I haven’t been following this story but I saw it when it happened and I was very neutral about it because I believe they’re are both sides to the argument always. I think it is very important though because Nathan Phillips at first was clearly in the right but now with the second information there is both sides to the argument which is important when talking about a topic credibly.It has a huge responsibility because social media can spread a skewed story a lot of the times and same with the news media they only tell you what they want you to here. He should be angry but he should’ve known that his actions might have had backlash. Yes I watched the video and my thoughts are nothing changed. His view is just as important as the kids. I honestly don’t think politics play any role in this situation but I do believe race had a place hear because they were judging the guy on his traditions as a native american. Honestly probably wouldn't have done anything because I’m not exactly the confrontational type of person. I always try to look at the whole situation rather than judge the whole situation based on a small part.I hope this incident results in a realization in this country that yes there is racism still in this country. As well as skewed opinions based on a small part of the story so you have to make sure you know both sides before you make an opinion. Think there's always opportunities to grow whether showing respect for everyone or just simply knowing your facts.
I feel like what the high school students were doing were uncalled for. I don’t think that they should have been screaming out racial slurs (same thing with the hebrew israelites black men), I feel like all of that was uncalled for. Do i agree with the Native American? Yes I do agree with what he did, if that was me and all I was hearing were racial slurs I would get mad as well and approach the crowd with my beliefs also. However those students were being disrespectful by first off laughing and mocking the Native and secondly continuing to disrespect and scream racial slurs. If it were the other way around and a bunch of Native students were being like that towards a white men it’ll be a riot or someone would be dead or being handcuffed by officers because accordingly to the white men “shoot first” is the first reaction to a big crowd of minorities. So yes I do feel the elderly Natives hurt, and I do think that the boy who sat smiling in his face meant every action as well as his classmates.
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Originally when I was showed this in class, I only saw half of the story, which was just of the kid staring at Mr. Phillips. I originally thought that this conflict came about because of the "MAGA" supporters harassing the Native Americans, which in turn is not true. The black Hebrew Israelites where the ones promoting racism and escalating the hostility between all three groups. This goes to show how much power social media has and how it can be used to distort or leave out a section of the story to frame someone as the main reason for an event happening. Where I thought the "MAGA" supporters were the actual problem, there were the Hebrew Isrealites. I think that the public needs to be more aware on how they receive their news and to make sure they get the full story. This for example shows how a whole other side to the story can be left out to try and shape it to fit someone's agenda.
A Native American activist, a group of pro-life Kentucky high school students, and black Hebrew Israelites do not sound like the most likely subjects of the country's latest sensationalized online debate. However, these three seemingly disparate groups of people were found to be on a national stage in a contentious exchange that left many viewers unnerved. By excluding the Hebrew Israelites from the footage that began the conversation, the video that made rounds on social media later appeared to only be a small part of the complete story. The selection of what mass American consumers of current events, content, and contention saw serves as a prime example of how it is often difficult to know if the information we receive is accurate or at least complete. Even with the realization that black Hebrew Israelites were a part of the fold, the jeering attitude of the boys remains the most upsetting aspect of the entire scenario. The blank stare of the teenager looking at Phillips left me with the confirmation that many member of our country harbor feelings of self centered nationalism to this day and feel increasingly less ashamed to boast about it. Amidst the MAGA hats, incest related insults, and as included in a longer clip a confidently shirtless Trump supporter, is a story that sheds light on the feelings of hate and pride on multiple sides that have grown less subtle in the current political climate.
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After I read the article and I rewatched the video and saw the point of harassment such as the boy blocking is passage and the other student encouraging him. It was so sad to think young adult would actually do such a thing. In this world I think its important to say and do what you believe yet if it involves confronting a different side negatively that is wrong. Still I think it doesn’t matter if the people were wearing MAGA or not it truly doesn’t matter, and might even be the reason people were outraged to the point of going viral.
I think my opinion of the event that changed the most was the students yelling trump slogans. I don't always think of yelling trump slogans equates to being racist, can always be some obnoxious supporter. When I saw them yelling at what I presumed (and many others) to be the native american man, I thought it was pretty racist. However, when I saw the black Israelites who were yelling slurs and curses at them my mind changed. I think social media did manipulate some of the news agencies into believing that it was one-sided, instead two-sided-bystander. However, the news media did give apologies after the event. Also there was controversy about the native American man, as many sites, including the NY post called him a liar. That frustrated me because he had said he was a Vietnam-era veteran not a Vietnam veteran, and many of these conservative outlets had gotten the story wrong the first time, we're trying to put the blame on the more liberal sites. What Nick Sandman did was an idiot move, but people should have realized how much more complicated it was.
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This is a highly complex and controversial topic that is currently circulating in the media. The conflict involved three different groups of people with varied ideological beliefs and values. When the story was initially released the Catholic Covington boys were perceived as the trouble makers. However, more videos and images were released that painted a more complicated picture. The new interpretation that emerged, showed that Mr. Phillips intervened when he anticipated a conflict between the Covington boys and the Hebrew Israelites. Then questions arose as to how to interpret the behavior and attitudes of the boys and how Mr. Sandmann's face off can be read in different ways. Mr. Sandmann claims his locking of eyes and smile were expressions of respect and mutual understanding. However, given the context of a large group of young white men wearing "MAGA" apparel allows for an interpretation that the smile was more of a disrespectful smirk. Clearly this was a highly charged situation in the context of an even more polarized political environment. We really will never fully understand what Mr. Sandmann's and his classmates' intentions were. More than anything I think that the lesson of this event is that there are always two sides to every story, but in this day and age more than ever we need mutual respect.
When I first saw this post, I certainly did not have the full context for it. I only had one side of the story, and I regret to say that I jumped to conclusions and then did not give it a second thought.
Seeing the whole picture now is very interesting. It clearly shows how social media can propagate misinformation very, very easily.
On the topic of the actual events, it seems clear that the Hebrew Israelites were the instigators of this conflict, but that does not excuse the pro-life protesters. Their use of racist hand signs was extremely disrespectful, and they took a very confrontational approach.
Mr. Phillip's reaction is very admirable, but a touch idealistic. I don't know what he thought would happen, but with tensions riled up on both sides, I'm not surprised at what did happen.
Sandmann did not overtly do anything wrong, but his reaction was ill timed. I believe his reaction was a result of panic, and not an attempt to belittle Mr. Phillips. I have the same reaction when I'm scared or cornered: I tend to smile. While this is perhaps an advantageous reaction in a knife fight, it worked against Sandmann in this case.
When I first heard of the incident, I did research and I actually saw the context and fuller picture of what all took place. This information is very important to note since everything that happened was not done without provocation by the people identifying as Hebrew Israelites, though that absolutely does not give the high schoolers any excuse to act the way they did.
What with the initial reaction from the first video that was posted of the students "surrounding the Native American man," I think that social media and news is responsible for making sure that they are as informed as possible, whether that be at all times or specifically when dealing with delicate situations like this one. I think that Nick Sandmann, while he did not seem to take any action at all against or for Mr. Phillips, still did not even recognize that Mr. Phillips was there, and therefore was passively making Nathan Phillips feel belittled, likely on purpose.
I think I'd have to agree that this incident did indeed upset a LOT of people in the nation, as it did touch on many subjects which or in the social and political spotlight right now. I think that, especially with what I was hearing come from the group of Hebrew Israelites, race played a large part in this. That particular group had been targeting Native Americans and other people, trying to convert them to whatever their beliefs were (absurd and finicky ones in my opinion), but they also started agitating the high schoolers.
This whole situation is a very difficult one to understand at first glance. At first glance I saw the initial video that went viral all over social media. The video appeared to show a man beating a tribal drum in front of a high school student. Other students surrounded him and started to chant “build that wall” and we doing the tomahawk throw towards. Upon seeing this I definitely thought that the boys were being disrespectful towards the man and were acting quite immature.
After digging a lot deeper into the accounts of the witnesses my opinion changed a little. Apparently the man inserted himself into this position after he saw the high school boys arguing with a group of a african american hebrew israelites. They were saying racially comative slurs at the native americans and the boys. At this point Nathan Phillips, a 64 year old man, intervened and stepped between the groups. He started to play a ceremonial drum if front of one of the kids face, Nick Sandmann. Nick explained that he did not antagonize or try to block Mr. Phillips and did not say a word to him.
In the end, I believe that the kids were still being disrespectful towards Mr.Phillips by chanting “build that wall” and doing the tomahawk chop, but this was after he come up to them. If Mr.Phillips did not want to be bothered with he should not have put himself into a position where he was vulnerable.
This whole situation is a very difficult one to understand at first glance. At first glance I saw the initial video that went viral all over social media. The video appeared to show a man beating a tribal drum in front of a high school student. Other students surrounded him and started to chant “build that wall” and we doing the tomahawk throw towards. Upon seeing this I definitely thought that the boys were being disrespectful towards the man and were acting quite immature.
After digging a lot deeper into the accounts of the witnesses my opinion changed a little. Apparently the man inserted himself into this position after he saw the high school boys arguing with a group of a african american hebrew israelites. They were saying racially comative slurs at the native americans and the boys. At this point Nathan Phillips, a 64 year old man, intervened and stepped between the groups. He started to play a ceremonial drum if front of one of the kids face, Nick Sandmann. Nick explained that he did not antagonize or try to block Mr. Phillips and did not say a word to him.
In the end, I believe that the kids were still being disrespectful towards Mr.Phillips by chanting “build that wall” and doing the tomahawk chop, but this was after he come up to them. If Mr.Phillips did not want to be bothered with he should not have put himself into a position where he was vulnerable.
I think that both parties had to have expected backlash, and disrespect from both sides. If you approach a group of protesters with a different view or opinion, sometimes they can get physical, or disrespectful no matter who they are. Like when Mr. Phillips “‘...stepped in between to pray,” so, he approached the teenagers that were clearly not in their right minds at the time. For Mr.Sandmann, I think he had an expected reaction, and perhaps and even more calm than I thought most teenage boys would have. I don’t think the group with MAGA hats was in the group, they were simply protesting, but I also don’t think it was the brightest idea to come in the middle of the group who is protesting. What would have happened in someone with a MAGA hat, came in and walked silently in an anti-gun protest?
I hope that due to the fact that this event has reached out to a younger audience, they are able to see how corrupt social media and news reporters can be. The media tends to publish stories that are one sided and oftentimes not covering the entire story. The majority of the news reports on this topic have been from a more liberal point of view, quickly judging the situation by blaming the white MAGA boys for harassing the Native American who was the minority in this situation. Perhaps they found this to be the easiest story to tell because of a stereotype they have placed on any Trump supporter. I believe that there is room for growth here if we find a way to introduce more two sided news reports. This will allow for more views and opinions to be seen and for viewers to understand both sides before choosing which one he or she feels strongly for.
The encounter at the Lincoln Memorial has three sides of the story. Most people only see two of them the one of the teenage boys and the other of Mr. Phillips. The third would be the medias side. I thought the media played one of the biggest role in the incident. The media help instigate the encounter because it brought attention to the incident and at first they only painted the picture of mister Phillips as a victim. The media painted Mr. Sandann as a bad guy.
The biggest issue I had with the video was the group of boys surrounding chanting “build a wall”. I thought it was insensitive of them. I believe both parties are in the wrong they should be allowed to have their own views and protest them, without it turning into a massive controversy. Both parties need to agree to disagree. I don’t support the views of the teenage boys but I am able to respect their opinion and their beliefs. I disagree with Mr. Phillips choice to intervene in the encounter I believed he should have refrained.
I think that this situation has been blurred and the real people at fault are being ignored. The real instigator of this event is the Catholic school itself and indirectly the Catholic church. The school did not keep the students in check. Contrary to Catholic ideals of peaceful cooperation and general respect for human beings, the children were wearing apparel that represents a man whose words and beliefs espouse hatred, bigotry and racism towards Native Americans, immigrants, and religious groups. Nick Sandmann's statement said that he believes in Catholic ideals and that he tried to defuse the situation. He clearly did not, as he let his classmates continue to chant words associated with hatred and racism. He also stood idly. If his beliefs were opposed to the Natives, if he truly believed in the Catholic Church and the words of Jesus Christ, he would have spoken up. He would have confronted Mr. Phillips, he would have said something to calm down the crowd. Christ was never afraid to correct people, He was never afraid to confront those who didn't believe in Him, ex: Luke 11:27-54. Christ was also a mediator (or so appointed by the Lord), He resolved disputes, He did not aggravate them. Sandmann's silence is dishonorable and disgraceful to the Church he claims to love.
After I watched the video I can see both sides of the story. The first side of the story I saw was the teen was mocking and being smug in front of the Native American Elder. The second side was the student had done nothing wrong, and was just standing there. Either way all the other teens around chanting “build that wall” were in the wrong.
This brings up the question of how the elder and students even crossed paths. Iv’e read two different stories. The first side I read said that the students got in the way of the elder, and the second side I’ve read says that the elder was trying to cut through the boys crowd, and that he is the one that actually initiated this. It’s important to know these details in this story because this changes how a lot of people see this. If the boys did purposely get in the Elders way then they are to blame, but if it was the other way around then you could blame the elder for starting this.
Whether or not the boys or the elder are responsible for this, everyone can agree that the media had the largest role in starting this outcry. This video had everyone but The elder look bad. The elder was the only one who got to share his opinion on what happened, and the boys were left to be the bad guys.
One of the very first responses I endured, was the response of the Covington boys. In the short clip, it was very hard to determine the stance of the Covington boys. They were following the awful stance of President Trump "MAGA" campaign. The students were chanting "MAGA" and "Build that wall." Two very disrespectful responses, which are not taken as a respectful counter protest. By referring to the "Wall" these students were initiating people like these Native Americans, and not American white based should be put behind a wall. This is something very hurtful and disgusting. The main student starring the Native American man, was not at fault. He silently stood there, restricting his right to say something rude. However this breakout should be pointed at the ones who said many hurtful things as well as the Native Americans, not the main player who became an internet outbreak.
We can all agree that social media had the biggest role in creating this outcry towards the Covington boys. It all started with one video, covering one angle who made everyone but Mr. Phillips look bad. It only took one interview with him and a blog post including the one-angle video an there it was, all over the news. In today’s world, news media can destroy someone’s life in a matter of seconds, that’s what is dangerous about it. Journalists must make sure their sources are credible and that they cover every corner of a story. Otherwise, we get stories like the racist high schoolers wearing MAGA hats. Pretty sure Nick Sandmann felt really small in his pants looking at his face all over the internet and local news. He never really had a chance to explain or talk to the medias about his view of the situation. We had to wait for the full video to come out before people started to give good attention to Mr. Sandmann and realize the news had messed up. However, by this time, it was already too late, people and ganged up on Sandmann and made sure he knew he wasn’t welcomed in this world anymore, which is really depressing for a teen walking into his adult life. Even if it was proven that it wasn’t a racist act towards native, there will be a stain on his reputation forever. And that was all created by journalists who were too fast on the trigger to post a story they thought wold be huge, which it was, but for the wrong reasons.
Ok, here's what I have to say-- When I first saw this article at school, I immediately felt very upset. The fact that these teenagers were mocking and making fun of Nathan Phillips who was just trying to spread peace was extremely disrespectful and inappropriate, not to mention the self-proclaimed "Israelites" yelling offensive things at both the students and the Native American. After I got home from school that afternoon, I did some more research, eventually finding out more information. I figured out that Nick Sandmann wasn't smirking at Mr Phillips, he just was smiling to try to diffuse the situation, as he said, “I did not speak to him. I did not make any hand gestures or other aggressive move.” While this does make me feel slightly better, it does NOT mean that I condemn what the rest of the teenagers did. They were making inappropriate hand gestures, and yelling very hurtful things.
While I was reading this article, a question came to me that made me have to stop and think. What would I have done if I was in that situation, or at the Lincoln Memorial on January 18? Obviously, this is a highly controversial time, especially in the media, and it's hard to get all of the sides of the story without stating your personal opinion. If I was was, to say, walk by these particular people and this scene of events, would I make my opinion known, or stay quiet? Would I get judged as I walked by, but still stand up for what I believe in? Would I be stereotyped as just a foolish teenage girl, who doesn't know what she's talking about? Or would I present as the wildly optimistic young woman that can be passionate as heck, especially when she's standing up for what she believes in? What would I say to reassure and acknowledge the peacemakers, contradict the absent-minded adherents, and rebut the bullies? For what I would've done, I would've just asked the simple question: Why? Why are you doing this? What opinions are you trying to get across? Where are your teachers and parents?
In the wake of the Incident at the Lincoln Memorial, many stories and truths have come out on what really happened during the day. At first, the media portrayed the students as scoundrels who huddled around a Native American man mocking his religion. Later, a different video surfaced of the Native American man approaching the students and other people mocking them. I hope and expect that our society will look into things with further detail and take more time to come to a conclusion. It is important that we don’t jump to conclusions and look into all the facets of the story, and in this case, the video. I do believe greatly that positive things will come out of this story for the future in our society.
