Sigh.
Another viral video, another massive reaction/overreaction, another myriad of articles, postings on social media (like this one), reactions and condemnations from politicians, officials, and God knows who else, followed by "additional videos" being found, backtracking of condemnations, complaints of death threats, and so on and so on and so on.
Typically, I'm not too affected by them anymore. But, this one is sticking with me longer than most.
Maybe because I'm a teacher and this video involves teens. Maybe because I've always had a fascination and the utmost respect for Native Americans. Maybe because as a teacher, a parent, and a chaperone on numerous field trips, I can not fathom allowing kids I am responsible for acting this way.
Maybe I've just had enough of this bullshit.
The first thing that I had a reaction to was the smug, entitled, I-can-get-away-with-anything-because-of-my-rich-Mommy-and-Daddy look on that teen's face. I've seen numerous posts calling it the "most punchable" face they've seen. I can't disagree. There is something to that, I think.
Sure, there are additional videos of adults calling these kids names. Is that appropriate? No. It's not. How about a group of privileged white kids wearing MAGA hats in Washington DC, on Martin Luther King, Jr's holiday weekend, while the longest partial government shutdown in our history is still going on being disruptive and disrespectful? Is that appropriate? Hell no.
Who were the adults accompanying these kids? Who thought this was okay? Who couldn't foresee something like this happening?
There seems to be something terribly wrong with the school these kids attend. As soon as this punk's smirk went viral, someone in that school knew what was about to happen and took down as much of the school's digital footprint they could as fast as they could. Not surprisingly, it didn't matter. Not in this day and technological age.
I've read quite a bit about this disgrace over the weekend. I don't really care about the kid; he's a product of privilege, racism, and entitlement. He comes from a rich family. No doubt, they spent the next day pouring over the videos and desperately trying to come up with plausible explanations with lawyers and strategists. Some people will even believe their crap. Doesn't really matter.
I was much more interested in his school. Now, I'm horrified. Based on various articles I've read and pictures I've seen, this school has over sixty staff members. Every single teacher is white. Not surprising really. Many schools fall under that umbrella, especially private schools. I've seen photos of various sports teams from that school. All white. Troubling, but not shocking.
Then, I saw photos from school basketball games over the past several years. "Blackout games." Again, not surprising. Many schools have blackouts, whiteouts, blueouts, whatever color a specific school wants its students and fans to wear at important games. So be it. But, there were white kids in blackface, even painting their entire upper bodies black. Seriously. Remember, this is a Catholic school. I saw pictures of white kids in blackface screaming at an African American player for an opposing team. (BTW, the colors of this school are blue and white.)
Again, I ask...Who thought this was okay? Who are the people working at this school? Why is any of this acceptable to this community, the churches, etc?
The Diocese of Covington (Kentucky) immediately condemned the behavior of these kids in DC. Convenient. Where was their outrage during blackout basketball games over the years? Where was their outrage over everything else these kids have done? (God only knows what that list entails. But, I'm guessing some of those actions will be coming out into the light soon enough.)
There have been the predictable backlash and death threats against this smirking teen, his family, and their school. That part always riles me, as well. Why does that happen? Chances are, this kid's mom will get fired from her high ranking job at a "well known financial institution". I'm fine with that. You raise a racist kid, there should be consequences. But, death threats? Just stop it.
We all know there is racism. Hell, we all know there is racism in the White House as I write this. Sinking down to their pathetic depths isn't acceptable. It's simply too easy and too stupid. Don't do anything that gives these people sympathy or anything they can use to deflect attention and avoid dealing with what they've done.
If the mom of this annoying kid gets fired because her company doesn't want this kind of negative publicity, so be it. If teachers and administrators get fired because of allowing everything I already mentioned, so be it. If these kids get expelled because of their behavior, so be it.
But, will there be any real change? Like everything else, this too will blow over. Will this blow over before any kind of real change occurs at Covington Catholic? What happens once this hatred, racism, lying, and everything else these people have done comes out into the light? (There have already been reports coming out of minority students who were bullied to the point of transferring.) Is this the time when more changes happen? Is this the time when more people become disgusted by these kinds of actions from these kinds of people? Is this the time when the Catholic Church steps up and makes real change at this school and who knows how many others?
Changes were made during mid-term elections this past November. As good as that is, it's only a start. As we've seen since, bringing about change is not one-stop shopping. The battle for real change isn't over. It's just beginning. Still.
