Let's separate out the maybe(s), the what ifs and the suppositions from the agreed upon facts shall we?
Young men, students of an all-male catholic high school from Kentucky, were on an official high school field trip, to attend a rally against a woman's right to choose.
This was not done on their own time, or with their parents, but on a school field trip, about this, there is no dispute.
Let's stop right there and ask if there is anything remotely appropriate about such a trip?
No reflexes here.......this is not a freedom of speech question, this is a school field trip question. Would you, as a Conservative minded person, be ok with public school students (as part of an official school trip) attending a rally that
removed men's rights, or sought to seize private property?
Let's be honest, the answer is no.
Had the trip not occurred, none of this happens.
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Let's move on to agreed upon fact two. A substantial number of the young students in question were wearing MAGA hats.
These are clearly associated with Mr. Trump and with what could only charitably be called the politics of division. That would be true even if you agreed w/said politics as no one would suggest
he is not controversial.
They were wearing these hats while on an official school field trip. I would consider it normative that on field trips with one's school one is discouraged from wearing anything that would be seen to be offensive
or controversial since you don't want to attract negative attention for yourself or your school.
Clearly not the case here.
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Now lets turn to fact three, we can agree that a group calling itself the Black Hebrews was absolutely goading and taunting the young men, and that is unacceptable.
However, there were 5 of them, and a school group that was literally larger by more than an order of magnitude. No one disputes this.
The students had chaperones with them.
Would not one assume, that the most reasonable protocol would be to move your students away from the problem people, to ensure the situation does not escalate?
That would hardly seem unreasonable, in fact I would suggest it was an obligation. Imagine if a physical altercation had ensued?
So what did the chaperones/students do?
They did not move away, even though they were in a large public plaza with ample room to avoid 5 people.
Instead, they (the students) and began counter-chanting, apparently with their chaperones explicit permission! From there, they also formed a semi-circle around the 5 people behaving badly.
No one disputes this.
No matter what the kids said at this point, this is a very dubious strategic choice for which the adults w/these students should be held accountable.
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While unquestionably the media was too quick to publish names, and to make allegations that have not been fully substantiated (though they have not been fully repudiated either) ....
There is little question that these kids were in DC for unacceptable reasons, they engaged in their own baiting/goading by wearing offensive caps, at the minimum, and they did not move to de-escalate a tense
situation, but instead inflamed it by moving closer to, and chanting at the 5 obnoxious persons.
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Lastly, is there any reason to wonder, whether or not a few of these students might have said something offensive, given that that allegation was made against them?
The MAGA hats certainly seem to endorse some views that would be offensive to many...........but is there anything more than that?
Indeed there is.......
Linked below, find an article that students at this school were in blackface at a basketball game within the last 5 or so years (video link at the article site).
The event appears to have the full sanction of the school, as a coach can be seen leading students in chants.
That would certainly suffice, in my mind, as reasonable grounds to suspect some students at the school might say something intolerant in a public place.
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/na...an-phillips-nick-sandmann-20190121-story.html
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In summation:
The field trip itself was offensive, had it not happened nothing to talk about.
The kids were engaged in non-subtle offensive behavior through their apparel choice, even once it was clear there was potential for a negative situation to unfold.
The kids should have been shepherded away from a potential altercation by the chaperones, this did not happen in more than two hours of video........self-inflicted wound.
The school has a history of controversial behavior by its students that would generally be understood as having racist/insensitive undertones.....to say the least.
The media's reporting was sloppy, and reckless no matter what was actually said; but that does not excuse any of the above.
But neither does the above countenance in any way the death threats this young man has received which should be investigated as criminal matters.