The combination of the news media’s inability to convey an accurate version of the story along with social media’s accessibility and opinionated users led to the creation of the viral event concerning the Covington Catholic boys. Modern news media companies oftentimes rush stories, trying to be the first to release any newsworthy content in order to generate the most revenue; however, as The Washington Post proved with their incomplete version of this story, a lack of sources and thorough fact checking could potentially create a false portrayal of what actually occurred. Although the news media should assume responsibility for sparking this moment that inflamed much outrage, social media was the reason rage spread throughout the country. One post on social media is all it takes for something to go viral, as other users will soon see a certain moment as it begins to accumulate likes, comments, and shares. With no context provided to the initial video of the teenage boy at the Lincoln Memorial, people began to form negative opinions without adequate background information. Both the news media and social media carry responsibility for creating this viral moment.
After watching the video, I was surprised at how openly rude the teenagers were being to the man. The one person facing Phillips with a smug expression on his face and a “Make America Great Again” hat seemed to believe that he was better than Phillips, and just stared at him. I was also wondering what was going on in the video, and why the man was just standing there singing despite all of the boys being incredibly rude to him.
I believe that in the original footage the High Schoolers are at fault. They should never have mocked Mr. Philips. In the new longer footage things seem to be different. I think that all three sides in this were wrong( the indigenous people, The high schoolers, and the hebrew israelites). I think that obviously the Hebrew Israelites were the ones stoking the flames. If I was at the scene of the conflict i would have left when I saw things getting out of hand.
This situation was completely mishandled by the media. As soon as a 4 minute video about an altercation which occurred over the period of about and hour and a half came out, news sites fishing for clicks instantly started purported articles about a disrespectful high school kid and his group of jeering pals yelling at an innocent native american. This level of laziness is reprehensible, and disappointing if not unsurprising. In this day and age, real journalism gets no clicks and makes little money, where biased, pandering reporting makes all the cash. Trying to tie the hats on the students' head in and make it political and paint the trump supporters as evil native american hating bigots certainly pushes the trump hating agenda and gets all the trump haters happy. Everyone loves a scapegoat, and I find it disgusting how people are so easily swayed by news articles saying "The trump hat wearers are in the wrong" I am aware that this is not what the new york times did, and am very happy about that, even if the article wasn't quite long enough to fully convey the entirety of the situation, what with the instigating Israelites being, in my opinion, the real ones at fault. This whole situation was an example of how polarizing and powerful the media really is.
The article stated that Phillips stood between the group of boys and the Hebrew Israelites to diffuse the tension in the situation. I believe that the way the students acted towards Philips was rude and disrespectful in many ways. They had no reason to come to the other march that was taking place other than to be loud and rather rude towards the participants of the Indigenous Peoples March. In my opinion I think social media did have a big part in this story because people started taking sides without having the full information about what happened and that caused people to blow things way out of proportion.
In the videos that have been posted to the internet we a can see that Mr Phillips enters the group of teens. As a society we do not how to react to a situation. If you were in the crowd of students what would have you done? That is the problem, because we do not know to properly face this. To add to this, in today's world we see the media go straight to blame a side. This brings conflict with no resolution. So I believe it is the media's fault for acting without both sides info. Both Nick Sandman and Mr Phillips where in the action of the moment, but the real fight started once the media went to a side. This denying all things that come from the other. So if we are to truly to get the issue of this, we need to know what to do in these spiritual moments. So then if this is to happen to others, we can react properly to the spiritual moment and respect the people who are performing them.
Social media played a major part in this controversial incident and is responsible for the outrage created. People began to post parts of the videos and pictures from the event and that led to people forming their own beliefs even though they did not know the whole story. Since only one side of the incident was on social media journalists also wrote one sided stories because that was all the information the journalists had until the full video came out. Most reporters did not investigate to see if there was more to the story and by the time gathered all of the correct information everyone knew the true story. Once information, whether true or false, is out on social media the information spreads so quickly. This is very unfortunate when the information is incorrect and the harm that is caused as we have seen in this recent incident.
Social and news media’s role in involving the public on social issues is crucial, and many don’t think of the impact it can have. One incident, like this one, can show up in a million different feeds, and with people accessing different forms of social media everyday, more than once a day, the amount of times a video can circulate is incredible. The responsibility of both types of media in this situation was not taken as seriously as it should have. The media allowed the public to point fingers and accuse people of actions without having the full story and knowing all the facts. Allowing only one side of the story to be seen allows the public to be mislead and falsely informed. The result of this misinformation is now going to hover over both parties of the incident for the rest of their lives and reflect poorly on all types of media’s words towards the situation.
I believe that due to social media both sides of this story has been twisted into different ways. By looking at this from the boys perspective, I understand that he has the right of freedom of speech and to protest for what he believes in. But, on the contrary, Nick Sandman's smirk and MAGA hat does not help the situation at hand. His MAGA hat shows that he is looking for attention, by supporting such a controversial movement in a public place. I understand that both Sandman and Phillip have the right to protest and share their opinions, but it doesn't have to disrespectful. This incident portrays an important message in America, that its okay to have opposing opinions, but not okay to be disrespectful towards an opinion you don't agree with. The media definitely blew up this situation, but as a country, we can take away that what makes America so great is the diversity between each and every citizen.
The situation at Lincoln's Memorial brought disrespect and humility to both sides. Nick Sandmann obviously was disrespectful to the Native man (Nate Phillips). In front all of his friends he was trying to be the tough guy by blocking Mr. Phillips to the top of the steps while the rest of his classmates were moving out of the way. Nate Phillips had a written permit to protest and was not able to put forth his 1st amendment right. Nate Phillips was very upset with them because he believes that we live on indigenous land and it should stay the same that it always has been. Nick Sandmann was being a spoiled, emotionless, teenager who thought at the end of the day this would be the "cool" thing to do. ( Where were the teachers?)
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I think the students are in the wrong here. They outnumbered Mr. Philips by many which could easily seem threatening.
In my opinion, the event that occurred at the Lincoln Memorial had completely different views depending on where you viewed it from. Although Sandman believes he was not in the wrong, and claims he was "scared" he decided to stand face to face with an unfamiliar man to get a reaction from his peers. As seen in videos, Nate Phillips attempted to simply walk past Sandman up the stairs of the Memorial, but Sandman would not let him move. If Sandman and the crowd were actually scared they would not have stood in the face of an older man and yelled towards him. The students were out of line with bad supervision from teachers and faculty who were with them that did not act on the problem and let the situation get out of hand.
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The whole incident revealed how media is shifting people's ideology. They are reporting real news (based on evidence), but they all chose to report part of it. For example, left-wing media disguised the African-American extremists part, and they portrait that the white boy started everything. On the other hand, right-wing media didn't focus on depicting how the kid making the face that people want to punch him. Instead, they spent a lot of time writing how those African-American extremists triggered him.
I think that Nick Sandman was showing a strong sense of disrespect towards Mr. Phillips. The way he was smirking towards Nathan is what made many people jump to the conclusion of this teenage boy being disrespectful. The only thing Mr.Phillip was trying to step in the middle of the arguments to calm everyone down. There was no need for Nick to stop him from reaching the top of the monument. If I were Mr. Phillips I would have felt very insulted from this teenage boy.
Social media has played a major role in this incident in how it has given an only one sided view of what happened. The one side that this video shows the kids mocking and smirching at Mr.Phillips and not the events leading up to this. Once this video of the incident started to be spread throughout social media it started outrage because it just showed this one side and social media is responsibility of just showing this one side and not what really happened. The news media also did the same thing but it did this because of the reactions of social media instead of investigating first like they should do and get the whole story instead of saying this one side of this story. Eventually the news started to do more research into the matter but it was too late the effects of this one sided story will forever follow this young man in his life.
I think that this story has blown way out of proportion because nobody is really getting the whole story. Everybody’s point of view is different because of what they first heard or saw. Some people saw one side of the story while others saw something completely different. The first thing I saw when I opened the article was a picture of a white male (Nick Sandmann) smiling down upon a native american (Nathan Phillips). It looked like Mr. Phillips was yelling at Nick and Nick was antagonizing Mr. Phillips by smiling. That was my point of view, after I read the article and read Nicks statements i realized he was smiling to show he meant no harm and Mr. Phillips was praying over Nick and try and break the ice. My entire perspective changed because the camera angle made a bad situation look worse. I don’t really have a good response to this incident because I don't know the whole story.
I didn't really follow the story and what really happened. Before reading the article I thought there were only two sides to the confrontation but after reading the article I then realized there was three sides to the confrontation and the native american was just trying to diffuse the situation. Nick sandmann was being respectful. He didn't do anything to disrespect Mr. Philips, he just stood there. Making a judgment without taking account of what really happened is what I think is bad for the media to do. I’m guilty of that to. I hope this incident will encourage people to stop judging without the facts.
On January 18 A group of students from a Catholic school in Kentucky went to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington for an anti-abortion protest. A group of black Hebrew Israelites were shouting at the natives Americans and the boys. A native American man stepped in front of a young boy named Nick Sandman. The article says “Soon, the Native American man, Nathan Phillips, 64, was encircled by an animated group of high school boys. He beat a ceremonial drum as a boy wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat stood inches away. “. The article implies that this image was blasted with hatred. Nobody even knew the story behind the picture they just assumed that the boy was mocking the native American and that the boy stepped towards the man first. There were even some celebrities that had threatened the boy because of how disrespectful he was to the old man, it’s sad seeing adults criticize a child for actions he never committed. Nathan Phillips told reporters he was stepping in between the two groups to stop them from yelling and fighting. Nathan did absolutely nothing wrong and he should not be blamed or receive hatred for any of this, nor should anyone.
I have not been following this story and today is the first day i’m hearing about it. At first look, it looks like there is definitely conflict and disrespect. I watched the whole video and was almost shocked on how divided people are today and it really upset me. You can see that the African american men were protesting very aggressively and in my opinion looking for a reaction out of the native Americans,then out of nowhere a crowd of what looks to be only white kids all wearing “ Make America Great Again” apparel shows up. But what i'm wondering is why? From the looks of the video they just came and started yelling, not even protesting. The African american protests started yelling at them and they started yelling back. Nathan Phillips stated that it was “coming to a boiling point” then proceeded to step in playing a ceremonial drum and everyone moved out of the way accept Nick Sandmann who stood in his face and smiled. Do I think that he deserves all this hate? No but it was definitely disrespectful. But at the end of the day there just a bunch of high school kids, most of them probably can't even vote, and what I got out of it was that they were all just there to be obnoxious.
Social media holds great responsibility for creating this viral moment which caused the inflammation of the outrage is that the articles which have been released surrounding this situation were only from the point of view and story of Nathan Phillips while Nick Sandmann was not able to comment on the situation. While these articles hold some truth they do not hold the whole truth. Most articles surrounding this event are criticizing this teenage boy and have not looked into the events which transpired before the incident with Nathan Phillips. There is more than one side to this story which most were quick to forget. The news media surrounding this situation were quick to judge the teenagers before the whole story was released. The early judgements caused from the one sided stories being released have caused an immense amount of pain for this boy and his family. Had these news media outlets had gotten both sides of the story less judgements would have been made towards only one person involved in the incident.
I feel like there are a lot of sides to this story, and if people only hear about a single one they could be tremendously mislead. I see in this video, a group of "Hebrew Israelite's" yelling racial slurs at both the group of Catholic school boys and the Native Americans. Of course some of the high school students yell back at them, this caused the Native American man to step in. The Native American man walked into a huge crowd of the Catholic school boys and confronted them with a drum. Many people are mislead by the cover picture, thinking the boys came up to the man and were harassing him. The boy in the picture did not act disrespectful or make any gestures at the Native American man. In my opinion I think many news reporters want people to think the opposite.
Many people are quick to think the white boys were the only ones saying racial slurs, this is not true. As I saw in the video, the "Israelites" called the boys incest babies and one of the Native American men told the boys to go back to Europe.
My response to this is that this is just a gathering of different races with different views having a peaceful protest against each other. There is no nee to blow this out of proportion by calling the boys racist and sending them death threats.
My opinion is that the kids acted like kids, and performed VERY admirably. It reminds me of when I was in high school in Brooklyn in the late 1990s. Our English class went to see Ms. Saigon in the city, and a vegan activist approached a group of me and my friends screaming "meat is murder!!" The activist entered our space much like the Phillips entered the Covington kids'. A friend of mine reacted by standing his ground, shoving the vegan backwards when they made contact, and lunging at him.
Luckily we were there to stop him from hitting this vegan dude, so instead of violence, he got dragged away threatening to knock his vegan head off.
By comparison, Sandmann was extremely measured. I don't think any of this would have become a media firestorm if the kids weren't wearing Trump paraphernalia. At this point, if you're still twisting yourself into a pretzel to find that he did anything wrong, you should realize that you spend way too much time on the internet, obsessing about Trump. Unplug for a week, take a deep breath, and find a nearby park to take a walk in.
Finally, ask yourself: what did I do when I was 16 that was worse than that which has made Sandmann the object of national ire? If you cannot honestly think of a dozen things, your self awareness needs a lot of work.
Just like many others, before I knew the full story I was under the impression of the boys instigating the confrontation and standing in the way of the man. After learning that Mr. Phillips had walked into the crowd of teens initiating the issue, my views changed a bit. He is not in the wrong for protesting the way he did, but I believe he is at fault for initiating and engaging the problem more than it needed to be. Every person has the right to peacefully protest which was what Mr. Phillips was attempting to do as well as Nick Sandmann, but there are many ways this could have happened differently. I get why people are angry towards Nick for smiling and standing close to Mr. Phillips, and possibly mocking him, I felt the same way towards him before looking deeper into it. Nick said by smiling he was showing how he would not get angry so the situation would not escalate to violence among the groups of people.
The boys are in the wrong for chanting possible racist chants towards the man and others. These things should have never been said to these people trying to protest peacefully. I believe the boys should have gotten in trouble for the way they handled the situation, but I do not think they deserve the amount of hate that they received without people knowing the entire story.
Social media played a crucial role in the way that this incident was perceived by the public. With people posting only portions of the video, it’s easy for viewers to see it and immediately jump to conclusions and share it for all of their followers and friends to see, only compounding the effect of the video on the public. The news media also impacted the perception of the incident by reporting one side of the story and not investigating all of the events. People want to trust what they see on the internet, so when an incident like this goes viral, it only leads to more distrust of the media and bring to light how social media can skew the truth and lead to the spread of disinformation.
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I believe there are many opportunities for growth that can come from this situation. This will undoubtedly motivate journalists to ensure they know the whole truth before posting a story, even if it means they will not be the first one to post the story. I also hope that people will not be so quick to judge a story they see as true, even if it goes along with what you believe. In this day and age, we are so quick to judge people with differing views and automatically place them in the wrong in situations like these. It is times like this that we as citizens have the duty to look for the truth, and the full story, just as journalists do.
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The use of social media has had a drastic impact on the views of the people in our news providers. The fast way a news spreads is through the use of social media. Journalist can't be everywhere at every time. They rely on other sources to find out about the news they are not on the scene for. That's when a more drastic bias comes into play. If someone who see's something notable happening, they can take a video of it, but only focus on the parts of the event that they want. In the case of the native american man, and the high-school teen, whoever first reported the story, only told the part that appealed to they're political views. The constant rush to be the first reporting a major incident lead to a complete failure in our news system. Instead of reporting the full story, or doing any further investigation on the story, they published the first news source they found, which did not show the whole event. The news media's constant never ending cycle of the first to post leads to the spread of "Fake News".
When I first watched the video and my first thought was why all the outrage? The young man wearing the “Make America Great Again” hat did not say anything to him or make any rude conservational gestures. Reading further into the article and found out it was a protest for anti-abortion and both groups were supporting pro-life. Also I was shocked at how offended the Native America was when he inserted himself in that situation he choose to stand between high school students and the African- American group protesting.
We should also keep in mind these are teenage boys being teenage boys. It’s not an excuse, but at the same time an adult should be better at doing the mature thing and walking away than a teen. A two minute video does not give a true story about what actually happen.
Reports jumped to fast to hate the young Trump supporter. In a longer video clip later revealed that the young boy actually turned around and signaled at other high schools to stop the racial slurs and gestures. The new reporters wanted to see the negative because that’s what made the story draw attention. They neglected the different stories and just focused on one story.
This boy is receiving death threats and celebrities are basing him on social media. It’s immature in my opinion everyone is entitled. We bought into this one negative story when reality there was a whole other story. Our ignorance is our downfall people should look into every angle about an event before they send a tweet.
After following this story for a few days, I cannot help but to notice that the story keeps changing to show more and more that the student had done nothing wrong. In the beginning, it started with news channels showing the video, and telling the viewers the student was "taunting" and "antagonizing" the man. But as the truth comes out slowly, day by day, the story has seemed to take a turn for the students' bet interest, telling that the man approached him and also having the student explain in an interview that he was trying to defuse the situation by not yelling back or engaging in the conflict. This news story went from showing a teenager going up to a Native American man and trying to start a problem, evolving into the Native American man approaching the student and engaging in this situation.
