The End of All Reason
After the sixties, I cannot believe my “identity group” is under attack from so-called liberals. Gee - I supported the civil rights and women’s liberation movements, and drank the Age of Aquarius Koolaid. 50 years later, presumptuous progressives and militant minorities attack my “southern heritage” and “white privilege” and “male advantage” and “Christian dogma.” I feel betrayed, because I am just as endowed by my Creator with certain unalienable rights as any other identity group.
A fundamental expectation of my right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness is a justice system that protects me from an angry mob and dishonest social media. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects every American from stereotypic shaming that intends to silence or deprive one of presumed innocence. The morality of the press and social media is the issue here: do they have the right to create make-believe oppressors?
After Hillary Clinton lost the White House, so-called liberals ratcheted up the identity war to heretofore unthinkable levels. To wit, partisan mis-information on social media maligned Covington Catholic School students, and partisan news outlets made knowingly false claims. The media bias was reported in The Atlantic under the headline, The Media botched the Covington Catholic Story – And the damage to their credibility will be lasting.
Subjective, political attacks on teenage boys should damage a news outlet’s credibility, especially now...when the facts are out: (1) Covington Catholic School boys bought red Make America Great Again hats, (2) they were taunted by Black Hebrew Israelites, (3) a drum-beating Native American entered their ranks, and (4) the boys shouted school cheers while one boy stared into the Native American’s face.
This example of partisan fake news originated when a short video went viral on Twitter with this caption: This MAGA loser gleefully bothering a Native American protestor at the Indigenous Peoples March. A partisan social and mainstream media feeding frenzy erupted.
CNN trashed Covington Catholic student Nick Sandman for “smirking at Nathan Philips, the Native American and Vietnam War recon ranger.” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) tweeted: The boys were protesting a woman’s right to choose & yelled ‘it’s not rape if you enjoy it'...taunting 5 Black men...surrounded Phillips and led racist chants. NBC News reported, “Gay valedictorian banned from speaking at Covington graduation ‘not surprised’ by D.C. controversy.” Social media posted captioned pictures of Covington basketball fans: this is the All-White hand sign. This is Covington Catholic School. Is this what they teach at this Catholic school? Is this how Jesus wanted it?
Oops! Congresswoman Omar later deleted her seditious tweet that accused the white teens of racism, because a longer video proved the Black Hebrew Israelites taunted the boys: “Your president is a homosexual…you give faggots rights…the Bible condemns homosexuality…dirty-ass crackers…your day is coming…I’ll stick my boot in your little ass.” In fact, the white (liberal) students shouted, “who cares…they are still human!”
CNN has remained silent since the long video proved Nathan Philips waded into the students and beat his drum in Nick Sandman’s face. Perhaps the boy smirked, but public records disprove Philips’ allegations (including his lies about being a recon ranger and serving in Vietnam). I suspect CNN fudged the facts to align with the original video’s portrayal of Philips as a sympathetic victim.
NBC’s gay-valedictorian story was complete BS. The “gay valedictorian” (Christian Bales) actually attended Holy Cross High School, which prevented his graduation speech because he submitted it late. Using editorial slight-of-hand, NBC impugned Covington Catholic School as anti-gay and invented a first-hand commentator, when Bales was no such thing.
The “All White hand sign” tweet is complete baloney: the students are actually making the universal hand gesture for a 3-point basketball shot. And there you have it. Self-described liberals abusing their first-amendment rights to advance a false narrative: southern-white-male Catholics are intolerant and abusive toward black and native Americans.
The political Left relies on a coalition of “aggrieved” identity groups, which they believe is a growth market. Union, Jewish and Catholic households have been replaced by New and Improved “aggrieved” voting blocs, which are pulling Democrats away from the center-left toward the far-left. It is sharp-elbowed battle for the soul of the DNC - and anything goes for the likes of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her followers.
The patience and optimism of Bill Clinton are things of the past. The AOC socialists are impatient and angry. Their social media posts push false claims to support their self-proclaimed “aggrieved” status. Truth and justice are lost in the battle to overthrow "advantaged" citizens - even if it means attacking innocent teenagers because of their color, gender and faith.
The make-believe sins hoisted on the Covington Catholic School boys prove only one thing: the loss of reason in the USA. History proves mankind looks back upon the un-reasonable (e.g. Queen Mary burning Protestants at the stake) and un-informed (e.g. those who believed the world was flat before Columbus sailed) with contempt. One can argue that, based on today’s reporting and social media posts, we are no longer a reasonable people or a tolerant nation.
As a practical matter, Nick Sandman’s identity defies political stereotype. Based on the 2010 US census, he is one of 124 million southerners, 200 million whites, 151 million males, and 176 million Christians. It is absurd to suggest a singular southern-white-male-Christian mind or worldview. It makes as much sense as suggesting a Russian shares a singular white-male mind with Sandman.
In closing, consider the make-believe monster invented by NBC’s Noah Berlatsky. His tweet: Nick Sandman said he was a silent bystander, but his MAGA hat spoke for him. His NBC article: “Sandman had already taken steps to provoke and insult people of color. He’d put on a MAGA hat.”
How can a hat emblazoned with MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN mean anything other than a desire for better jobs and domestic tranquility? I have observed terrible clothing in my life (like couples wearing coordinating “slave - - master” tee shirts); however, tacky clothing is not illegal. Furthermore, I believe grown men should leave red-capped teenagers alone - and that includes Berlatsky. After all, if kids were free to burn American flags on the Mall in the 60s, then they are free to wear MAGA hats today!