AN Open letter to Covington Catholic School
Good morning
I see your school is in the national news, but not in a good
way. It seems a group of boys ( note I
am NOT calling them "young
men") were bussed up to Washington D.C. to attend an Anti abortion rally ( it's not pro-life. If it were, you would be addressing what to
do AFTER the child is born) They encountered four African American men and felt so threatened they decided to cause a
ruckus ( I don't know if your math teachers teach this, but I was always
taught thirty is greater than four)
A group of elders who
were there as part of the indigenous people's march tried to defuse the situation. Your students surrounded him. Please do not try to say they just wanted to hear him or any other such nonsense. Do not spin it for anything except for what
it is A bunch of White kids ( and I am
so white as to be translucent) thinking they were able to do what they wanted
because of the color of their skin and the slogan on their hats.
Let's look at this :
"They were
chanting football slogans" Unless
they were chanting "We've got the spirit, yes we do, we've got the sprit,
how ' bout YOU?" these were not
meant to foster peace. Correct me if I
am wrong, but football chants are meant
to exhort your team to hit harder and to win.
They were there for another rally and stumbled into this
one. Ok, there were a lot of rallies,
but WHERE were the people who were supposed to be with these boys. And where were they when this went south?
I call BS.
Teachers and Administrators, you have failed these boys;
although based on the Facebook post from the mother of the Smugness Poster Boy,
I think you have a long haul to teach racial harmony and compassion. You need to let them know that while the
First Amendment protects free speech, it does NOT protect you from the
consequences of your actions. Nonviolent protest is good, but when you
come spoiling for a fight and encounter tribal elders you are out of your
league.
The tribal elders showed more bravery then these boys may
ever have. These kids ran home to Mommy
and Daddy and 'lawyered up" as
quickly as possible ( BTW Mrs.
Sanderson, you need a P.R. Firm who uses spell-check or something)
I have little hope that
any good will come of this. Their
actions SHOULD be part of their High School record and follow them into
whatever they do . Actions do have
consequences. Perhaps the Catholic
concept of penance should be applied. Rather than expulsion, they should be
made to serve many hours in communities that are less privileged then they.
If there is hope for them, it is NOW.
It's hard to hate when you know
people.
