Dream-Catching Parental Guidance at The Washington Monument
I observed the initial main media and social media reports regarding the incident, several photographs and some snippet videos, etc. I later viewed the long video of the whole experience, I read the statement of the young high school student and I just recently saw a video snippet of young girls getting insulted as they passed by several of the high school students bunched together on a park bench.
In the George Washington Monument Park there was a lot going on that day: a) a pro-life rally, which the kids attended; b) a gathering of women protesters; c) a gathering of Indigenous People, which Nathan Phillips attended; and d) a very small pocket of vociferous Black Hebrew Israelites. Of the four groups, a) and d) were clearly and indisputably insulting to anyone who saw them. The groups b) and c) were calling out for peace, love and understanding.
The long video, embedded below, very clearly shows much to what went on. It wasn’t pretty and I warn anyone watching this video it is replete with foul language and multiple examples as to how people should not behave, young or old.
[NOTE: the above video is from Youtube, so it’s safe to click “Show Embed.” Again, be warned of abusive language.]
The Black Hebrew Israelites were preaching from biblical texts and simultaneously hurling insults at anyone, including the kids, who came close. The kids became particular targets due to the fact many of them were wearing pro-Trump hats and shirts. But, in general, these street preachers insulted everyone, women, Native Americans, Asians and Black people — even a guy rolling around on a new age skateboard. Nobody was immune. That the kids would react to this is not surprising.
There were reports of some of the kids, in varying combinations, elsewhere hurling insults to people passing by them. But would they not also do the same thing if bunched together at an amusement park, a beach boardwalk or outside a ballpark? Of course, they would!
Anyway, throughout the video, in several instances small groupings of kids congregated near the street preachers and traded barbs. Eventually, a large body of high school students assembled. When this happened many of the students gained confidence and began hurling heavier insults back at the Black Hebrew Israelites who never stopped insulting everyone. Viewing the video one could see and sense tension escalating.
The height of this conflict arose when the kids began displaying caveman-like chanting, this while mixed in with school songs and phrases likely used at their home sports events. One kid began stripping off his clothes and bare chested began walking around mimicking a cave man. The taunting on both sides had grown.
Interestingly, the kid performing the cave man stunt wasn’t doing anything a teacher at his school hadn’t done before him. The Daily Mail publication managed to capture some Covington High videos, several of which included students wearing blackface, before the videos were deleted by the school. They are no longer available for public consumption. However, the Daily Mail published them:
Somebody on Twitter claimed they researched there are no people of color on the faculty of Covington High School, but I have no confirmation to this. Also, I think were I a chaperone guiding those children, I would have ushered them away from the Black Hebrew Israelites as there was absolutely no intellectual value to hearing them since the quality to what they were espousing was caked in hatred. I believe the Southern Christian Leadership Conference has labeled them a hate group.
So against the above backdrop, shortly after the apparent cave man theatrics, Nathan Phillips approached what had become a very large high school gathering. In order to help defuse the tension, which easily could have led to violence, Phillips began chanting Native American prayers while tapping a Native American drum. Several of his followers were behind him.
The kids got into it. They clearly seemed overjoyed. This is except for the kid who showed an ice-cold, seemingly mocking, stare at Phillips. Overall, most of the kids joined in the chanting and dancing with the Native Americans. It appeared some professional photographers were present as this happened. It was at this point the now famous and viral photographs and video were taken.
At no point in the video or photographs does it show the kid, who was bemusingly staring at Phillips, do anything other than what he was seen doing, simply staring at Phillips. Were he not wearing a Trump hat so close to Phillips it’s likely nobody even would have noticed. What also made the kid distinct is everybody around him was moving and chanting while he remained standing, silently smirking and very still.
No big deal. Were it not for everybody else, including those of us commenting on social media, the kid and Nathan Phillips probably could have become great friends. Maybe they still will! Karma takes funny and often misunderstood turns!
Those Trump hats? Big deal to that too! Only better Democrats can make those things go away! Harping on Russiagate won’t do it. Only issues such as what Bernie Sanders is professing will cause those Trump hats to begin showing up in Goodwill stores, selling for a quarter at best. Many will be trashed!
In closing, the Native American, Nathan Phillips, was negatively described as an actor, as if this was supposed to diminish his role in the incident. Well, I’m not sure Phillips could be called that. He did, however, play an interesting role in a Skrillex & Damian Youtube video about a real estate developer using the police to evict poor folks from their homes, sort of a reggae tune.
[NOTE: Again, it’s a Youtube link and okay to click.]
From what I’ve observed about this whole experience, the best part of the day was when the Native American and the feminist groups gathered in their separate celebrations of peace, love and understanding. Everything else became educational from a street smarts point of view. Perhaps we should call the matter: Parental Guidance!