People will have disagreements on issues all the time, however the one issue that I think people will all agree on is the media blowing certain stories way out of portions and only seeing "the single story" that they want to tell. A majority of people who saw the two minute were so quick to judge Nick Sandmann and Mr. Phillips and the media blowing it out of portions does not help the "racial and political tensions in America" at all. Also, why was no one mad as near as mad about the media putting their bigoted assumes on both Mr. Phillips and Nick Sandmann than what the media originally reported about "the Indecent at the Lincoln Memorial on January 18th". The media operated without out any responsibility for reporting the whole story or any human regard for Nick Sandmann’s life. Did of the people reporting even stop think about what they were "reporting" and how it would affect a young man's life. The fact that they want to sell more subscriptions and more papers and cause more "tension" so they can sell more subscriptions and more papers instead of valuing basic human integrity is absolutely disgusting. It makes me wonder how many more times this has been done, as I'm sure that it has been done before. For me personally it has been tremendously revolting to see how the media crucified Nick Sandmann. The media needs to be way more responsible for the things that they report, especially at this time in our country, and because it is just having basic regard for human life.
I feel as though this situation could have easily been avoided if the Covington Catholic boys respected everyone elses views as everyone has the right to protest peacefully. By smirking and mocking Phillips the difference between the protesters was filled with anger escalating the situation
@Camryn Glendon When you say respect other peoples views. Does that mean they cant wear MAGA hats? Phillips put himself in that situation by going right up in the boys face.
This story has angered many people for many reasons. After seeing the story for the first time, I originally thought that the teenage boys had instigated the situation, however, after reading the backstory I learned that the Native American man (Nathan Phillips) had inserted himself into the circle of boys. The boys mocked Phillips and went as far as to chant "build that wall." Many people believe the boys deserve some kind of punishment, while the parents of the boys are frantically trying to protect them from the hatred they have received. Nate Sandmann, the boy standing face-to-face with Phillips claims he did not make any aggresive gesture towards Phillips and that he never meant for the situation to escalate.
I believe that the teenager from Kentucky was extremely disrespectful towards the Native American elder. After a dispute broke out between the Black Israelite group and the students, which involved vulgar language being exchanged between the two, Nathan Phillips stepped in the make peace between the two. Watching the video of Phillips and the teenager I believe that Phillips was right in his actions and the teen was wrong. While Phillips beat his drum, kids from the school mocked him and the teenager in the front just stared and smirked at him. This was extremely disrespectful and mocked the culture of the elder, he was only trying to make peace. Though I believe the boys were disrespectful, I think some of the aftermath of the event was very extreme, however some was deserved. The boys are still young and ignorant so I think the situation was mainly a mistake on their part.
@Lilly Kingsbury The students didn't say Vulgar language it was the Black Israelite group. Another thing is people think this is disrespectful but people kneeling for the national anthem isn't??
@Lilly Kingsbury I absolutely agree with you. I think that those boys were wrong and they knew what they were doing, I do believe that it was all intentional. However I also feel like the black Hebrew Israelite man are also in the wrong because of the racial slurs that they were yelling out not only to the boys but also to Nathan Philips (Native American). I also think that the boy who was in front of Mr.Philips was smirking on purpose because he probably felt like he was being intimidating to Mr.Philips and I don't think his statement was genuine.
My opinion on the incident at the Lincoln Memorial is that the media jumped to quick to bash Nick Sandman for “disrespecting the Native Americans” as a Trump Supporter. I think it is easy to judge and come to conclusions just looking at the now famous photo of Nick Sandman and say that he is an ignorant and classless boy. However there is always another side and more information to the story, which the media did not include from the start. I think that what Nick Sandman did was wrong and he should learn from this incident, but at the end of the day, there is more to the story and we cannot judge the poor kid on just the picture.
Whenever anyone mentions this story it makes me so mad for many reasons. Nathan Phillips, an elderly native American, didn’t deserve this horrible treatment. When I first saw this story I immediately thought that the high school boys had surrounded Phillips preventing him from matching further and continuing his drum ritual. When I learned that Phillips has inserted himself in and already escalating situation my opinion changed only a little. Actually, when I heard this news, more I thought he had good intentions. Though this, they entirely disrespected Phillips by mocking and screaming going as far as to say build that wall. I did make a biased assumption even before watching the video let alone knowing any background information about either subject and I know a lot of people did too. That's how this video was able to spread so fast and gain so much well deserved hate. I do think the boys deserved some, not all of the backlash they received. Since the boys are still so young I think there is much needed room for growth after this situation. Even though many people think these teens deserve the worst, I believe that the kids made a terrible mistake and though the should get some of this hate, I do think that some people take it too far. Just like Philip said it was very disheartening to see their energy going into such negative causes. Also if you think about it these boys were trained to think this way probably by their elders or other influential people in their community.
This video was very different for me. It was something the I did not like seeing and it was shocking that it was a high school student who did this. this is different because this time, the person showing hate was only a high schooler. How could all these kids come up to the man who was protesting and start surrounding him, and how could these men shout racial slurs at people. Now, whatever they were doing, it sure didn't look pretty. So it was a high school student that made this so shocking, but at the same time its also not that surprising. With all the hate in this county and in our world, we have to be telling ourselves that this could unfortunately, be normal at this stage in our country.
This incident has highlighted the large fraction of the divide in our country. It is good to voice your thoughts and protest, but as long as it is peaceful. If you are always inserting your opinion before others or disrespecting theirs, we wouldn’t get anywhere. Sadly, this seems to be the case nowadays. Nathan Phillips, the Native American who intervened an argument between two groups, one who identified themselves as White high school boys from a Catholic school and the other, a group of Black Jewish people. Despite Mr. Phillip's attempts, the white “Make America Great Again” high schoolers stood around mocking him. They shouted “build a wall” right to his face while one highschooler, Nick Sandmann, just blocked his path smirking. This land first belonged to the Native Americans and was taken from them by force. We shouldn’t have the right to decide who can come into our "stolen property". In the video, Nathan Phillips was in tears talking about how this was the indigenous peoples land, and no walls are supposed to be built. Not now, not ever. While Sandmann did release a statement stating that he would not apologize for his actions as he “has a right to stand”, he did say that he never intended to be insulting and that he respects the Native American Elder. This obviously doesn’t make the matter better, but it does shed some light on Sandmann's aim and that he never meant for the situation to escalate.
After reading the article and watching the video, I have to say that everyone was at least a little bit guilty to begin with. Everyone came in with their own opinions, and fired back when they didn't even have to, which is pretty much what started this entire situation. The students that were there could've ignored what was going on with the rally for Native Americans. If they had ignored what was going on, Nick Sandmann wouldn't have been standing in Nathan Phillip's face smirking. Nathan Phillips was one of the elders at the rally. During the video, Nathan Phillips approached the students with his drum after they were chanting at the black men, who called themselves Hebrew Israelites. They were pretty much yelling at the students and the Native Americans about their religion and what they believe in. If everyone had simply acknowledged the opinions of others, no one would had to fight at all, and there would be nothing to worry about.
In response to the incident that happened on January 18, my opinion on the incident is in the middle. When I first heard about the incident, I learned about it from the New York times and looking at the pictures and all the accusations had my opinion set about the incident, the teenagers were attempting to take the ingenious man's right to freedom of speech away by surrounding him as a form of a threat, but after getting some more context on the disturbance my opinion shifted. To more background knowledge I read a little bit of the New York Times' second article, after reading that article and watching some of the full videos my thoughts changed because on the news some other articles the headlines say that "Highschool boys surrounded a native American elder." These headlines give people the wrong impression creating a bias against the teens without all the information. With this new information, people are able to make create their own conclusion and opinions about the situation making the new information really important because it allows people to make there own decisions about what is going own and how they feel about it.
This situation is happening not at good time on top of the government shutdown. However I believe that the Native Americans should not have intervened with the political debate, I feel that just made things worse. It was not their fight, as Americans we should know what happens when we try to intervene with other countries business, nothing happens expect more problems. It was wrong for the students to mock the native americans but this wouldn’t happen if the native Americans didn’t intervene. I feel as if the boys are getting all the hate, they were there for pro life march and were just Trump supporters. They have their first amendment rights and were definitely meaning no harm since they never expected the native Americans to come. They were carried away at the moment.
This entire video and situation following the release of said video, is rather insane. The video itself is a little confusing and does not present enough information for one to form opinions and claims. I think in order to fully understand what is happening, reading an article is necessary.
My initial reaction to this is shock. I don't understand how people can act like this towards others. One thing that really stuck out to me was how people were shouting things like "build the wall", when Mr. Philips is clearly native. The Native Americans were here before the rest of us, so why should he be treated like an immigrant. I also found it quite interesting how Mr. Philips changed his statement after gaining PR representative. It just goes to show how much the media can impact things nowadays, and how things can be turned around on the person in the right. In conclusion, people need to learn to respect one another, no matter what beliefs they hold. A person is a person and the color of their skin does not change that.
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When I first saw the video, I didn’t really understand what was happening. A large group of high school boys at the Lincoln memorial in Washington, and five black men, who identified as Hebrew Israelites were shouting offensive comments at the native Americans. It’s saddening an incident like this would occur right after the rally for Native Americans and Indigenous people. This is also the same place an important man in history gave an important speech addressing racism. After reading the New York Times article on this topic, my perspective did change in the means of the situation. In my opinion, the information that Mr. Phillips approached the high school boys, not the other way around, changes the opinion of many on what really happened. I feel many people just jumped into conclusions on what really happened without getting all the facts. While the high schooler's behaviors, “make America great again hats and shirts and their response to Mr. Phillip seem like total disrespect and racism to some people, these boys might have really not meant any harm. I hope this incident opens up people's eyes about all the racism and discrimination going on. We all have our different beliefs, and we have the right to freely express them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp4oUBTS0DM first watch this. Its a video of what actually happened. First I would like to say political journalism is dead. As a high school student considering journalism I honestly can't because of this awful thing the left did. Didn't we just see a commercial about toxic masculinity, about how bullying needs to stop. Trevor Noah, says he wanted to punch him along with several other people. And all he did was stand his ground. READ HIS STORY. They were waiting for a bus when they came up to them. Oh and this inst fox news this is the independent video showing the incident. But no you'd rather destroy an innocent kids future. The left are bullies, such bullies.
This incident is just another reflection on how flawed America still is. Although many are unsure if the students from Covington High School were chanting "Build the wall!" there are other offenses that point to their racial bias against Nathan Phillips, a man who was just trying to diffuse the situation. Instead of getting out of the way and allowing Phillip's to continue to walk by, the student stood in front of the man with a smirk on his face, disrespecting Phillips and his Native American chants. America is already a separated country, but there are ways where you can have different opinions on certain issues without bashing and disrespecting the opposing party. In the student's many media confrontation with the issue he claims his motive was like Phillip's, yet there are many plot holes in his story. Why were students making racist motions towards Indians? Why look at Phillip's so disrespectfully? Why make a protest to his protest? The student was right when he said he "should have just walked away."
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After reading the New York Times article I feel that everyone that had something to do with the situation was wrong at one point. I don’t think that just one person should be blamed for this whole thing. No matter who or what they believe in. Nathan Phillips was not wrong for trying to break up the argument between the two groups, but I do think that he was wrong for the way that he did it. Instead of talking to the boys he started praying in the middle of them. I think this is wrong because he didn’t know how they felt about religion or anything like that. Now, on the other hand, Nick Sandmann was also wrong because he was just standing there in Nathan’s face and he and his friend were yelling at him. I feel like if they disagreed with the him they could've just told him or just left everything alone and walk away. If I was there while this was happening I would have probably help try to help solve the problem. I do feel that no one would’ve listen to me because of the age difference between me and everyone else but still. But anyway hopeful this will soon be worked out. I hope that this won’t be drag into something much bigger.
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My reactions to the events that have happened in this article are mixed. I don’t believe the doing of any of these groups were good. As far I know, there were Black Israelites that were hollering at the people at the memorial including the Boys wearing MAGA gear, when all of a sudden the Native American group entered the crowd trying to break it up.
I feel like Nick Sandmann was the most targeted person in all of this, he is seen wearing a MAGA hat, standing in front of a Native American man, smirking in a childish sort of way. He said that he got the hat that morning after he went to a anti- abortion (still not ok) march. I also think that Nick Sandmann didn’t have to be a jerk about standing in front of Philips like that. He looks like he is so entitled and that he is on a higher level than Philips and it just makes it worse that he was smiling.
I feel like Nathan Phillips could have entered the situation differently. I think he was thinking right, but the way that he tried to break up the conflict was incorrect. We know he wanted to calm the crowds but instead, made the it escalate. He was brought to the center of attention and he didn't know what to do but pray which made it worse. He could have not banged the drum obnoxiously in the kids faces and instead just simply try to work it out with gentle gestures or words.
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Personally, this incident gives me a rush of mixed emotions, ranging from shock and disgrace to confusion and anger. In the video, although Nathan Phillips' actions were somewhat disrespectful, it certainly shows how drama spreads. Really; is a teenage boy's smart-aleck reaction to a Native American elder going to stir this much uproar on national news? Are we that thirsty for gossip and something to be angry at? Phillips never raised a hand or tried harming the other man, therefore we should somewhat forget about the situation, and not bring much more attention to it. However, a different moment in the video sort of shocked me for the fact that it wasn't getting as much attention as this boy's actions. When a fellow Native American decided it would be mature and smart to argue with another teenager and say maybe he should go back to Europe to make America great again. "This isn't your land." That's much more offensive and racist than what Phillips was doing, and shows the maturity of that man. How is no one focusing on him? Personally, I think the chaperones and adults on this trip were irresponsible and should've known better than to let other strangers get involved with their children. If they really were chanting things about the wall, that's bringing politics into school, which should not be allowed, and they should be penalized for that. I think in a few weeks or so, this issue will die down, but for now, it should be seen as a lesson for all those boys to learn from.
I have not been following the story lately and I didn't even know it happened. At first, I was really confused about why the students were surrounding the man. I also thought what Nick Sandmann was doing was inappropriate at first. When I found out that the elder walked up to them, I thought it was fine because Nick didn't intentionally attack the elder the elder walked up to him and Nick just stood there. He probably should have left earlier though which he now wishes he did. I don't think it helped that he was wearing a MAGA cap. I think that it was just interpreted wrong and something else actually happened than what people thought happened. Nick wasn't disrespecting the man he was just standing there. I like also liked what the man said after the problem was resolved.
I have followed the story and I feel that this is a example of the growing racism in this country and that the fact that they were dressed in Make America Great again cloths goes to show that people feel that they can do things like making fun of Native Americans. Because they feel that Trump is backing them based off of the way he responded to different situations involving racist acts. For example the Charlottesville incident and they were correct because they were supported in the end. I don't feel any different after reading the second article because even though Nathan Phillips walked into the group he should of backed up and move. Also Nathaniel was only trying to promote peace so you can't blame him for the situation with Nick sandman being in his face. Social media is kind of to blame because they hadn't had all the information so it was only was from standpoint. But social media was also to thank for all the attention that this issue needed and got so they played a good and bad part in this story.
This whole incident is sickening. The teenagers should not be yelling at the Nathan Philips, the Native American who was just trying to break up a heated argument about the teenagers wearing the Make America Great Again hats. The people who were yelling at the teenagers were Hebrew Israelites. They should have minded their business in the first place and shouldn’t have yelled at the teens for wearing what they want, and supporting who they support. But it just goes to show how disgusting the teenagers truly were after yelling at a poor man who was just trying to intervene in a fight, especially after a peaceful march which was created to gain equality for indigenous people. I saw a part of this video and had no background information about it, yet it was still sickening. Now that I have learned more, I realized that no one had to act so cruelly to one another, especially to one who is just trying to have peace by breaking up fights.
This incident was very controversial. It pains me to see these different groups with different beliefs fight each other in words and preaching. Everyone has a right to believe in what they want to. However, this right has sparked all the problems surrounding this incident. The Israelites can preach, but cannot share hateful comments to random people in public. The high schoolers can believe in what they want, but should’ve reevaluated their possible courses of action to avoid conflict instead of rushing into the scene without thinking of consequences. Nathan Phillips had the best of intentions, but seemed to make the matter worse instead of actually improving and putting himself in the state of seemingly fighting against the teenagers. Every party is at fault. Nick Sandmann argues that he has every right to stand in front of Nathan Phillips. But to smirk at him? This was a form of being passive aggressive. Although he didn’t physically shout or hurt Phillips, it was completely unnecessary. I am most disappointed of the chaperones of the high schoolers. Why didn’t they do anything? Anyone could’ve seen that the situation was getting out of hand, yet the chaperons chose to ignore it and not take action. This was a situation that could’ve been easily avoided without causing any conflict. Hopefully they resolve the controversies surrounding this incident, and people can learn from this.
