH prolly not, save that for later when someone comes out

    And so on. And so on. What it could never be, of course, was just two Americans having a discussion. The implications of that are too monstrous to contemplate.

    • #13
  14. Songwriter Inactive
    Songwriter
    @user_19450

    Jon Gabriel, Ed.: If the press wants to get America to trust them, perhaps they should begin reporting honestly.

    Not gonna happen. Their “narrative” is all that matters to them.

    • #14
  15. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    After eight years of swallowing everything that Jonathan Gruber, Ben Rhodes, and The Won dished out, the poor little knuckleheads have no idea how to do their jobs anymore.

    • #15
  16. Columbo Inactive
    Columbo
    @Columbo

    I love analogies and compare/contrast. This is a SERIOUSLY awesome use of the technique!

    • #16
  17. Dominique Prynne Member
    Dominique Prynne
    @DominiquePrynne

    Clifford A. Brown (View Comment):
    These boys were facing reputational destruction, intended to foreclose college and career success.

    If I were these boys, I would petition for a legal name change in my local court as soon as I turned 18.  The judge(s) will likely be sympathetic and it’s likely that they don’t have any legal barrier to changing their names at this time (i.e. criminal history or to escape creditors).  It doesn’t help with the college application process for the seniors, but it will eventually shake them loose of this episode.  After college, you don’t put your high school on your resume’ and you don’t want an employer doing an internet search and this event coming up.  It is a drastic step to change your name (ridiculous to have to seriously consider it), but, to get on with life and get this behind them, it is worth consideration. 

    • #17
  18. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    Dominique Prynne (View Comment):

    Clifford A. Brown (View Comment):
    These boys were facing reputational destruction, intended to foreclose college and career success.

    If I were these boys, I would petition for a legal name change in my local court as soon as I turned 18. The judge(s) will likely be sympathetic and it’s likely that they don’t have any legal barrier to changing their names at this time (i.e. criminal history or to escape creditors). It doesn’t help with the college application process for the seniors, but it will eventually shake them loose of this episode. After college, you don’t put your high school on your resume’ and you don’t want an employer doing an internet search and this event coming up. It is a drastic step to change your name (ridiculous to have to seriously consider it), but, to get on with life and get this behind them, it is worth consideration.

    I’d never change my name. 

    Better to sue for damages

    • #18
  19. Arizona Patriot Member
    Arizona Patriot
    @ArizonaPatriot

    There’s an interesting interview of Bari Weiss on the Joe Rogan show here.  I’ve only watched the first 20 minutes or so, but they discuss the dreadful press reaction to the Covington story.

    Interestingly, they both state that they had a highly negative, visceral reaction to image of the “smirking” white Catholic conservative kid and the old Indian guy.  I found this to be an extraordinary expression of inherent hate for whites, Christians, and conservatives.  Both Weiss and Rogan agreed that the story was not what it appeared, and that the media reaction was dreadful, but they shared the initial reaction.

    I found this interesting, as I did not share that reaction.  I didn’t really even interpret the kid’s expression as a “smirk.”  He was smiling and expressing exceptional self-restraint.  The old Indian guy was behaving in an absolutely obnoxious manner, and then told absolute lies about what had happened.  The big lie was his claim that the teens surrounded him; the truth, shown on the video, was that he approached them.

    These are two entirely different scenarios:

    1. Scenario 1: Peaceful old Indian guy is minding his own business, beating a drum at the Lincoln Memorial.  Crowd of high school students approach him, with one getting right in his face, smiling about a foot away from the beating drum.  In this scenario, the high school students would be the wrongful and obnoxious aggressors.
    2. Scenario 2: Peaceful group of high school kids are standing at the Lincoln Memorial awaiting their bus (and showing great restraint in the face of obnoxious heckling by a handful of racist black lunatics).  Old Indian guy starts beating a drum and walks right up into the face of a clean-cut, respectful, 16-year-old boy, holds his drum about a foot from the poor kid’s face, and beats away.  In this scenario, the Indian guy is the wrongful and obnoxious aggressor.

    Note that the Indian guy is passive-aggressive.  He behaves in a rude and confrontational way, while pretending to be peaceful and harmless, as if attempting to goad the teens into a frustrated or angry reaction.

    But, according to the twisted Leftist world view, people are not allowed to react to an obnoxious old Indian dude — oops, I mean dignified Native American elder — with anything other than respect and deference.  No matter the provocation.

