The Book of Proverbs tells us: “He who answers before listening — that is his folly and his shame” (Proverbs 18:3).
After
a video clip of the exchange between Covington Catholic High School
students and a Native American tribal leader went viral, we can update
that verse to begin, “He who tweets before knowing.”
We’ve seen
enough, though, to determine that once again the power of social media
can propel a brief, unplanned encounter into an explosion of outrage
traveling, it seems, at the speed of light.
A 16-year-old boy,
wearing a Make America Great Again hat and surrounded by boisterous
classmates, locked eyes with the elderly tribal leader beating a drum
and chanting. That brought forth a dubious narrative that had the boys
mocking and disrespecting the older man in a flagrant display of racism.
The
criticisms and condemnations focusing on the students’ perceived
behavior were quick and merciless — from major media figures to
organizers of the March for Life, which the students had attended, to
the students’ diocese and high school.
Less than 24 hours later,
after additional video clips emerged showing a more complicated picture,
most of the high-profile Church and media figures, as well as the March
for Life organizers, had withdrawn their initial condemnations, and
many of them apologized to the students.
An independent
investigation released Feb. 13 found no evidence that the Covington
students issued “offensive or racist statements.”
Lives have
changed, maybe permanently, as a result of this single incident, in
which no one was hurt and no words were exchanged.
Nick Sandmann, a
junior at Covington who was shown most prominently in the footage for
standing directly in front of tribal leader Nathan Phillips, has
received insults and death threats. That is truly regrettable, and we
pray for his and his family’s safety.
It would be regrettable,
too, if the March for Life itself loses any support as a result of this
incident. The march has been an important part of the pro-life cause for
more than 40 years and calls national attention to a critically
important issue in American society.
There now are calls in the Catholic education community for the incident to be a teaching moment.
We agree.
There
are lessons to be learned about perceptions and public behavior, about
respecting diverse cultures and, most of all, about speaking (or
tweeting) about a situation without knowing all of the facts.
In the meantime, we suggest some common-sense policies that could be put in place immediately.
Catholic
high schools that sponsor excursions to public events such as the March
for Life should ensure there are sufficient numbers of adult
chaperones, with no one adult responsible for more than a dozen or so
teenagers; chaperones should intervene immediately in potentially
volatile situations, herding the students away and calling for help if
need be; and students should not be permitted to wear political attire
or clothing with slogans of any kind if they are representing the
school.
In the aftermath of the furor, Covington Bishop Roger J.
Foys tried to reassure the students that they and the school will heal
over time and that it’s important to find out the truth of what
occurred, whatever it may be.
“Know that I stand with you,” he said. “Together we will work this through.”
We sincerely hope that they do.
This
editorial was written and originally published by Catholic New York,
newspaper of the Archdiocese of New York. It was edited slightly to
reflect the results of the investigation, which is addressed in a story
on page 10.