This is a disgrace. With every political nerve raw right now, in combination with this terrible incident, brewed a perfect storm. In my opinion, what any of the parties did is not necessary, although it is understandable why they did some of those things. First of all, the people protesting for their religion who originally interacted with Nathan Phillips criticized him, as well as his culture, had no reason to interact with him in the way that they did, which, in a way was a form of hate speech, as they were saying very derogatory things about his race. They soon moved on to the students, who had just finished their “March for Life”, an annual anti-abortion
rally. They refered to the students as “incest babies”, because of their being from the South. Tensions escalated to a point to where one student took off shirt and began to lead a chant among the rest of the students. Mr. Phillips then entered the mess with a ceremonial drum to try to de-escalate the tension between the two sides, where he was infamously stared down by a high school student. All in all, this was unnecessary.
This is a disgrace. With every political nerve raw right now, in combination with this terrible incident, brewed a perfect storm. In my opinion, what any of the parties did is not necessary, although it is understandable why they did some of those things. First of all, the people protesting for their religion who originally interacted with Nathan Phillips criticized him, as well as his culture, had no reason to interact with him in the way that they did, which, in a way was a form of hate speech, as they were saying very derogatory things about his race. They soon moved on to the students, who had just finished their “March for Life”, an annual anti-abortion rally. They refered to the students as “incest babies”, because of their being from the South. Tensions escalated to a point to where one student took off shirt and began to lead a chant among the rest of the students. Mr. Phillips then entered the mess with a ceremonial drum to try to de-escalate the tension between the two sides, where he was infamously stared down by a high school student. All in all, this was unnecessary.
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In my opinion the situation could have been handled different. Both groups were very disrespectful to each other. The three groups both have different opinions on the subject and they also have different cultures so therefore they need to keep the opinion to themselves if they dont agree on the subject.
My opinion both sides were in the wrong, one side was calling each other names while the other made insulting gestures and a one of the Indians said go back to Europe. Every one has there own opinion.
I recently saw this story on Fox News where the whole video was shown, unlike other news stations, such as CNN. The original footage released was just a fraction of the whole thing, which caused many people to jump to conclusions. It really bothers me to know that news stations will be so politically biased that any story they get they revise it to meet their beliefs, even if it means hurting innocent people. I believe the innocent people in the story are the group of Teenage Catholic students. If you watch the full video, you will learn that the boys were not yelling political statements, but in fact they were yelling School Chants as they waited for their bus to arrive. This is when adults started to shout “racially combative comments” towards the teenagers, which I think was extremely inappropriate and unnecessary. In the midst of the interaction, a man by the name of Nathan Phillips, who according to sources like CNN, and NYT, was “encircled by an animated group of high school boys.” But if you watch the full video, you will realize he approached the group of boys and made his way into the center of the group. People say it was disrespectful for them to smile, but let's be honest if you were standing waiting for your bus and a man starts playing a drum in front of your face. Your going to grin. I think its stupid that adults started all of this because some teenagers were wearing “MAGA” hats. That's my view on this whole situation.
1
My reaction to this article was, why would someone do something like this? And Why are we teaching kids that this type of behavior is acceptable. The only significance of the information of who approached who doesn't really matter, the fact that the boys were blocking the man's way of retreat is more important. Social media tends to exaggerate and twist facts around so that people see what the media wants them to see. Nathan Phillips did not do anything wrong, he was trying to make a statement in a peaceful way and the boys were disrespecting him. I think race doesn’t really play a huge role in this situation. I think that culture and being able to express your culture has a bigger role in this situation. If I was there, I probably would have walked away. I'm not really the type of person to speak up in public. I hope people will respect the way people express their religion.
1
After reading the article and gaining a better understanding of what happened in the situation, I feel like I can take a somewhat steady side of things in this controversial video. I Can see why people would be frustrated, but I still can not see how Mr.Sandmann was being hateful in any way. He was not violating anyone, as well as staying calm and not acting rash. However, the crowd around him was making and making fun of his exercises which I see as immature and intolerant.
In the end, I'm still conflicted on how I feel about the situation and am looking forward to doing more independent research so I can take a more stable stand on this situation.
After watching the video, I can understand and see the different points of view on what happened, but there is no clear way of knowing which one actually happened. The two points of view are that the teen standing in front of the Native American looks smug and is mocking the man. The other is that the teen did nothing wrong and was purely just standing there. I definitely understand why people would be upset by the way the ten stood there (especially because he was wearing a MAGA hat), but that does not mean he was purposefully trying to be disrespectful. I think that the fact that he was a Trump supporter may give insight to what was happening, but then again, it could not.
Although what happened is not good, I do think that gaining more publicity to a possibly racist act may help create advocacy for Indigenous Peoples’ rights in the country. I hope that a similar incident does not happen.
I feel that anyone should be able to have the right to protest and stand for what they believe in and the man was not making any gestures or being rude to the man, he was just standing where he was and smirking. “Early video excerpts from the encounter obscured the larger context, inflaming outrage.“ I feel that what was said here was really important because these people were acting more inappropriate than the Trump supporter was but just because he supports the president of the United States he is being called disrespectful and rude. Media is funny because they feel that they can just call out a Trump supporter for no reason and be right but when the other side is throwing shots at them and what they believe, it is instantly wrong and rude.
I’m wondering why we aren’t talking about the Hebrew Israelites being rude but about a man protesting and staring at a man of a different race than his. “There were also black men who identified themselves as Hebrew Israelites, preaching their beliefs and shouting racially combative comments at the Native Americans and the students..” I think this shows how media is just out there to criticize people that they don’t agree with politically and we need to understand the full story before we call out others for no reason. In the end I feel that what should be making the headlines is the true story and not making assumptions about what someone is doing when you have no idea what is going on in the situation.
1
The recent incident that has happened at the Lincoln memorial on Jan. 18 is being taken a multitude of ways right now in the country. Some people are taking it as the kids where being disrespectful to this native american man, Mr. Phillips, and some people are saying that it was Mr.Phillips who was being aggressive. What I see when I look at this picture is kid who did the best he could to try and not offend anyone. Mr. Phillips was actually the person who approached the students, but it wasn’t for the purpose of racial conflict according to him. Mr. Phillips stepped in because the argument between the white students and the black men was “coming to a boiling point”. When he saw this he stepped in between them to pray, not to provoke anyone.
What I think actually happened here was two groups of people were arguing, and then another man stepped in between them to sort of break up the fight, but it was taken the wrong way. And then someone got a picture that made it look like something happened that never actually did. According to the article “ a national backdrop of political tension set the stage for the viral moment”. What I get from this video is that our nation is divided into two groups of people, and if we don’t come together soon, or at least make an effort too, then I and many others fear that we never will.
1
In the video I see a man named Mr. Phillips trying to defuse a situation. The high school students were involved in an intense screaming match with Hebrew Israelites. The group of Hebrew Israelites were screaming racial things at the group of high school students. Then a Native American man named Mr. Phillips stepped in to defuse the situation and distract the high school students. He did this by drumming and singing songs he would use to pray while walking into the group.
When watching the high school students reaction to the Mr. Phillips coming over I did not see any harassment. I think that the high school students were a group of young people being immature. They could have handled it way better. The article states "In separate interviews Mr. Frejo and Mr. Phillips said they heard the students making noises that seemed to mock Native American chanting." While I see this as disrespectful and immature I don't think it is harassment. I think it is a learning opportunity. I think that more adults could have been around with the students to step in, and I also hope as the students get older they can reflect on this situation and realize what they have done wrong.
1
In this video, I feel that I watched a display of hatred. Though I haven’t seen the full video and anything else, from my perspective I feel that as if it was wrong and hateful. Mr. Phillips and Nick Sandmann both had the right to be there, but the way that Nick Sandman had reacted to Mr. Phillips’ attempt at rearranging the peace in the situation was disrespectful. The chants of ‘build that wall’, and the smug face he had shown was truly uncomfortable and disappointing. I’ve heard other opinions on this issue, but haven’t been able to fully take them in due to the other opposite opinions being biased because of their preference over MAGA.
I read nick sandmann's statement that was posted on twitter, but even though i didn't watch the whole video, i'm feeling conflicted about the whole situation and i'm not entirely sure what my opinion is. i think that people took the picture and the small clip and just ran with it and said all these things without understanding the full story. i'm not sure what my opinion would be if i had one; it's not like one side is right and the other is wrong. i do think that it was handled wrong by a lot of people, and that all the parties involved could've done something different to diffuse the situation and ensure that those kids weren't doing anything stupid. i think the boys shouldn't have been mocking the man singing his prayer, they shouldn't have bene having a field day, and on the same note those Israelites shouldn't have been throwing around racist remarks. there's extremists on every side, and everyone can make efforts to avoid them.
I have gained a question throughout this. where are the chaperones, every trip needs at least one right?Also the black Israelite seemed to have started the confrontation with the boys, but the boys response was not the best, and when mr philips went to defuse the situation they became racist toward the natives by using the tomahawk chop, something deemed racist by natives. My opinion didnt sway after reading the article. The new video showed that Mr. Philips went to the situation, rather than the boys being the bad ones and surrounding a native who has done nothing. The original video showed one of the students glaring down the native and his friends chanting around him. I feel like Mr.Philips had actually helped the situation by separating the parties from any more conflict and drew the attention to him. If I had been there that day, I probably would have stood there and watched or left, as i don't feel like it is my business to intrude. I have rushed into Judgment without knowing before. Sometimes you see things that appear to be something else but it is the exact opposite. Do i expect anything from this incident? In my opinion no. I think what we saw is what we saw, and will remain that way. I do see an opportunity for growth now. The students will hopefully see their actions as rude, and will maybe mature from this incident. I think another thing is that schools will require their chaperones to watch the students more thoroughly.
After hearing about the situation from my English teacher, I wanted to understand what occurred on January 18th at the Lincoln Memorial. As I was watching the video, I found it extremely disappointing that the Israelites were throwing lots of racist remarks at both, the teenage boys and the Native Americans. When I first saw the encounter between Nathan Phillips (Native American) and the group of teenage boys, I thought it was very demeaning to NP when they were mocking his prayer with the drum. He was only trying to break the tension between the boys and the Israelites peacefully.
I do believe in Freedom of Speech, but people are using it for the wrong reasons causing tensions and problems between different people. Phillips was breaking this tension and the boys were disrespecting him by attempting racist actions offending Native Americans when he was only trying to peacefully pray. This situation is seemed to be very complex due to the one student smirking at Nathan Phillips, not allowing him to pass when he was moving through the student's circle. I see it as a sign of disrespect when he just stood there but I don't believe there was any harm occurring between the two.
1
Every time I read about this situation it makes me more and more furious. The way the teenagers acted was immature and unacceptable. All Mr. Phillips tried to do was break up the fight between the Native Americans and the group of teens. It wasn’t the most effficient, clearly, but the way the teenagers reacted was horrible. They just stood there and took videos as Nick Sandmann smircked at Mr. Phillips. I’m addition, the White teens whore the MAGA Donald Trunp slogan on there shirts and hats which clearly created more controversy as there are many, many political views on Donald Trump himself. This just goes to show that our society is evolving for the worse. There are more bad than good things happening daily and it really needs to come to an end. Finally, this shows just how disrespectful our society is to one another because of race and religion and identity, etc.
In this video I don't see this man being harassed as much as I see immature teens. I think what they did was very uneducated and wasn't in their place to do. Although he may not have been physically or verbally harassed some of the students where being very rude. The girl pretending to be "tribal" dancing was what made me think so poorly of these teens. She wasn't acting her age like most people in this video weren't doing either. I also think that these teens where put to shame just because the MAGA gear they were wearing which is pretty stereotypical , it shouldn't really matter what they were wearing but a lot of the sources that posted the video talked about their clothing choices.
In no way am I saying that they did nothing wrong but I just don't consider this harassment. Yes the teens in this video were being very immature and just acting in the moment. I think if they actually thought about the consequences of this decision they would have most likely not have made fun of the protester like they did. Hopefully people will learn from this that one little face you make or word you say can change ones whole opinion on you.
It is a big piece of the story hearing that Mr. Phillips approached the young crowd of teenagers. I had heard that the students had initially surrounded the Native American. Although it looks like a snotty grin on the boy's face who is the closest to Mr. Phillips and that the other boys are laughing, there really is no harm being done. Mr. Phillips is peacefully protesting and the boys are not purposefully offending or harming the Native American as seen in the picture. In my opinion, it is the media's fault for blowing up the story. They chose the best pictures that would portray the worst image. They also deliberately changes the story saying that the boys were "surrounding a Native American Elder" instead of the true story that Mr Philips "had approached the young crowd."
I did not know about this until I saw the video in class. When I first saw this video, I thought it was very stupid of the teenage boy to just smirk in the old man's face. I also thought it was very impolite to act as the way they did around the old man, laughing and mocking him while he was singing. After I read more about this event, I learned about the fight between the black Israelites and the teenage boys. I wondered why the boys were being disrespectful to Mr. Phillips when he was just trying to break up the fight and prevent the fight from getting bigger. I felt that what these boys did was extremely disrespectful and there should have been someone other than Mr. Phillips that tried to stop the fight, such as the adults the boys should have been with.
I saw this on the news and but I didn’t really know the story behind it. Nathan Phillips was just trying to break up the fight between the the two groups. The students were being completely disrespectful in mocking his prayer. I feel that Nick Sandmann was one of the most disrespectful because he was just standing there with a smirk on his face. They have the right to voice their opinions although everyone might not agree with them. We don’t all have to have the same views but we also don’t have to start fights about it. If these people are such good Catholics, they should respect others and should not start fight about stupid things. One of the main points of the religion is to treat others as you would like to be treated and this was not displayed by these boys.
1
I think that it is really bad that this is happening. I have heard about the incident but I have not been following very closely. Also, I have watched a couple of videos but not read all the controversy and arguments. It leaves me wondering why this is so important and why these people made something very big, like viral videos out of a small thing like an argument? Also, why the Kentucky students are mad that a man who is a war veteran is trying to make peace between the students and, “Hebrew Israelites?”
I think social media is a very important aspect to this problem. While. It is true that some of it does involve playing with the real facts, There were videos and that proves that some of it had to be true. I disagree with what President Trump had to say about it. Saying that what Nick Sandmann and the Catholic school students did is fake news is unacceptable. I think that what happened is horrific and should never happen again. It should not be encouraged.
1
I have been following this story pretty much after I figured out about it. I wanted to know the full story because I didn't want to go into it blindly and make assumptions about the people even though I really wanted to. Turns out, the Native American man approached the group of boys first and I am not really sure why. But the boys still decided to watch and smirk at the old man when they could have resolved the whole thing by just simply walking away. There were also no adults around to resolve this problem so that was a big factor. But I still don't understand why they decided to stay and smirk at an elder's face. It shows that they have a way to much pride for themselves and that they won't come to their senses and see the full picture of the whole situation. The question I had was that, what good did Nick Sandmann think this was going to bring him. Making that kind of a face at an elder with cameras pointed at your face and you representing someone that is quite controversial won't have a good look for you. But it also isn't a good look for the elder, because him being more experienced and I'm assuming he would have more wisdom, he could have walked away and would not want to deal with people who are representing someone who is that controversial.
1
I have been tracking this story down and heard all the different point of views and I would just like to say that this event did not surprise me one bit with what has been happening with our nation recently, with the shut down, the wall and etc. The whole situation is a mess there is so many things that are wrong and confusing. First of all, I believe the teachers that were on this trip of Covington High school should get fired.They let there get into a major argument and completely gave their school an awful reputation now. I believe that Nathan Phillips was the wrong place to conflict into the argument that the kids of Covington High School were in. I don't think that him interfering with the argue was gonna resolve anything and only make things worse which did happen. Nick Sandman had his rights to stand there and listen to Mr. Phillips drum but he could've easily avoided the situation by just leaving and walking away.
2
I have been tracking this story down and heard all the different point of views and I would just like to say that this event did not surprise me one bit with what has been happening with our nation recently, with the shut down, the wall and etc. The whole situation is a mess there is so many things that are wrong and confusing. First of all, I believe the teachers that were on this trip of Covington High school should get fired.They let there get into a major argument and completely gave their school an awful reputation now. I believe that Nathan Phillips was the wrong place to conflict into the argument that the kids of Covington High School were in. I don't think that him interfering with the argue was gonna resolve anything and only make things worse which did happen. Nick Sandman had his rights to stand there and listen to Mr. Phillips drum but he could've easily avoided the situation by just leaving and walking away.Overall like I said before the whole situation is dumb and could’ve easily been avoided.
I think that it is really bad that this is happening. I have heard about the incident but I have not been following very closely. Also, I have watched a couple of videos but not read all the controversy and arguments. It leaves me wondering why this is so important and why these people made something very big, like viral videos out of a small thing like an argument? Also, why the Kentucky students are mad that a man who is a war veteran is trying to make peace between the students and, “Hebrew Israelites?”
I think social media is a very important aspect to this problem. While. It is true that some of it does involve playing with the real facts, There were videos and that proves that some of it had to be true. I disagree with what President Trump had to say about it. Saying that what Nick Sandmann and the Catholic school students did is fake news is unacceptable. I think that what happened is horrific and should never happen again. It should not be encouraged.