    I think that this view is pure racism.  I think that it gives the lie to the White Privilege narrative.  Quite to the contrary, the person with privilege is the Indian, who is given a pass for outrageous behavior specifically because of his race.

    There is one part of the reaction of Rogan and Weiss that I actually agree with.  Youths should generally respect their elders.  However, this is the conservative position that Leftists joyfully flaunt unless the elder is in a privileged group like blacks or Indians.

     

    • #19
  20. Brian Watt Inactive
    Brian Watt
    @BrianWatt

    Ross Douthat is wimping out.

    • #20
  21. JoelB Member
    JoelB
    @JoelB

    EHerring (View Comment):

    The Vietnam vet was a refer repairman for four years, was AWOL several times, served in the US, was confined and discharged as an E1. Either he was a loser who was never promoted or he was busted in rank. The guy who investigates stolen valor has a video showing the DD214.

    I began to wonder if something like this was not the case when I noticed how the media kept harping on this man being a veteran. Actually, I thought his claimed military service was just an outright lie.

    • #21
  22. OccupantCDN Coolidge
    OccupantCDN
    @OccupantCDN

    Rush Limbaugh is correct:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IzFRhhhZAo

     

    • #22
  23. EHerring Coolidge
    EHerring
    @EHerring

    This represents a serious escalation in the culture war.  I see no end in sight.  Everyone who expresses an opinion will live in fear.  I suspect lefties did the doxing and hope to taint the right with the same sins they are guilty of. If I am wrong and our side did this, will eat it’s own, then free speech is truly dead.  What’s next?  Ricochet editors, members, folks on our podcasts?  Heck, they doxed Jay Nordlinger, the most mild mannered gentleman you will ever meet. If Trump wins, the left will be angrier.  If the Dems win, they will double down and come after our rights and wallets, making us angry. https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/01/never-trumpers-from-national-review-weekly-standard-and-cnn-doxed-after-article-blasted-them-for-hot-takes-on-covington-students/

    • #23
  24. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    EHerring (View Comment):

    This represents a serious escalation in the culture war. I see no end in sight. Everyone who expresses an opinion will live in fear. I suspect lefties did the doxing and hope to taint the right with the same sins they are guilty of. If I am wrong and our side did this, will eat it’s own, then free speech is truly dead. What’s next? Ricochet editors, members, folks on our podcasts? Heck, they doxed Jay Nordlinger, the most mild mannered gentleman you will ever meet. If Trump wins, the left will be angrier. If the Dems win, they will double down and come after our rights and wallets, making us angry. https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/01/never-trumpers-from-national-review-weekly-standard-and-cnn-doxed-after-article-blasted-them-for-hot-takes-on-covington-students/

    When the shooting starts, it will be Kansas 1859

    • #24
  25. Clifford A. Brown Member
    Clifford A. Brown
    @CliffordBrown

    Arizona Patriot (View Comment):

    There’s an interesting interview of Bari Weiss on the Joe Rogan show here. I’ve only watched the first 20 minutes or so, but they discuss the dreadful press reaction to the Covington story.

    Interestingly, they both state that they had a highly negative, visceral reaction to image of the “smirking” white Catholic conservative kid and the old Indian guy. I found this to be an extraordinary expression of inherent hate for whites, Christians, and conservatives. Both Weiss and Rogan agreed that the story was not what it appeared, and that the media reaction was dreadful, but they shared the initial reaction.

    I found this interesting, as I did not share that reaction. I didn’t really even interpret the kid’s expression as a “smirk.” He was smiling and expressing exceptional self-restraint. The old Indian guy was behaving in an absolutely obnoxious manner, and then told absolute lies about what had happened. The big lie was his claim that the teens surrounded him; the truth, shown on the video, was that he approached them.

    These are two entirely different scenarios:

    1. Scenario 1: Peaceful old Indian guy is minding his own business, beating a drum at the Lincoln Memorial. Crowd of high school students approach him, with one getting right in his face, smiling about a foot away from the beating drum. In this scenario, the high school students would be the wrongful and obnoxious aggressors.
    2. Scenario 2: Peaceful group of high school kids are standing at the Lincoln Memorial awaiting their bus (and showing great restraint in the face of obnoxious heckling by a handful of racist black lunatics). Old Indian guy starts beating a drum and walks right up into the face of a clean-cut, respectful, 16-year-old boy, holds his drum about a foot from the poor kid’s face, and beats away. In this scenario, the Indian guy is the wrongful and obnoxious aggressor.

