The issue of this particular story of Nick Sandmann and Nathan Phillips centers around what the evidence portrays and what these men claim as the truth. What Sandmann claims as his truth does not necessarily have to be believed by everyone. Sometimes the evidence that we see and the truth that we hear does not always align. This is what ultimately stirs up dialogue in the public community. Similarly, it is safe to assume that the audience’s party identification could be a strong influence on one’s perception of the truth. For this particular event, I definitely experienced liberal reactions to it.
The evidence, in this case, is the original video of Sandmann and Phillips in the center of a mob-like group of Covington Catholic High School students at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. I value what can be seen visually in the video, but I can also respect someone’s claims so long as what they are saying is largely supported by what’s in the video. From my perspective, the organization of Sandmann and Phillips in the circle reflects Sandmann getting an ego boost as the center of attention of his peers, which in turn makes him proceed to give them what they want.
Sandmann’s public statement was troubling to read, and I approached a lot of his claims with counter questions. If the High School supervisors really gave permission for the students to counteract the Black Hebrew Israelite protestors with a school chant, why would the adults perpetuate conflict and put their students at potential harm or allow them to negatively portray their school? If Sandmann blocked Phillips way to diffuse the commotion, wouldn’t this conflict with Phillips’ claim that the reason he even approached the students was to diffuse the commotion he saw between them and the protestors? If Sandmann felt “singled out” in front of Phillips, isn’t this his own fault by taking the initiative to step in front of Phillips? Similarly, isn’t his group’s actions simultaneously singling out Phillips by gathering around him? In the end, Sandmann refuses to apologize and hopes that no one felt threatened by the actions of him and his fellow students. I believe that he is close-minded with the clear fact that his actions triggered people the wrong way, so labeling him as a respectful person is wrong. If he were more culturally competent to the Native American minority group, he would be willing to issue an apology statement out of respect and decency.
Despite Covington Catholic High School’s public apology, this cannot be enough. It’s one thing to write out an apology, but to be able to teach its students the significance of this issue in order to prevent it from recurring is more meaningful than words. I also believe that acknowledging the Native American community through reparations would be necessary, as well. Considering Sandmann’s MAGA apparel, this event relates to the racial discourse and hateful rhetoric under Trump’s administration.
Michelle Galat's UWP101 blog 