It’s really crazy how bad racial and national tension can get some times. I haven’t been following the situation too closely but I do know what happened, sort of. The story has changed a lot with a new extended video that kind of changed up everything. Even after all of the material that has surface I think that the teenagers were in the wrong. The Native American man was trying to break up a fight already started by the high school students.I'm trying not to side with anybody because Nathan Phillips really didn't need to enter the crowd of the white students. However, i'm not saying that Sandmann should have been almost a foot away from Phillips glaring right into his face. This glare was a blatant sign of disrespect and intimidation. I think that anybody can think whatever they want. America is a free country, but people should have the self control not to disrespect people that haven’t started or caused not one problem pertaining to themselves. Its even crazier to disrespect someone really wiser and that is pretty much a superior to you.
Reading about this incident makes me furious and extremely disappointed at not just the teenagers but also the grown ups in this situation. I would not think that today in the US we would have such racism and discrimination. Although the problem started from the arguing of the teens and the Israelites it soon became a racist insult against the ritual of the Natives Americans. What shocked me the most was Nick Sandmann’s behavior towards Nathan Phillips, who had only tried to break up the tension between the two groups, was unacceptable and disrespectful. The teenager showed disrespect by clearly smirking at the prayer of Nathan Phillips and refusing to move out of his way.
Although the teenagers showed disrespect it wasn’t only their fault for the terrible incident. I think that both groups caused the issue by publicly insulting each other. The Hebrew Israelites who started the problem, shouldn’t have yelled insults at the teenagers and the teenagers shouldn’t have acted so immature in the position that they were in. Both sides caused tension and then when Nathan Phillips entered the circle of immature students and adults, things just got worse. However Mr. Phillip’s intentions were good, it was not a good idea to join the fight. This caused Nick Sandmann to stand up, and however this was a terrible and uncalled for decision, everyone had a part in this story making it not only one sides fault.
3
If I were present in this situation I would probably do something worse than Nathan Phillips just standing there and praying. I would get physical with Nick Sandmann’s and push him away or fight him, physically. First and foremost, Nick and his group of friends, from Covington High School in Kentucky, are wearing “Make America Great Again” hats (Donald J. Trump’s merch to support the wall). Another reason is that they are being very disrespectful to Nathan Phillips. They are a bunch of teenagers surrounding an elder, mocking his words and doing racial things in the video. For example, in the video from The New York Times at 0:54, you can see a white girl doing a “Native American/Indian dance” to the prayer that Nathan Phillips was giving. If you don’t find that thoroughly disrespectful towards Nathan Phillips, you are surely wrong, but this is my opinion. This is truly an act of disgust towards elders and that group of teenagers just brought that school’s high reputation down. This is truly disgusting and this is not what America is. America was labeled the “Great Mixing Pot” bringing in all immigrants for around the world. It was no difference if you were black or white, girl or boy, or either gay or straight. We still welcomed people to this land. Why shouldn’t we let people in and live their life as a US Citizen? Why shouldn’t we let people be who they want to be? Why do we pick on people who are always the minority? Why do we treat others with such disrespect?
After watching the provided video (and the video later posted to YouTube), I was able to truly comprehend each side of the story, and why they behaved the way they did. The first perspective was that the teen and his classmates had confronted the Native American, who was beating a drum while singing a prayer song. The teen was quickly blamed by the media for the MAGA apparel he was wearing and the expression he made, which many considered to be smug and obnoxious. The other point of view that was later discovered was that the teen was just standing there in a futile attempt to diffuse the situation. I personally believe that the teen was afraid, and acting solely on impulse and adrenaline, rather than taking a few seconds to walk away and deescalate the situation entirely. Despite all of the attention surrounding the teen and the Native American alike, the incident personifies the politically divisive nature of our society at this moment, and it goes to show just how easily it is to force blame upon an individual based on the way they look or even what they wear.
1
If I have been present during the encounter I would’ve definitely stepped in and would’ve started talking to the people about respecting each other’s differences. I also would’ve said how sick this country is and how we haven’t changed since the past. I would’ve done this because I am a very strong believer of people respecting each other because I don’t understand why people are having trouble doing such an easy thing as respecting each other opinions. I just find it annoying and sick that people lack respect for each other. We are all human. We all make mistakes, but we also learn from our mistakes because of this. I hope next time we have a protest something like this doesn’t happen again.
When I first watched the clip, I thought the kids were the only people in the wrong. As I learned and gained more information about the situation I realized that both sides were wrong as nobody did anything to try to diffuse the situation. It is hard to know the full story sometimes, especially when it gets twisted such as this one, because the video shows Mr, Phillips getting attacked, however that was not the case. In Nick's statement, he puts it as if him and his group had done nothing wrong which is not true either. Because of this it can be very hard to know the full story. In my opinion, although it was very exaggerated, the students were still mocking Mr. Phillips which was still very disrespectful and unnecessary. There are many articles saying different things and parts of the story which makes it seem that there is only one side that is wrong. So while trying to figure out who was in the wrong, I soon realized that both groups were.
I have heard so many news reports about this in the past few days. All of them say that disrespectful kids mock and laugh at a Native American veteran, who was trying to settle something between 2 parties of people. I agree that what the students did was unacceptable, but you have to think on the other side too. People are blaming the students for a lot of reasons. But the 2 that I've heard most often are that they mocked a man who deserves respect for the things he has done for this country and that they are wearing MAGA hats. We all know that MAGA campaign has not been supported lately, so the students wearing MAGA gear did not help. We also need to understand that the students were there for a entirely different reason, and they already got energetic and were yelling before Nathan Phillips got there, so it would feel natural for them to do something like this. But still, they should have a little more self-control.
I think this is a very complex circumstance. It seems the more I learn about it, the more layers the situation gets. Going into this situation, because of my personal political and moral opinions, I immediately assumed that the white male wearing the Make America Great Again hat was in the wrong. Because I disagree with him and because of the situation of a minority vs an non-minority I already had preconceived notions about who was in the right and who was not. As I watched the video and learned more about the situation, the more confused I got. The man wearing the MAGA hat in the video was certainly not being respectful, but he didn't seem to be doing anything inherently hateful (as I had assumed). The more information I got that was from more than one side of the story the more I began to see that I jumped to conclusions based on appearances, which is the very thing I stand against. Then a whole other layer began to unfold. Was I really defending someone who believed in something I was so vehemently against? By not disagreeing with someone who I had categorized as standing for everything I stood against, did I become them? Yet another layer to this issue was as a white person who only knew part of the situation, did I even have the right to comment? This story was represented in many different ways with so many different parts that it became hard to even know what was going on, much less form an opinion.
2
I haven't been really following the story with the students at the Catholic School harassing the Native American. One major question that has really raised to my attention is where are the chaperones at the time because chaperones have to always keep an eye on the students, and if they were there did they try to stop the situation at all. When the New York Times released the second article on how Mr. Phillips was the one who approached the crowd my opinion on the actions of the students changed very much but not to the point where I think what they did was right. The original video just shows the rowdy white supremacists mocking Mr. Phillips as he calmly praying for them as he beat a ceremonial drum. In reality, Mr. Phillips approached the students because he saw the racial tension between the white students and the black men. Some people might say he got what he deserved, but Mr. Phillips should have seen this as an outcome. Mr. Phillip's heart was in the right place, but he should have thought his actions out better because what if the students decided to get physical and even Mr.Phillip knew he put himself in a dangerous situation. At least he could stand up to the students and try to put an end. To be honest, if I was present during the situation I would probably be a bystander or move away from the situation if it looked like it was escalating. I don't do good with a confrontation with strangers. I would be too scared to do something, but I would get a cop or authority.
1
Over the weekend during the anti-abortion protest, I heard about this incident between the high school boys and the black Israelites. I think that Nathan Phillips did the right thing trying to intervene and stop the madness, but it just made the situation worse. I think that the high school boys were very disrespectful, especially Nick Sandmann. I know that he did not say anything to disrespect Nathan Phillips, but just standing there and giving an awful smirk isn't much better. Mr. Phillips was trying to create peace, and Mr. Sandmann was not letting it happen. I got very upset when I heard that the boys were shouting "build that wall," because that is completely unacceptable when someone is giving a religious ceremony in front of you to calm everything down. But it is not completely the boys' fault, because they were indeed waiting for their bus to take them back to school. My question is, where were the ADULTS? In the video, there was no sign of them at all. I think that it is mostly their fault because none of this would have happened if adults were there. I am very disappointed. I know that this controversial incident is not completely solved, but I hope for the best.
1
I can't fathom these children actually believing they're superior than those around them and mocking them as if they don't matter. Such a mindset is what ruins the peaceful actions of people like Nathan Phillips. His intent was to de-escalate the situation and the close-minded child decided to mock his ritual. I find that disgusting and disrespectful and to make matters worse, Sandmann is playing the victim. I respect Mr. Phillips for taking matters into his own hands - in terms of calming the two parties down - however I do believe that contacting the authorities would have been better because the cocky children wouldn't dare mock them...ideally. I think Sandmann should face repercussions not only because his actions were disrespectful but also because he may treat other, less tolerant people like this which would result negatively for everyone. A group of mouthy teenagers wearing MAGA shirts and hats mocking a Native American man doesn't seem like a very good sight but I think the situation was very well handled by Mr. Phillips and I congratulate him for not only standing his ground but also tolerating Sandmann's disrespectful and disgusting behavior.
1
I heard about this story recently, and I could immediately see why it had sparked so much tension amongst viewers. However, the video was just a video. There was no other context as to how it had started, what had lead to that moment, et cetera. Upon reading the article, I saw there was a lot more involved. Political and racial assumption of bias seemed to reach a boiling point in this incident. I think that people jumped to conclusions after watching the video (assuming Mr. Phillips was surrounded and hadn't put himself in the middle of the group, et cetera) because a majority of the boys are white and wearing MAGA hats. This implies that they stand with Trump and his doctrines, which are often racist and discriminatory in nature. This, along with a seemingly rising amount of racial tension in the media, it's understandable why people would assume the boys acted first. Which, I suppose they did when they were taunting the other men there. If I were there I also would have assumed what everyone else did and would have been outraged. I think there are many opportunities for growth in this situation and I think this is a very teachable moment. Making everyone set aside their privilege and learn to respect other's with varying beliefs, despite everything, and holding yourself accountable to your actions should be taught to everyone. It's just a shame it wasn't taught sooner to these young men.
2
After reading the NYTimes second article on this particular incident, my opinion has not changed. I believe the new video showing Mr. Phillips approached the teens has little to no value. He approached the teens with the good intent of breaking the tension between them and a group black Israelites.Those children showed no respect for their fellow human beings let alone their elders who, as far as I can see, treated them pretty well.Nicholas Sandmann has used the excuse that he has “every right”to do what he did. Him and some of the other students also claimed they were scared and that’s why they were simply standing there. However, new video emerged of a few students from that school verbally harassing a group of girls as they walked by before the incident with Native American,Nathan Phillips. Shouting things like “MAGA” at the girls. This completely disproves their innocent, we-could-never-do-anything-bad, cover. As the girl stated in a tweet ,“I'm tired of reading things saying they were provoked by anyone else other than their own egos and ignorance”. I couldn’t have said it better myself. These young and impressionable boys at Covington Catholic High are being taught ways of life that should no longer be acceptable, this kind of disrespect to other cultures and even to girls is only something boys who do not know no different would do. I personally put the blame on their parents’ beliefs and where they live as well as well who represents their home state politically.
This topic is extremely important to talk about. I've been following this topic and have talked about it in and out of school. People where there sharing their views and protesting for what they believed in. When the white students from a school bearing MAGA gear started getting in to an argument with the black Hebrew Israelites, a Native American stepped into defuse the situation. Although it may not have been the best idea to get that close to the white students it was what he thought he had to do to defuse a situation that could have boiled out of control. I believe the white students were obviously the ones in the wrong in this situation. First off wearing any MAGA gear outrages people because now it's like a sign of hatred to some people. It's easy to see in the videos the whites mocking Nathan Phillips. This is unacceptable and the real question is where are the adults watching these student's because they should have done something about this. If you continue to dig deeper in to the story you'll see that these teenagers were also cat calling women which is not except able. This is the problem with our society today. Many people are twisting this story saying the white teenage students where not at fault and these people are oblivious. It's plain and simple the white students have the right to support anti-abortion but they should not be mocking Nathan Phillips ways, because it's what he believes in and they should not be cat calling women.
2
Before we talked about this event in class I actually hadn’t been following this story. I hadn’t heard about it up until then, but I’m sure I would have. When we first started talking about this event and watched a short video about it I was honestly very confused. I had many questions, and now after reading the article and watching another longer video I have a bit of a better understanding of what happened at this event. I still though have many questions. For example where were the adults that were supposed to be with these high schoolers? As well as many other questions.
1
I think everyone was wrong. I think the Israelites should not have been shouting at just some boys who were waiting peacefully. When the Indigenous people were coming to break the tension, the boys definatly should not have mocked them, even if they were not hurting anyone. The Indigenous people should not have tried to break up the fight unless they knew they would be walking into a battlefield of very different opinion. Nobody won there.
1
I think that while technically speaking everything that was done at this event was legal, there are many layers of disrespect and racism baked into what unfolded. For one thing, the boys were making disrespectful gestures at the Native Americans. And for another thing, The boys and the Hebrew Israelites where exchanging disrespectful comments about each other. While I think that the Nathan Phillips was the least to blame, I still think that intervening was not his best option. I believe that Mr. Phillips is kind of lucky to have not been hurt while walking into the middle of a mob of high school boys, one of whom had just taken of his shirt, and trying to calm them down. However, there is no way of knowing how this situation would have played out if Mr. Phillips had not diverted the attention of the boys.
At first, while watching the video I saw extreme ignorance with only the actions of the high school boys. But when you continue to watch through you can hear derogatory remarks being shouted from all groups. The Israelite men shouting words of hate towards the Native American group, as well as the obvious obnoxious behavior of the students. But what really made me have this change of mind were the words being expressed from one of the Native American men. He tells some of the students to go back to Europe and that they don't belong here. Maybe these are just words spouted in the heat of the moment, but nevertheless, they have a strong racist tone.
Nathan Phillips, however, is the only person I see in the video who is actually trying to spread a peaceful message. It is evident in his peaceful nature that he is only trying to avoid further conflict and his actions are actually rooted in goodness.
This is yet another video that is often taken out of context in order to push one's own agenda. I think this video highlights a multitude of issues rather than just the conflict between Phillips and Sandmann.
1
The most dominant emotion I have after reading this article is fear. I fear that the system has failed to educate this group of kids from Covington Catholic High School on the proper way to express an opinion. I respect the students opinion (even if I don't in any way agree with it) I believe they have a right to this opinion, but I in no way respect the extremes they have gone to in order to express said opinion. I think these actions should be frowned upon and the visible lack of disappointment from the kids parents and school scares me. I don't care how many videos come out that show more perspectives physical intimidation is the wrong way to make a point. If I was present during the subject of the article I would make sure to get a video showing the full conflict. I'm scared that not enough people will speak out against these kids actions and that they will get away with doing things that should be punished.
2
I have not necessarily been tracking this story, but I am aware about what has happened and I have seen many clips of what occurred. When I first saw these clips I was appalled at the rudeness and the disrespect which had been directed towards the Native American man. I was not even focused on Nick Sandman when I saw this for the first time, but rather all of the “ Make America Great Again” gear. We know this is President Trump's well known slogan which has been linked to having a negative connotation now. I was thinking how bad it was that they were already arguing with another group of people concerning race, but now they had surrounded a man who was attempting to diffuse the situation. There are many sides that Nick Sandmann was actually stopping any further acts of violence between his schoolmates and the Native American man so I am not sure what to believe anymore. All I know is that this looks very bad for the students of Covington Catholic School in Kentucky.
6
After the events that happened over the past weekend have been spread to the public eye, many different opinions and versions of the story have come to light. When I watched the video that the New York times published I notice that there were many high school students wearing the MAGA(Make America Great Again) gear that is screaming and yelling while an older native American man is banging a drum with a teenager standing in front of him with a smug smirk on his face. However, when I watched the extended version of the video that came out, later on, I saw all the events that lead up to the conflict that was shown in the New York Times video. Once I got my information on the event, I felt that the two sides, the MAGA students and the African American Israelites were at fault but mainly the MAGA students, because the conflict between the two groups became so tense that Nathan Phillips felt it upon himself to intervene to stop the two. However, when he did do this, the students took it upon themselves to disrespect him, they were seen screaming, yelling, dancing, and mocking him, when all he tried to do was diffuse the situation. I know that Nathan Phillips intervened just to resolve the conflict, but it wasn’t the best idea, considering that the two groups had very strong beliefs and weren't going to back down. But this did not change my opinion on the high school kids, just because of Nathan Phillips approaching them does not explain there disrespectful behavior towards him.