    Note that the Indian guy is passive-aggressive. He behaves in a rude and confrontational way, while pretending to be peaceful and harmless, as if attempting to goad the teens into a frustrated or angry reaction.

    But, according to the twisted Leftist world view, people are not allowed to react to an obnoxious old Indian dude — oops, I mean dignified Native American elder — with anything other than respect and deference. No matter the provocation.

    I think that this view is pure racism. I think that it gives the lie to the White Privilege narrative. Quite to the contrary, the person with privilege is the Indian, who is given a pass for outrageous behavior specifically because of his race.

    There is one part of the reaction of Rogan and Weiss that I actually agree with. Youths should generally respect their elders. However, this is the conservative position that Leftists joyfully flaunt unless the elder is in a privileged group like blacks or Indians.

    While Rogan is incredibly open to talking to almost anyone, he is deeply prejudiced against Christianity. At the same time, he, and most of the commentariat, is operating in complete ignorance of the March for Life.

    A long-time pro-life activist called into a radio show the other day and explained that marchers are trained, before marching, to respond to confrontation in this way:

    1. Do not move or react.
    2. Do not verbally engage.
    3. Pray silently.

    Now, lay that information over the video. Does it suddenly look different?

    • #25
  26. Jules PA Inactive
    Jules PA
    @JulesPA

    Clifford A. Brown (View Comment):

    Arizona Patriot (View Comment):

    There’s an interesting interview of Bari Weiss on the Joe Rogan show here. I’ve only watched the first 20 minutes or so, but they discuss the dreadful press reaction to the Covington story.

    Interestingly, they both state that they had a highly negative, visceral reaction to image of the “smirking” white Catholic conservative kid and the old Indian guy. I found this to be an extraordinary expression of inherent hate for whites, Christians, and conservatives. Both Weiss and Rogan agreed that the story was not what it appeared, and that the media reaction was dreadful, but they shared the initial reaction.

    I found this interesting, as I did not share that reaction. I didn’t really even interpret the kid’s expression as a “smirk.” He was smiling and expressing exceptional self-restraint. The old Indian guy was behaving in an absolutely obnoxious manner, and then told absolute lies about what had happened. The big lie was his claim that the teens surrounded him; the truth, shown on the video, was that he approached them.

    These are two entirely different scenarios:

    1. Scenario 1: Peaceful old Indian guy is minding his own business, beating a drum at the Lincoln Memorial. Crowd of high school students approach him, with one getting right in his face, smiling about a foot away from the beating drum. In this scenario, the high school students would be the wrongful and obnoxious aggressors.
    2. Scenario 2: Peaceful group of high school kids are standing at the Lincoln Memorial awaiting their bus (and showing great restraint in the face of obnoxious heckling by a handful of racist black lunatics). Old Indian guy starts beating a drum and walks right up into the face of a clean-cut, respectful, 16-year-old boy, holds his drum about a foot from the poor kid’s face, and beats away. In this scenario, the Indian guy is the wrongful and obnoxious aggressor.

    Note that the Indian guy is passive-aggressive. He behaves in a rude and confrontational way, while pretending to be peaceful and harmless, as if attempting to goad the teens into a frustrated or angry reaction.

    But, according to the twisted Leftist world view, people are not allowed to react to an obnoxious old Indian dude — oops, I mean dignified Native American elder — with anything other than respect and deference. No matter the provocation.

    I think that this view is pure racism. I think that it gives the lie to the White Privilege narrative. Quite to the contrary, the person with privilege is the Indian, who is given a pass for outrageous behavior specifically because of his race.

    There is one part of the reaction of Rogan and Weiss that I actually agree with. Youths should generally respect their elders. However, this is the conservative position that Leftists joyfully flaunt unless the elder is in a privileged group like blacks or Indians.

    While Rogan is incredibly open to talking to almost anyone, he is deeply prejudiced against Christianity. At the same time, he, and most of the commentariat, is operating in complete ignorance of the March for Life.

    A long-time pro-life activist called into a radio show the other day and explained that marchers are trained, before marching, to respond to confrontation in this way:

    1. Do not move or react.
    2. Do not verbally engage.
    3. Pray silently.

    Now, lay that information over the video. Does it suddenly look different?

    The boy’s description of his response followed those 3 steps. Good on him, and those who raised and trained him. 

    I was happy when a solid-leftist friend decried the media lynching of these boys. : no violence or injury. Non-violent protest is sacred. 

    Happier still to see another solid-leftist friend put in place with full video, to replace clips that distorted the truth. 

    The truth is out there. 

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