Using a kids’ game to explain the news

Covington Catholic: Growth and Change

A few days ago we had an interesting glimpse into ourselves and the soul of our country, if we know the right question to ask: what did we see? 

It seems to many of us that we saw a lone Indian beating a drum; we saw him being taunted and harassed by a group of white high school students wearing red MAGA caps: the “Make America Great Again” slogan of Donald Trump’s campaign and presidency. 

Our hearts immediately went out to this solitary and courageous Native American man, Nathan Phillips (Omaha).  Once upon a time in our country there was a great deal of animosity expressed toward all Native Americans. 

By claiming they lived here first, they stood in the way of what European-Americans deemed “progress”.  Naturally, the colonists were forced to label them primitives and savages and other mean-spirited terms. 

Somehow, despite all the bloody conflicts, broken treaties and endless prejudice, a new attitude finally emerged in our society: a begrudging admiration of the integrity and courage of Native Americans.  Indeed, of late this more generous view has begun to blossom even as a cultural renaissance among the tribes themselves has begun to reinvigorate itself. 

Whatever happened in the past, many Americans today are trying to move forward in the spirit of justice and trust.  Most of us don’t say “half-naked savages” or “dirty injun” any longer if we can avoid it.  Many of us don’t even say “Indian” if we can replace it with the more respectful “Native American”. 

My point being, many people felt far more sympathy for the lone tribal drummer than those rude high school students seemingly indulging mob behavior.  When we heard that their high school was going to look into the matter and treat it seriously—considering punishment up to and including expulsion—most of us said “Good!” 

We felt a sense of relief that the moral urgency of the moment was not to go unheeded without a full and proper response from their school.  This matter was “very serious”!

We saw what we saw and knew what we knew—but then a short time later the story changed dramatically.  The students insisted they were not taunting Nathan Phillips.  Instead, we find out that the boys were themselves being hassled by several Black Hebrew Israelites. 

When this new film footage was added to the broadcast, we could see the Black Hebrews were using some rather salty language—at least the censors chose to bleep certain words. 

The incident was clearly a little more complicated than first thought, with at least three separate groups involved: Black Hebrews, white high school students, and a Native American man drumming and singing.

Next came the journalistic observation that the audience in TV land had over-reacted . . . . but people can only respond to how the story was being presented to them. 

To the credit of viewers everywhere, as soon as people learned there was more to the story they put their initial reaction on hold and waited to hear more—at least I did. 

I think this response shows toleration and understanding—never mind that some people jumped to a conclusion before all the facts were known because of the way the initial video was shortened in its first showing: an error more of journalistic reporting than viewer prejudice.  

According to the high school students, they asked permission from a chaperone to sing school songs; this, in response to the taunts of the Black Hebrews.   Mr. Phillips himself said he went forward to try to come between the two groups and to keep the peace.  He did admit he was afraid but nothing has emerged since to contradict the story offered by the Covington Catholic high school students. 

Those who don’t like Trump and his policies may indeed have been a little too quick to judge the high school students simply because some of them wore MAGA caps, although their alleged mocking of a Native American man was an entirely believable phenomenon had it held true.   

One student stood right in front of Mr. Phillips; he seemed to have a smirk on his face but a smirk is not a crime.  Indeed, looking carefully at the video, we see he does not move while he listens, making no threatening gesture of any kind: he just stands there. 

Whether he got any benefit from being so close to Mr. Phillips is hard to say. A reasonable argument could still be made that he invaded Mr. Phillips’ personal space by standing so close to him, but, other than that, people have to rethink what they thought was happening and their first visceral response.

I am reminded of the perennial schoolyard game: rock, paper, and scissors.  Each item can lose to one and beat another: paper covers rock, rock smashes scissors, scissors cut paper, etc. 

Two students face each other and make a fist.  They count in unison as they hit the open palm of their other hand with their fist, counting aloud, saying “one, two, three” and then quick-as-a-wink transform their fist into one of three shapes: flat hand palm-down means paper; forefinger and middle finger extended straight out represents scissors, and a balled fist means rock.  You get the idea!     

In this Covington Catholic case, we have four elements instead of three; they would be: White Racist, White Person Not-A-Racist, Native American, and Black Hebrew Israelite. The order goes like this: 

  • White-Person-Not-a-Racist Beats White Racist. 
  • Native American (Mr. Phillips) beats White Racist (Students from Covington Catholic).
  •  Everybody beats Black Hebrew Israelites . . . except White Racist, which produces a tie.

In the initial story, “Native American” beat “White Racist” (the MAGA cap-wearing high school students) very easily.  Our sympathies were entirely with the drummer! 

However, after the revised story aired, we are now forced to re-evaluate our priorities and begrudgingly admit that “White-(Not-So-Racist)” high school students still beat “Black Hebrew Israelites”, who as usual come in last place. 

“Good White People” then found it necessary to lighten their early repugnance toward the Kentucky high school students; they asked for and got a “do-over”. They transformed their initial disgust with the high school students into an even greater repugnance for the Black Hebrew Israelites who became scarier than the MAGA cap-wearers. 

          Like I say, the kids’ game “rock-paper-scissors” can explain the news!

This shows that Good White People are not so prejudiced against Native Americans as they once were. Why and how the presence of Black Hebrew Israelites let the high school students off the hook so quickly . . . . is a discussion best saved for another day.