I first learned about the story when my mom showed this story to me and my sister. We came up with the conclusion that Nick Sandmann - the kid with the MAGA hat was mocking and making fun of this Native American Man - Nathan Phillips. I think that both the white high school kids and Nathan Phillips are at fault. The scene started with a conflict between a group of African American men, and some high school students from Covington Catholic High School in Kentucky. Then the Native Americans stepped in and tried to diffuse the situation. What happened is that even more stuff ended up happening, and people got really angry because these kids are disrespecting the culture of the Native Americans. I think that because Nathan Phillips stepped in, the story changes a little bit. He was still disrespected, but he could have avoided it if he never stepped in. He did the right thing, but him and his culture still got put down. Nick Sandmann basically gave Nathan Phillips the look that he can do whatever he wants, and that you can not stop me. It is nice or respectful thing to do.
If I was at the encounter, I would probably call the police because a fight could have easily broken out. It would not make sense for anybody to step in, because they could have gotten hurt, or not really do anything to the situation. Nathan Phillips stepped in to the action and that did not go to well for him.
1
If I was present in the encounter, I would probably fight back aggressively, and tell my fellow students to just ignore and walk away from the “bad people.” I would tell them to make way for the Native Americans and tell them to stop mocking their culture. I think of myself as a half politician, because I have a sharp tongue and if I feel strong on a subject, I do whatever I can to make people listen to what I have to say. I tend to boss people around, and generally act like I’m in charge of making them behave. I would try my best to get them to stop, but if they don’t, I would just give up entirely or have other students help me make them stop. It truly is horrible that America, a country that is supposed to respect other cultures, has its future generations treat each other, and their elders this way.
This incident is very bad and it occurred due to the blame of all sides as the black men there were stating racist things and in retaliation, the students began to be racist towards those men. The situation became even worse when Mr.Phillips with good intention chose to go into the crowd to try and stop the situation from escalating and then the students also began to mock him. Also, my reaction to the students did not change after reading the second article as what they did was rude even if they were trying to protect themselves from the racist black men. Their actions when the Native American elder approached them was unwarranted as it was just mockery, of course not all did this but it was a majority. Also it is quite important that upon recieving the information that Mr.Phillips voluntarily went in between the two groups to try and de-escalate the problem. Because it would be wrong to say that the students came in to attack or demean Mr.Phillips by surrounding him. This information is very important because then those who would discuss the situation would be spreading false lies if they said that the students surrounded Mr.Phillips when Mr.Phillips went into the crowd to try and stop it as he prayed. This situation shows us that the country is not as perfect as we may sometimes percieve it to be when we do not expereience any type of problem like this personally.
1
The other day my I was sitting in the backseat of my parent’s car, and my mom was on Facebook as usual. She was listening to a video and I leaned over to see, and of course it had to be on this incident at the Lincoln Memorial. I was confused at first, but then this topic began to pop up everywhere. Now that I have learned about it more, I think that everyone that was involved in this situation could have done something differently, so they wouldn’t be accused of something that they did or did not do. Even though Nick Sandmann claims that he was not rude or was not mocking Nathan Phillips, you could clearly see in the video that he was laughing at the man. Though he did not directly mock or say anything to the man, he had a smirk on his face. Based on the role that Nathan played in this situation, I figure that he was trying to end the commotion.There is no problem in trying to lower the heat in a situation by singing a Native American song, but this is probably not the smartest way to handle it when you are dealing with high school kids and Hebrew Israelites. In this situation, there is a better approach. Nathan could have simply called the cops if it was getting to the point in which a fight was going to break out, he could have ignored the situation, or he could have come up with a better alternative to calmly talk. On the hand, the Israelites were trying to prove a point and truth of the bible. Everyone could changed something so that this situation would never occur.
No human being is superior to another. No person deserves less based on what makes them them. Not less respect, not less opportunities, not less money, not less of a good life. This event is debated and seen from several different points of view, but the thing that stands out to me is the fact that these students (coming from a Catholic school in Kentucky) had the audacity to laugh at, mock, and chant against Native American activist Nathan Phillips, who was trying to calm things down while the students were involved in a debate with Black Hebrew Israelites, who were reportedly starting problems with the kids. I believe that these students are miseducated and not exposed to the real problems that plague our country. How can a person see another person and think that they don't deserve just as well as themselves? The presence of the MAGA slogan in this image adds a ton of fuel to the fire as well. Personally, I think a movement to build a wall on a national border to prevent immigration to an immigrant-built country is incredibly ironic. Without immigration, the U.S. wouldn't be nearly what it is now. Nathan Phillips was trying to help the situation and bring peace. He was disrespected because of the action he decided to take. If people would put the politics down and work together as equals, we would live in a better world. But, if we continue to put opinions over peace and equality, nothing's going to change.
4
The behavior of the white teenage boys and the African American men who see themselves as Hebrew Israelites was disgusting, disrespectful and immature. It is wrong for these two sides see themselves as, somehow, superior than the other group based on their race of religion. Neither of the groups should not have intruded onto the Native Americans’ sacred ritual. I think that it was right for the Native American man, Mr. Nathan Phillips to intervene when the two conflicting groups started to get more aggressive. Even though this caused the high schoolers to start jeering racist and disrespectful things at him, it was the right and peaceful thing for Mr. Phillips to do.
The thought that a school would actually fund a trip for these boys to protest against abortion is enraging as is the realization that the chaperones did nothing or even supported the teens when things started to get out of hand. I do not understand how anyone can think that it is right to disrespect anyone whom you are afraid of based on the fact that they look different from you.
When I first heard about this issue, my reaction was that I felt shocked. I couldn't believe this story. I felt that is was unfair to Nathan Phillips when he was just trying to stand up for what he believes in. I had many feelings towards this topic including anger. I couldn't believe that the teenager boy, Nick would ever try to confront Nathan Phillips when he was just sticking up for his beliefs. I never thought that anybody would ever judge people because of their own belief system. I also thought that Nick should have stopped himself. He should have accepted someone for who they are instead of confronting Nathan Phillips who was a very well known man. In the end yes Nathan Phillips went in the middle of them, but that doesn't give anyone the right to judge theirs beliefs.
2
I think that Nick Sandmann and many of the other boys in the group are innocent. This was my view when I first heard about the incident, and after reading his statement, I am only more convinced that he did not do anything rude or offensive.
In his statement, Nick said that he had no desire for tensions to escalate, and wanted to remain peaceful the entire time. I think that that is respectable, justifiable and the right thing to do. The video clearly shows him simply standing there as Phillips bangs a drum in his face, doing nothing rude.
The public is being way too harsh on an innocent kid who got caught up in a conflict that he wanted nothing to do with. Nick said that people have threatened to hurt - or even kill - him, which is too much for any teenager, especially one for whom there is no evidence of any racism or rudeness. Not only does he deserve the benefit of the doubt, he released a very heartfelt statement explaining what really happened and what he thinks about the situation.
I admire what Nick said in his statement about how he has no hard feelings toward Phillips, and respects his rights to protest, despite the fact that he rudely banged a drum inches from Nick’s face. If I were in his place, I honestly don’t think I could have been as gracious.
Despite all the obstacles he faced, I think he handled the situation very well. So many things around him went wrong, but he did the right thing no matter what, and I think that deserves the utmost respect.
1
I believe that the students from Covington Catholic High School behaved inappropriately during the protest on Friday. Although the students may have meant no harm their actions came across as both hurtful and disrespectful. I believe that in this situation both Mr. Phillips and the teenagers were in the wrong. The media has portrayed the situation in many different ways, my first reaction after hearing this story was that the students were doing the wrong thing and it was disrespectful and insulting. After reading The Times’s second article I still think that what the students did was inappropriate and may be seen as offensive but I also realize that they were in a hard situation and in an unfamiliar place. I think that the original story of high school boys surrounding a Native American elder has a very negative notation whereas Mr. Phillip’s approached the crowd, has a much lighter feel to it. It takes the blame away from the boys but also doesn’t place it on Mr. Phillips. I think that this incident is another example of why we should not rush to conclusions before hearing the full story. With the whole country in a political crossfire concerning the wall, it is not a surprise that many people reacted quickly and without full knowledge of what really happened. This reminds us that we should always make sure to understand the full story before rushing to conclusions and that we should always respect others no matter their race, ethnicity, age, gender, religious belief, etc.
I personally think that the behavior of this young man is atrocious and embarrassing to the rest of our youth. I have not personally been following this event's actions in any way which is the reason I knew nothing of the matter. I wonder why the Native American elder didn't just move around the crowd of pro-life people. I also think that the main student(Nick Sandmann)’s statements contradict themselves, because he acknowledged that he did something wrong an disrespectful but he refused to apologize for said action.
Now that I’ve seen the videos and heard statements from the people participating in the event I’m still not sure what happened. I know that the group of kids in the MAGA merchandise and the Hebrew Israelites having a brawl. At certain times the Israelites called the kids crackers, which was uncalled for. I don’t think Mr. Phillips should have stepped into the fight because he should have been aware that something bad might happens to him. I think the authorities should have been called instead. I do not think that Nick Sandmann did anything wrong. If a stranger started beating a drum inches away from me I would be smiling awkwardly too. While I think he should have done something to stop his peers I know he would not have been able to do much. Once mob mentality gets started it’s hard to stop it. I think that everyone mocking and yelling at Mr. Phillips was rude, however they did not get violent. Even though they did not get violent their actions are unacceptable. Furthermore the original video doesn’t show the context of the situation, making people jump to conclusions they wouldn’t reach without full knowledge of what happened.
I heard the teens yelling build the wall and I heard the Hebrew Israelites yelling go back to Europe, which I find ironic. While the Lincoln Memorial symbolizes equality for all, integration, and acceptance, what the two groups were basically saying was if you’re from insert place we don’t we don’t like you and don’t think you should be here.
1
In the video shown in this article, I see a group of students, particularly white students and a Native American singing or chanting something towards the students. There was also a student that was seen standing in front of the Native American "simply" standing there and "watching" the Native American. This was all that was shown in the media and the article. There was no background story in any video or the video featured and this caused strong biased opinions from the viewers, as expected. However, my opinion is quite constant too and it might be hard to change my opinion. Although Sandmann addressed that he did not do anything to harass the Native American. he still stood there inches away from him. However, he did not necessarily do nothing. He stood there smirking, holding in a laugh and he was not the only one at fault. The students behind him were mocking the chants made by the Native American too by dancing, making faces, and chanting against the Native American. Sandmann's excuse was puny to me as the video states otherwise. Although the video allowed many different opinions, I can definitely see how many people can feel outrage. The video was filmed in a way in which the students were at focus and their inappropriate behavior was filmed. However, even with all the opinions and views, what the students did was disrespectful either way. Just because another group might have done something wrong too, does not mean the other group is immediately right.
4
I only recently heard about this story and I was shocked to see how disrespectful the students were acting towards Phillips. I feel a deep sense of disappointment in the younger generation of this country. I would expect that we would all strive to be the kindest and most accepting people. I'm wondering what other people have to say about this and if there are any of the students who feel regret about what happened.
The fact that Phillips approached them makes his side even easier to take. When you think about the situation, he only interfered for the safety of the students who later disrespected him. This just goes to show how this whole thing could have been avoided.
There many different versions of what happened, all spread throughout social media. I think social media is what caused the biggest controversy to arise. The news, at least from what I've read, has relatively the same story. I would like to think that the news would be more accurate than thousands of social media outbursts.
I believe that Nathan Phillips only had good intentions. The only reason he even got involved in the first place was the fact that the boys were already in the midst of a conflict. He only stepped in to help.
In the video I saw these black Hebrew men yelling at the large group of teenagers who were doing nothing to them and minding their own business. When I was asked the question who's side are you on, I answered nobody's because everyone in this situation was guilty. I do think that it is partly the black Hebrew's fault because they were shouting these racist insults at the group of white teenagers, while the teenagers were waiting for their bus. Next the Native American elder, Nathan Phillips tries to break up the fight by standing between the group of teenagers and the black Hebrew men. Then the teens start to circle around and engulf Phillips, while he starts to perform a Native American sacred song that includes beating a drum. When he was performing the song the teens mocked him, ignorantly danced to it, and chanted build that wall, referring to the wall the U.S. president Donald Trump wants to build separating the U.S. from Mexico. If I was Nathan Phillips in this situation I wouldn't of got myself into the altercation between the kids and the Hebrews, even though, he was only trying to break up the fight. After learning that Phillips approached the children instead of just walking away, this made it seem like it was wrong for Phillips to walk into the kids personal space, but still it was very inappropriate for the kids to make fun of his beliefs like that. This shows that so called "melting pot" U.S. still is feeding their youth with horrible information.
As I don't watch the news that often, this is the first time I am hearing of this. I believe that this was shameful and very low of the gathered high schoolers - who evidently were also MAGA supporters - to do this, as the ceremony had already finished up when they got there. On the other hand, I think that it was not a good decision for Mr. Nathan Phillips to go up and approach the herd of high schoolers that, even though he had good intentions. The main problem though, was the Hebrew Israelites who mostly began the mess by yelling completely inappropriate and unacceptable comments at both the students and the Native Americans, While the Native Americans seemed unbothered by the comments towards them, the comments directed towards the students clearly got them all riled up, and defensive. I understand why Mr. Phillips did as he did, walking up to the MAGA students, as he must have known it was a lost cause.
First off, I want to start by saying that everyone in this event played a significant role in the impact of the conflict during, and even after the incident. Before I saw the video I thought, “This was an Indigenous Peoples march, and the fact that these high school students came and mocked an elderly Native American man is just disgusting. Everyone has their freedom of speech, but due to the fact that they came and interrupted a peaceful event for equality, and ended up in the hands of hatred goes to show how the people of America go by doing things.” But later on I understood that the high school students are not the ones at total fault. The Hebrew Israelites were not only harassing the Native Americans, but the teenagers also because they cane wearing “Make America Great Again” gear. This is where the actual conflict starts, but Nathan Phillip, the Native American that was being mocked, came to intervene and try to stop the commotion between the two groups. But I guess you can say that the teens were already mad from the Hebrew Israelites, so the Native Americans stepping in probably gave a hand to their anger. Either way, this whole thing was not called for and put many people through shame and disbelief on what happened, and this doesn’t give a good look to anyone at all.
2
Certainly this is one of the craziest and mixed sided things I have ever seen. There are plenty of stories and videos but it is really up to you to decide what to believe I could just rant on about what I saw and how from the looks of it it was a horrible act and not something that I would ever support even if it was my child, but the truth is I wasn't there and all I have to base my opinion off of is the pure fact that I saw some videos and pictures. The story is supposedly that there were two protests going on at the same time and unfortunately they collided and to make matters even worse they shared completely different views politically. The story says from what I have read that there was a group of teenagers who were waiting for their school bus to arrive so they could go back to school but there being no adults as far as I have seen the students began to get in an argument with a couple of African Americans and so when a native American came by and saw this argument happening he decided to step inside of the heat and begin to pray. As soon as this happened the teenagers started surrounding the native and saying rude things like " Build that wall". The man was very confused and so am I about why these kids wouldn't even listen and let alone respect another protest even when they were doing the same thing. The lack of respect is something that just leaves me confused. Also a huge circulating question that I also share is where were the adults. With that being said bye.
When I look at the videos, all I see are white supremacist kids mocking Native Americans. The sad thing is, the only reason people blew up and the social media blew up was because the kids were wearing MAGA gear. Make America Great Again has now gone from a promising slogan to a phrase that means white supremacy and hatred. However, we really do not know what happened. In my opinion, this was an uncontrolled mess of terrible decisions on all sides. The boys should have just left the situation, instead of escalating it even more by shouting back to the black men there. The Native American man should not have intervened, but should have dialed 911 as this could have turned violent and volatile. I do not like how Nick's community is backing him without even stopping to think that their 'perfect' boy could have done something wrong. While Nick said that he did not do anything wrong, it was pretty obvious to me that he was smiling, almost mocking the Native American man. It's just depressing that on a holiday commemorating a peaceful rights activist, an unnecessary clash between races had to occur between peaceful protests. Also, this fruitless and hurtful confrontation took place in front of a national landmark dedicated to not just any man, but a man who fought against slavery and racial injustice and here were these representatives of different races disrespecting the legacies and work of President Lincoln and Dr. Martin Luther King Junior.
7
I feel like much of the national response to this situation has revolved around people “taking a side,” either targeting or attacking one of the groups. Most of the hate has been focused on the group of students, specifically the one in the foreground standing opposite Mr. Phillips. Because the boys were white, went to a private Catholic school, and were dressed in MAGA gear (something that has come to convey a hateful and intolerant message), it was easy to immediately assume that they were acting inappropriately. However, while they were certainly not diffusing the situation, and were acting disrespectfully in some ways, the video doesn’t give any context for how the situation started or the motivations of the different groups. Nothing explicitly violent is depicted, and all of those shown in it are protected by Freedom of Speech. In addition, both Phillips and the students have given conflicting statements regarding their actions, further confusing the events of that day. I think that this event should not be about taking a side, and instead should demonstrate the issues with the way that we respond to news. We should all take extra care to remember to separate our personal biases from our reading of news, and to read and understand all parts of a story from credible sources before forming an opinion.
3
I have not been following this story and this was pretty new for me. I didn't know that people could be so disrespecting towards elders and fellow humans. This reaction was totally unnecessary for the kids to do. This is was an important man that they were surrounding. They also drawn to much attention to themselves. This is causing a big conflict everywhere.
1
Social media and miss information can really twist the story especially in this one. At first Mr. Philips says that the group came to him and he was only trying to finish his dance routine. After another post it said that he went to the kids and started praying fearing tension between the kids and the black dudes raising awareness for their religion. When i read the first article i felt much sympathy for the man and thought that the kids were being extremely disrespectful. After reading the second article i could no longer side with Mr. Philips because he put himself into the situation that made him such a stand out in todays media.
This brings to my next point, that the teens were doing something disrespectful either way. whether looking at what Mr. Sandmann had said clarifying his actions and how Mr. Philips put himself in the situation you can see that both result in this negative chanting and mocking of the religious practice. Mr. Sandmann may not have touched him or threatened him in any way but he does show a passive aggressive nature in his attitude. For someone like me who hasn't experienced pro trump students at this level of devotion i am quick to judge. I believe this could be one of the reasons why people could be showing such outrage to this story. I feel like leftist today use the actions of these young men to associate it with trump and the slogans they support creating more and more separation in our world.
1
Watching the clip for the first time, I expected the situation to be a lot worse than I saw that it was. While I do not support the things that the boys were protesting for, I do not think that they were really doing anything more than voicing their opinion, even if it wasn’t in the most respectful way. I think the subjects in this video hit close to home for so many people that they may have overlooked the lack of violence in the clip. I do think that both groups were being disrespectful, the school boys a little more so, but we really don’t have enough context to decide who is in the wrong in this situation, or if anyone is at fault at all.
1
In all honesty, I am disappointed. Disappointed with all of the students heckling the indigenous man, disappointed in the media for targeting the silent boy. In my opinion, he was the least disrespectful to the Native man. What certainly does not help, is the fact that they are all wearing MAGA gear. In today's society, that merch is now a symbol of hate. So the immediate reaction from everyone was "Oh my god! These kids are a representation of today's society! Hatred!! I'm so disappointed in these students."
Overall, I believe in free speech, and I think this is a violation of that right. I am an obstaining I think the adults that are harassing the boy in the center, are stepping out of line. Yes, all of the students should be held accountable for their actions, but they are still just kids. Kids who are still learning.
I think that no one was completely wrong or right in the incident. The Israelites should not have acted the way they did, especially to teenagers. The teenagers responded poorly, but a good response should not be expected from what was being said. The Native Americans acted in a way others could not understand at the time and more toward the students and not the ones who started it.
1
In this situation, most people would just assume that the young man was just harassing the man that was protesting his beliefs. I myself had that thought, the thought that the young man approached him just out of pure mockery. I had read the article and realized that the group protesting had approached the group of young men. I read the young mans statement and I had realized that you have to get both sides of the story before you start to assume. Yes, it was very disrespectful. To me it does not matter who it is, that is pure disrespect, especially to an elder. Everyone always has their opinions on people and situations, when you see this picture or this video the first thing that comes to mind is that the young man is being disrespectful, but they could have just put it past them and just walk away. There are more ways to handle things then to let it get under your skin and turn around and stand there in disrespect. Now on the elder mans part the things that were said to the kids were not needed to be said especially to come from an adult. This situation was very disrespectful from both people, not just one.
1
My personal thoughts are that both of the parties are in the wrong.The teens are in the wrong more so than the native americans that where there just to pray and and sing so who would be so hate full to prevent them from letting them be in their culture. Another thing that makes me not like is how the native americans didn't try to go around or try to be passive and peacefully move them.
2
Recently, I moved to Oklahoma from Texas, and before I had not met many Native American people. And I had never really thought anything of them, but the last two months that I have lived in the beautiful state of Oklahoma, I have started to appreciate and honor more and more of the Native American culture, either way it goes, you will have to live with it, whether you like it or not. If you don't like it, ignore it!
In this situation, I feel like the boys were unfairly and much too quickly judged for their actions. When I first saw the initial video that went viral, I assumed the boys in the video were the ones 100% in the wrong, which is not entirely too. The more you read, the more you realize the main group that started the quarrel was the group of Israeli preachers, who weren't even pictured in the original video. Of course, the boys then did insult and verbally attack Phillips after he stepped into the situation to try to keep the peace, and that is why they were accused of being the original perpetrators in the encounter. This is a perfect example of why you need to understand all sides of a story before you develop your opinion on whatever the topic is and people always need to remember that news has always spread fast, but now that we have news networks and social media, gossip and rumors spread like wildfire in this dry, helpless nation.
2
My thoughts on this whole situation is that it’s very touchy and could be seen in many different ways. As is see it, this is the kind of stuff mankind tries to stop but just can’t seem to do it. No matter how hard we as a society try to stop it forms of it will always come up and it doesn’t matter how big or small it will get some sort of backlash which could get even worse or not.
When I look at the videos, all I see are white supremacist kids mocking Native Americans. The sad thing is, the only reason people blew up and the social media blew up was because the kids were wearing MAGA gear. Make America Great Again has now gone from a promising slogan to a phrase that means white supremacy and hatred. However, we really do not know what happened. In my opinion, this was an uncontrolled mess of terrible decisions of all sides. The boys should have just left the situation, instead of escalating it even more by shouting back to the black men there. The Native American man should not have intervened, but should have dialed 911 as this could have turned violent and volatile. I do not like how Nick's community is backing him without even stopping to think that their 'perfect' boy could have done something wrong. While Nick said that he did not do anything wrong, it was pretty obvious to me that he was smiling, almost mocking the Native American man. It's just sad that on a holiday commemorating a peaceful rights activist, a unnecessary clash between races had to occur between peaceful protestors in front of a national landmark
@Tino K.
Please disregard this, I accidentally submitted this and there is a completed one submitted more recently.
Thank you,
Tino K.
1
I personally think that Nick Sandmann and many of the other boys in the group are innocent. This was my view when I first heard about the incident, and after reading his statement, I am only more convinced that he did not do anything rude or offensive.
In his statement, Nick said that he had no desire for tensions to escalate, and wanted to remain peaceful the entire time. I think that that is respectable, justifiable and the right thing to do. The video clearly shows him simply standing there as Phillips bangs a drum in his face, only cracking a friendly smile to show that he did not want to fight.
The public is being way too harsh on an innocent kid who got caught up in a conflict that he wanted nothing to do with. Nick said that people have threatened to hurt - or even kill - him, which is too much for any teenager, especially one for whom there is no evidence of any racism or rudeness. Not only does he deserve the benefit of the doubt, he released a very heartfelt statement explaining what really happened and what he thinks about the situation.
Despite all the obstacles he faced, I think he handled the situation very well, and in no way does he deserve any of what has happened to him in the past few days. So many things around him went wrong, but he did the right thing no matter what, and I think that deserves the utmost respect.
2
Personally, I believe that everyone has a right to an opinion, and that everyone is allowed to believe whatever they want to believe. However, verbally attacking and yelling at someone else with an opinion different from yours is completely unacceptable. It is wrong and it should not be tolerated. The way the white high school students mocked Phillips (who was the good guy in the situation, trying to help them and establish peace between the two groups) was definitely rude and unacceptable. It should not have happened and the boys should be penalized for such actions, first of all, for disrespecting an elder, and second of all, for DISCRIMINATING.
And personally, I think that it’s perfectly fine that the white students have a different political belief than the others -- so what? They STILL shouldn’t have disrespected the poor man like that.
Not placing all the blame on them, though, since the Hebrew Israelites were also not to be praised. They shouted racial slurs towards the white people, calling them “Crackers”… for what? Did they think that running around and screaming racist curses at them would somehow help or benefit them? I don’t see a point in this and find it ridiculous that they would act this way towards people with simply a different skin tone than them. I just think that people should calm down and act like mature adults. They should realize what they had done and understand that THEY are providing a terrible, dreadful example towards future generations.
1
Over the long weekend, clips of the video have been popping up all over my Instagram. I have not been following the story but seeing and reading what happened, I think that it is absolutely outrageous to think that such an advanced country is so unthoughtful and racist. Although Nathan Phillips did approach the group to start anything, the teens' reactions are uncalled for. Nathan Phillips stated that he was "trying to diffuse" the tension. The three groups consisting of the boys, Native American activists, and African American Hebrew Israelites both made the tension between each other worse with every word they said. In the video, it showed one of the activists telling them to go back to Europe, which is unreasonable because everyone there is a US citizen. The "Make America Great Again" caps also sparked debate because the two opposing groups against the boys said hateful things about how they could make America great again by leaving. That day was about peaceful protesting through marches, yet these groups had started spitting out racial slurs, and hatred. Personally, if I was there, I would call 911 because if the encounter got out f hand, there would be physical damage not just emotional so to speak. Since the entire country, for the most part, knows about this event, it will probably and hopefully never happen again. But if it does there is a chance it could be blown farther out of proportion, and end with violence.
4
I have already heard about this story. This story is disgraceful against the Native Americans. Nate Sandmann was very mean to nate Phillips. I am not against what Nate Phillips did, and I think he did the right thing telling the truth. Nate Sandmann thinks he didn’t do anything wrong. I do think it was a hard situation, but he shouldn’t have just stood there and smile. He could have sang along. I do think it is kind of unfair how everyone is being mean to him, and not the guy who took his shirt off. However, they both should be criticized. What the high schoolers did was completely wrong. They shouldn’t have goofed off. This was a mean thing to do.
Personally, I have not been hearing about this story recently on the news over the weekend, but it is very interesting to learn about. It seems like this video clip was made perfectly to attract attention and provoke viewers. This clip has “blown up” since it was posted, attracting 217,878 views! I think that all sides in the Lincoln Memorial incident could have changed their ways and everything could have turned out different and not created the national scandal that it did create. I cannot determine whether or not it would have been better not to film the situation, as not filming it would have allowed the situation to pass by more easily, but filming it also draws attention to the racism and scandalous behaviour that was practiced and exhibited during the Friday “standoff”! I think that this could have been easily avoided if all the sides stayed calm and changed their actions!
1
I feel like what those kids did was unacceptable, especially when all Nathan Phillips was trynna do was do the ritual and stop the two other parties from fighting each other during the sacred ritual, when he was paying his respects to his fallen comrades who fell in the war of Vietnam, and fought bravely just to make it out but weren't so fortunate.The teenagers mocking the native americans is like mocking Nathan's fallen comerades write in front of him.
1
Standing and smiling while someone beats a drum inches away from your face looks like passive resistance to me. Beating a drum in someones face is aggression. If it weren't for the MAGA hats that is what everyone would be saying.
In the video and image, it looked like a bunch of white high schoolers were ganging up on an older Native American man. For the most part, I haven’t been following the story. After reading the article, it seems that no one is truly at fault. The black men were preaching their beliefs, which is protected by the First Amendment. The comments, however, made by the men, were unnecessary. The Native American man went to prevent the situation between the black men and the white teenagers from escalating. The image made it seem like the white teenagers were at fault, but in reality they were not. This situation is filled with both racial and political views. The white teenagers were wearing “Make America Great Again” clothing, but I do not believe that politics influenced the teens’ decision to circle Nathan Phillips, the Native American man. I think the photo went viral because it seemed like the teens were supporting white supremacy and cornering Mr. Phillips. It all is depending on how you view the situation. Different people with different ways of thinking will view the situation differently. At first glance, it seems like the teens were mocking Mr. Phillips, probably because of his race. This is utterly ridiculous because Mr. Phillips has served in the defense of the country, the country that they want to “make great again”, yet they are disrespecting a man who helped their cause. However, I think that Mr. Phillips was right to step in. Race is very important in this situation.
3
If this kid had not been wearing a MAGA cap we would never have heard of the matter.
Otherwise, there was plenty of shameful behavior to be deplored in this silly episode, and 99.9% of it belongs to the media.
1
I have seen clips of this story all over social media and the news, but no one really knows what really happened. It all started with the Hebrew Israelite's who yelled racist comments at the Native Americans and students. They were the instigators of this whole disagreement. Nathan Phillips was the Native American man who walked in the middle of all the protesting students, only trying to separate them from the Hebrew Israelite's. He said that he "stepped in between to pray," but this wasn't how everyone else saw it. Nick Sandmann was very close to him and was somewhat smirking, but he did not do anything wrong or mock him. He didn't say a word, he just stood there. Although Phillip's intentions were good, he could have done something else to try and calm everyone down. Walking in the middle of a bunch of shouting students wasn't the best idea, and that is what everyone has been watching on the news and on social media.
"...leading many, including the students’ own school, to condemn the boys’ behavior as disrespectful. But on Sunday, Mr. Phillips clarified that it was he who had approached the crowd and that he had intervened because racial tensions..." This shows that Mr. Phillips knows that what he did was not smart, but he meant well. I also believe that the boys should not be considered "disrespectful," but I do believe that what they did could have been more responsible. I just hope that a situation like this doesn't occur again because nothing good came from it.
2
I am taken aback by this image, a clear and unequivocal expression of the hate currently pervading American politics and minority relation. The students in the picture can obviously be seen taunting Mr. Phillips, an outwardly peaceful and reasonable man who has served in defense of his country, presumably over something as meaningless as his race. This lack of respect, not only for other cultures, but those who are willing to risk their lives for the protection the United States, is dumbfounding. Students should understand and respect the sacrifices made by those before them, and it is genuinely saddening that they do not.
While the the Hebrew Israelites mentioned in the article, who were creating tumult for both Mr. Phillips and the students may have created tense atmosphere, there is no excuse for the conduct exhibited by the students, especially towards a man who is doing nothing but protesting peacefully.
The widespread outrage and condemnation of this behavior is entirely warranted, as students should learn to respect other cultures, not to mention our veterans.
All parties should be given an opportunity to express their views, but it should never be in such a belligerent, hateful fashion. I have no understanding of what prevents people, such as these students, from participating in a reasonable ideological discussion.
1
I have not been following this story but even now I'm thinking: What the heck? We don't even know really what happened. It does seem that trying to calm the situation down by walking toward the students was not a good idea, but it did seem that his intentions were good and the students' intentions were bad. The new video definitely sheds new light, but we're still mostly in the dark. Social media definitely had a major part in spreading this story around. Nathan Phillips seemed to have good intentions, nut his actions could have been better. It seems that Nick Sandman was being purposely disrespectful by almost mocking him. Trump has promoted a lot of hate as president and because they were wearing MAGA hats, so I think he did cause this in a distant sort of way. If I was there I probably would have called 911. I have rushed to judgement before, so I know you should think about a decision before making it. i really don't think anything good will come of this. I just hope that it blows over and nothing else is influenced by it.
- I saw the videos all over social media and online over the long weekend, from the anti-abortion protest. The high school boys were waiting for their bus to go back to Kentucky, while they were yelling at black Israelites. Nathan Phillips, who is an indigenous person and an activist, put himself into the middle of this verbal fight between the boys and the Israelites. He thought that he could stop the fighting by playing his ancestral music. I think that the boys are at fault in this issue. They may not have started anything with the Native Americans, but they did encourage mocking. I think that Nathan Phillips should maybe not have inserted himself into an already escalating situation, but he was trying to help. The boys, on the other hand, were jumping to the beat of the drum and mocking the noises. Nick Sandmann just stands in front of Nathan Phillips, smiling, while his other friends mock away. After reading this article, my opinion has not really changed. I maybe took a little of the blame off of the boys, but it still doesn't matter if Nathan Phillips went to them, because that is still no reason to insult him and his culture.
What I see in the video I a man trying to stop all the riot between the teenage boys and the men. The man, Nathan Phillips intervened and tried to stop the argument. The man protested peacefully. Also, in the video, I noticed the teenage boys were mocking Mr. Phillips and sort of just taking the situation as a joke. Also, the main teenage seen staring at Nathan Phillips in the picture has a very disrespectful smirk on his face. In the video, I also saw all the kids recording the situation. Now towards the end of the video, Mr. Phillips says he recalls the boys yelling “Build that wall”. Now as far as freedom of speech, I think that the boys should have kept their beliefs to themselves. They did not have to share it with others. I think that often fights or arguments are created by a disagreement.You can't go around saying sensitive stuff like that and expect no one to have an opinion different from yours. Many people can get offended by that. Now when we have the information that it was Nathan Phillips was the one that actually approached the teenage gang my opinion the matter partially changed. Maybe if Mr. Phillips just wrapped up his march and left the matters to the adults that were responsible for the kids. Then again, I didn’t see any adults even try to calm the kids down or even move them away. So this situation was caused by a lack of control and management of the teenagers. Also, why wasn’t there any police officers monitoring the area.
After reading the New York Times’ second article, my opinion and reaction to what the highschool boys did has not changed. The highschool boys behavior was still atrocious towards not only the Native Americans, but also the other protesters as well. The boys were mocking and rude towards both groups that participated in the disturbance, not only are they in high school and acting like they are in fourth grade, but even if you are young, you should never insult someone's race or culture, especially someone older than you. I do think that the new information including that Mr. Philips approached the boys to dissolve a dispute between them and other protesters is important. I believe this because this information does take a small piece away from what the high schoolers did to both protest parties. This information also shows that the boys were already in a fight with other protesters before Mr. Philips intervened. If I was at the Lincoln Memorial when the protest groups clashed, I would have first seen if anything was being done about the situation. I would then call the police if nothing was being done, or if that thing was not working. I would call the police because even if the protesters were doing nothing to get them in trouble, the police would be able to help prevent the fight from continuing for to long.
When I first saw and heard of this story I thought it was appalling. I couldn't believe a group of white high school boys was disrespecting a native elder like that. Especially during the indigenous people's march. My first thoughts were that they had surrounded the man during the march preventing him from going further and performing his ritual. When I learned that Nathan Phillips had actually interfered in a vocal fight between the black Israelites and the boys my opinion slightly changed but not totally. I am in fact more fond of Nathan Phillips that he tried to deescalate the situation. These facts, however, did not change the fact that the boys were mocking and yelling and being entirely disrespectful to the elder.
- After the second article came out stating that Nathan Phillips was the one to come an intervene, still does not change my opinion. All Phillips was trying to do was stop the argument between the Israelites and the high schoolers. I think it is absolute that the high schoolers were in the wrong and Phillips was not. The chants that the boys were saying and when they mocked Phillips’ praying was very disrespectful and rude.
- In this situation, I think that the fact those high schools were all white, Catholic and most of all wearing “Make America Great Again” gear was not very helpful too there case. Also, the fact a Native American, who make up only 1% of the country, was being attacked/antagonized. I think due to the heat of politics and people calling the president a racist also makes this story harder on the white high schoolers.
- My real problem with all of this is that there was absolutely no chaperones for the kids or any security guards anywhere to help and solve the conflict. If there was a chaperone then this could have turned out differently.
My thoughts after seeing both videos and reding the article is that I think that the Native Americans, school boys, and the Hebrew Israelites all are going to be in trouble. They all were yelling at each other and none of them decided to walk away or end the argument. I do think the school boys wearing controversial pro Trump apparel are at fault because they were the ones being disrespectful. The mob of high schoolers were mocking the Native Americans and laughing at them while making faces, which they shouldn’t have been doing. Before seeing both videos and reading the article all I saw was the image and quick video which made me think only the school boys were doing something wrong but really no one is innocent.
This confrontation between these different groups was at first a very straight forward issue for me. At first glance, you see a bunch of racist teens harassing a Native American elder, surrounding him and yelling. I think that is what everyone who looked at this photo saw. Of course, this first glance is without context. As soon as I looked into the background, it became more complex. I was not even aware of the instigators, a group of Hebrew Israelites, the people that were the root of this meeting. I know came to understand the scenario. Here is a simple overview. The Hebrew Israelites were instigating a conflict by yelling negative comments at both the teens and Native Americans. They were more or less ignored by the Native Americans, but not by the teens. The Native American group was leaving when they noticed the confrontation coming to a climax, so they stepped in between the two groups as a sort of buffer. Nathan Phillip then moves into the group of students, causing them to retreat until he is met by Nick Sandmann who stops him. Eventually, the conflict comes to a stop. The issue now became more confusing for me. I understand now that the high school students did not start the fight, the Hebrew Israelites did. I think the Native American group was right in their attempted to defuse the situation, but not in the way they did it. They should not have moved into a group of already riled up teens, which only antagonized them.
3
It’s very hard to pin the blame for this incident on everyone, this a jumbled mess of poor choices. I am trying to stay neutral despite my bias. I think a lot of fault has to go onto the teens regardless of the nonviolence, but they were displaying appalling behavior. The school should have exercised more caution around dress code. Allowing them to wear such strong political views on their clothes very well could provoke anger. They should have been careful of avoiding conflict while bearing such apparel, and just left the situation immediately instead of lingering, as it could’ve easily escalated to violence. The native american people who were performing the ritual were not in the wrong. It was another case of making a choice that wasn’t ideal. I do not doubt the good intentions they had but interfering wasn’t something they should've been responsible for. Just staying out of it and possibly contacting security to break it up seems wisest. I admire their actions as an attempt at peace, but it was a predictably unsuccessful attempt. Finally, the men shouting before the interference. Although I understand free speech applies with all of those statements, I still argue that they were fueling the fight. There was no reason to scream, as this caused a few of the more rambunctious teens respond with angry yells. Putting the pieces together, the only people who I view as truly innocent were the native american men who tried to pacify the boys in trump merchandise,.
1
To begin my thoughts, I would like to say that even through these articles, we do not know the full story. Everyone has given their accounts based on their perspective. The story will be different for everyone. For Philips, he was just trying to diffuse tension. For Sandmann, Philips came up to him and provoked all actions. Even my perspective will not be fully accurate because my opinions influence my thoughts, and I only have so many resources. I personally think both sides might have over exaggerated. To me it looked like Sandmann was too smug to be sincere, but I am sure I am not fully correct. No account of this story will be fully accurate because it will be told through someone's perspective. The only things we know to be fully accurate are the facts. We know Philips approached the group. We know the group was videoing him and teasing (you can see from the dances and comments), even if only moderately. We know they were wearing Trump attire (which probably provoked the other protesters' comments, but that is my opinion). The only things known to be true are the facts, not the stories surrounding them. While the video heavily influences the story and confirms what happened, everything will still be perceived in a different way, because as humans, we can not engineer stories (however true they may be), without our opinions clouding our thoughts.
2
In my opinion, both parties were at fault. The Native American did interfere with the protest, however, the teen did act very disrespectful. The new information was very important as it told us a story from a new point of view. This new POV helps us understand that the teens weren't all that wrong, greatly changing how the situation seems.
1
When I first watched the the viral video, I was wondering where the chaperones were. I really didn’t know what was going on. It looked like the students were mocking and taunting the native american. Afterwards, I began to research and read the New York Times article, I realized a few things. First of all, knowing that it was Mr. Phillips who approached the boys made me take some blame off of them. From Nick Sandmann’s statement, it seems that he wasn’t trying to cause anything bad to happen. He was only trying to diffuse the situation by smiling. However with the other students, I don’t think their behavior was necessary. In Nick’s statement he said, “I motioned to my classmate and tried to get them to stop engaging with the protester, as I was still in the mindset that we needed to calm down tensions.” This proves that the students were trying provoke the situation. The actions of the Hebrew Israelites shouting racial slurs and Nathan Phillips approaching/standing extremely close to Nick Sandmann was not justified but in the end, the students should not have acted so loud, disrespectful, and inappropriate. These students are the future of our country. They need to be able to make good decisions. They should’ve been the bigger person and remained calm or ignore it.
9
This weekend I was following this story trying to get the latest updates on this controversial topic. When I first saw the video of the teen and Mr. Phillips I was thought why was the teen had a smirking look on his face. Later when I read the news articles and reports on the news I realized the whole scenario. After reading this article the reaction to the student did change. Mr. Sandman, the high school junior claims “I did not speak to him. I did not make any hand gestures or other aggressive moves.” Still what made me suspicious was that the teen had the smirk on his face. His friends and classmates behind him were saying racial slurs and other rude things wearing apparel with the slogan “Make America Great Again”. It was very crucial knowing the new information that it was Mr. Phillips “who had approached the crowd,” as opposed to the initial reports that the video showed high school boys “surrounding a Native American elder”. At first, when I first saw the video and read the reports I thought the teen and the others surrounding Mr. Philips was rude and disrespectful, but after reading the Times’s second article, I slightly changed my opinion. Mr. Philips and the other Native American people actually got in between to diffuse the tension between the high school teens and the African American Israelites. If I was there I would tell one of the chaperones to get the kids to calm down and stay back. America still has not learned to accept one another just the way they are.
2
I believe that the students are to blame in this situation because even though they are not as guilty as the press branded them, they still at fault. So I watched the viral video and the extended one video and what I saw in their was when Mr. Philips came up to them to try to ease the tensions, they surrounded him and started in what I saw as racist, since they were doing what seemed to be the haka dance disregarding his race and thinking that he was Maori. But at the beginning, it was the African American Hebrews who started the tensions, one even asked “y’all klansmen?” . And what’s worse is that the chaperones of the schooldid nothing during the incident a. To add on to that, when I delved deeper into the the high schoolers’ school, I found some more controversial things that the school’s students did, one that included them chanting at an asian player, ’ PF Chang ’ a famous asian themed restaurant chain and then "No. 2 open your eyes". So this school’s past history of racist chants may be evidence that the students there were disrespectful and possibly shouting racist chants at the Native Americans while they were hitting their drums and praying. So I believe that those students are to blame for antagonizing the native americans who were trying to diffuse the situation which led to african americans to start calling them racial slurs. So in conclusion, the blame rests on the students and partially on the African American Hebrews since they also escalated the situation.
2
My reaction to this is not surprised at all. With the actions that the U.S. has done towards incidents like this, it is not abnormal for this to happen to poor souls like this. Nathan Phillips was a peaceful man, looking to intervene the fighting that occured between the high school kids and the blacks. After reading Nick Sandmann’s statement, I believe is that Sandmann was wrongly accused of many accounts of false news. Nick Sandmann was silently protesting, and his smile was to ensure Phillips’ right to protest. He showed no anger or gestures, and it was his entourage that was being verbally attacked. Nick has received many death threats and threats and insults in general because of his false actions. I strongly support Nick’s actions and I believe he was purely respecting the 1st amendment of the Constitution, allowing free speech. If I was there, then I would’ve shook that Native American man’s hand, and said “That was lovely.” Because no one deserves to be ditched after providing a sign of intervention between two fighting groups. It was the Hebrew Israelites who started this because they were completely ignorant and had no idea of what they were saying and how it would affect the victim. "Go back to Europe" Really? "Hey, Crackers." Even more offensive. The Native Americans are supported by me as well, because they were trying to "defuse an exploding bomb."
Moral of the story? Don’t abuse your freedom or your rights.
7
The kids were there because that was the meeting place for their bus home. The group of self proclaimed Isrealites we're hurling abscenities at these kids. The group of Native Americans came up to the kids. Nathan Phillips put himself in the personal space if this teen. It should NEVER be ok to bully kids. If these kids weren't wearing MAGA hats but the adults were... What side would you be on?
6
I'd like to start off by stating I am on the side of the kids. The reason why is because I watched the whole video which is almost two hours long. There was a African American group there along with the Natives. With that in mind I'll explain my thought process. After viewing it I saw the before and after of the viral clip. The Natives and African Americans yelled thing like "White people, Go back to Europe!" and called some of the students "Crackers". The kid seen in the viral video clip said he stood there as to not increase the tension between the two groups. He even thanked the Native in the clip for his Service in Vietnam. The chant the school kids made was their school chant so they say. So with that in mind I hope you find the untold truth in this whole story. One side note. The New York Daily News dug up dirt on the school saying they were racist in the past along side a photo of a group of kids at a basketball game with some white kids dressed in blackface. However it was a blackout event and they all were wearing black just some of them painted their faces. Not to be racist but to show school pride. How would that be different if black students dressed in white face at a whiteout event? ask yourself. Where is the boundary between being racist and being spirited?
2
After reading doing my own research and looking at other news sources, uncut video, and reading up on all the players involved in the incident I have concluded that MSM should be ashamed for not redacting their claims or statements. The Native American man approached the student and got in their face. Not the other way around. Not once did the students chant "Build that wall" rather they sang school spirit songs. The students were not even apart of the demonstrations until the Black Hebrews began verbally antagonizing them and attacking them based on the color of their skin. The spin that has been put on this story is shameful.
To address the comments that came before mine. I respectfully suggest you do better research before you go off spouting that the students "need to brush up on who Abraham Lincoln was". Your far leftism shows when you call the "MAGA" phrase racist and offensive. Just because you are not a fan of the current administration (heaven knows I am not) does not mean you get to label things as "racist" nor do you get to challenge the integrity of the students in the video.
Also Elder Phillips is not some random kind old man. He has a history of trying to bait out racial incidents to cause a scene. Which greatly hinders any of his credibility in his accounts of the events (which video evidence contradicts).
2
I did not hear about the events that happened on Friday but I have read about it and I am disgusted. These high schoolers attitude and actions are revolting, they are the people young kids look up to and I personally would not look up to these kids. You could say it is partially Mr. Phillips fault but they have a choice on how they can react. You control your actions and they felt as if they had to react rudely mocking the traditional songs and unnecessary things. I want to know exactly what made these kids act out in the way they did and I also want to know where the chaperones are. These are young teenagers and they should not be left unattended in this case they were and they acted out, I hope next year if they end up going they will know better about leaving kids unchaperoned. My reaction will not change no matter what excuse is made up for the kids, no one can cover for them they are old enough to make their own decisions and in this case they made the wrong one. Mr. Phillips is lightly at fault here in which he did approach the crowd of kids, though the only reason he approached the kids is to break up an argument started earlier with other people, not knowing he would be starting something else. What these kids were saying went deep, I do think it touched on racism and Donald Trump and i want to see if he has anything to say about that. I feel of these kids say they are supporting Donald Trump then he should come out and say something about how this is not right.
My reaction to the student's behavior has not changed after the new information being released. What everyone did then, was not the best decision. The Hebrew Israelites were shouting insults towards the Native Americans who were marching for the rights of indigenous people and the white students who predominantly were wearing “Make America Great Again” merchandise. The Native American, Mr. Phillips who was protesting for the rights of the indigenous people marched into the circle of white students to stand in the middle of the fight that was going on between the black men and the white students and played his drum which I think is noble and a nice gesture but it wasn’t fully thought out. The white students who were previously attending the March for Life, were being insulted with racial comments from the group of Hebrew Israelites. In the statement of Nick Sandmann, he states that they were simply screaming to block out the words the black men were directing at them. He says that they were not at any point saying “Build a wall” but if what the Hebrew Israelites were to be blocked out by the screaming those words and insults for the indigenous people and Nathan Phillips could’ve also been blocked out. The black men, or Hebrew Israelites were causing problems stating their beliefs through insults to others who were different races and had other beliefs that were out marching and protesting them offending others.
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After reading the article from the Times and watching the video showcasing the incident, I feel extremely appalled at the students’ behavior at the Lincoln Memorial. However, the new information that Mr. Phillips approached the mob of students rather than the other way around is very important and significantly changes things. If the students had approached Mr. Phillips, than it would appear as if the students had hostile intentions. But since Mr. Phillips had supposedly stepped in between the students and the israelites to diffuse the situation, the students aren’t necessarily to blame for the confrontation with the native americans. This being said, I do not approve of the way the white students were acting in the presence of Mr. Phillips. Even if the white students did not cause any physical harm, it seems as if the white students were continuously mocking the native americans. They showed no respect for Mr. Phillips or his race. I can only hope that more awareness of unfair and rude treatment towards minority races results from this incident.
I see a kid wearing a hat with an offensive, racist slogan on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. And I see the tribal elder Mr. Phillips as a true American, banging his drum in non-violent protest consistent with the teachings of MLK Jr. He is a better man than me, and I doubt that my reaction would have been as patient and peaceful upon seeing MAGA hats on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. I suggest that these kids brush up on who Abraham Lincoln was, and what the American civil war was all about.
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@Joulupukki
"He is a better man than me, and I doubt that my reaction would have been as patient and peaceful upon seeing MAGA hats on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial."
So you would have assaulted a group of kids for wearing a hat you don't like?
@Robert
good point. I think that a lot of people are taking the side of Nathan Philips just because the kids were all wearing MAGA hats. I feel that the fact that the president doesn't have too much support from people is manipulating people's thoughts and comments about this. This has no relation to to the president's campaign.
In the video I saw high school kids surrounding a native American and the kids were saying " Build that wall " While wearing " Make America great again " Shirts. At first I was confused and I couldn't get out what they were saying because they were screaming but after reading the article and rewatching I found out the" it was he ( The Native Man) who had approached the crowd and that he had intervened because racial tensions — primarily between the white students and the black men " I think the man was trying to help and stop these activities but like all teen are to quick to respond negatively or take other down. I think the kid that was inches away for the native man was being rude even though he didn't nothing he let the other harrass the Native men, while we don't even have to talk about the high school students surroundings the man was all rude, they kept on mocking him, yelling and more.
Nonverbal communication is notoriously ambiguous. However, there seems to be little doubt -- in my mind -- that the behavior by the Covington High School boys is antagonistic, rather than friendly.
Furthermore, I found it interesting that the first act of this Nick Sandmann's parents is to procure the services of a public relations agency.
Importantly, there is nothing in that PR firm's carefully crafted statement that is disprovable, unless another student from that high school steps forward to refute it. In the end, it is less the "smirk" and more the proxemics to Nathan Phillips that I find worrisome. Sandmann is easily within 18" of Phillips and while Phillips is beating a drum, Sandmann is staring into Phillips' eyes.
I look forward to how others interpret this sequence of events as well as the likelihood that more information is inevitable.
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