The Covington Catholic Smear Campaign

Posted on by beautybeyondbones

I told myself to stay away from this story with a ten foot pole. 

My father advised me against it. My peers strongly discouraged breaching the topic. 

But here I am, nose to nose with the story that has rocked the nation in an uproar this past week: 

The Covington Catholic Incident. 

Or as I like to call it: The Media’s Dumpster Fire Smear Campaign 

CNN

Here’s the thing about this whole fiasco. 

IF – and that’s a big IF – IF what the media had reported were true: that those teenage boys were mocking that Native American and shouting at him: “Build the Wall” and other inappropriate, bigoted remarks…then absolutely all of the outrage and condemnation would be merited. 

I may be a card carrying republican — but I’m not a monster. 

Acts of hatred and intolerance are deplorable and our job as Christians is to stand up against injustices and act/speak Truth against such small-mindedness. 

However —- that is not the case here. 

This was a despicable smear campaign.

There, I said it. 

This was the liberal media machine, setting out to publicly crucify this group of children because they represented the extreme left’s ultimate enemy: White, Male, Pro-Life, Catholic, Midwestern Trump Supporters. 

It’s as though someone served them a platter of absolutely everything they’ve been seeking to destroy, so they used the power of the pen to draw and quarter these teenage boys, by drafting a narrative that is completely false. 

The gross narrative, painted by our lovely media, is not only inaccurate and fabricated, but told in a way to incite outrage. To breed hatred. They struck a match in the tinderbox of our divided American country, and set fire it did.

The 15-20 second video that went viral, yeah, it was pretty damning, when taken out of context. 

A weathered, grandfatherly Native American, playing his drum, in front of laughing teenage white boys in MAGA hats — it was like one of those “Caption This” cartoons in the New Yorker, and the extreme left absolutely had a field day, painting the most horrific narrative they could muster. 

Truth: when I first saw the articles that were circulating about the incident, I fell into the camp out outrage. I was angry. What disgusting behavior by my fellow catholic brothers. 

I felt ashamed. Because here’s the thing — this hit a little close to home for me. Literally. 

Covington Catholic…that diocese in Northern Kentucky is right across the river from my hometown in Ohio. Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky are, practically speaking, one and the same. I mean, the Cincinnati airport is IN Northern Kentucky. We have friends in that diocese. 

And, let’s state the obvious here: Catholics do not need another reason for people to hate us right now. We have enough of a PR nightmare as it is, with Cardinal McCarrick and the priest sex abuse scandal, and many of the Pope’s comments. We don’t need another reason to be ridiculed.

But in those initial 24 hours after the story broke, Facebook erupted. And along with all the judgmental battlecries from the masses, I stumbled upon a few posts from friends of the boys’ parents, or diocese school board members, all shedding light on the inaccuracy of the depiction of events in the media. 

So I set aside my own judgmental thoughts for a few minutes, and began to dig into the videos and information to seek the truth. 

Turns out, these “bigoted, hateful teens” were actually in DC for the Right to Life Pro-Life march — peacefully marching to protect the lives of the unborn. Man, what a bunch of jerks, huh?

And they were just waiting on the steps for their bus, when members of the Black Hebrew Israelites – an extreme religious sect – tried to start a confrontation with the boys, calling them “crackers” and horrible homophobic slurs. They said the boys were born out of incest. And even told one black Covington Catholic student to “watch out” because his classmates were going to “harvest his organs.”

Grown men, shouting those things to children. Not even old enough to vote. Or drink. Or some of them, even drive a car. Children. 

It was at this moment, that Mr. Phillips – who yes, is a Native American activist, but who also has a history of run-ins with students – took advantage of this escalating scene, to walk into the center of the commotion, identify one student – Nick Sandmann, play his drum constantly in his face – with a video camera in tow – with the intent to start some sort of confrontation.

Reasons.com

And I get it – easy target. The boys were wearing MAGA hats. They were seemingly privileged Catholic high schoolers. And at a pro-life rally. Of course they wanted to pick a fight with them. It would have been footage gold. 

But the boys just stood there, and tried to keep the peace – by simply smiling.

I mean, what would you have done? 

Watch the videos. The entire video. Not just the 15 second sound bite that MSNBC wants you to see. 

We’ve become a culture that is so quick to condemn. So trigger happy on social media to cast judgment and join the mob of public opinion, even when it is based on lies. 

These boys and their families are receiving death threats. Covington Catholic cancelled school this week, for fear of the safety of the children, after all the death threats that they, the faculty, the principal, the principal’s family received. 

I have just one word for all of this: disgusting. 

The liberal media should be absolutely ashamed of themselves for knowingly painting a narrative that falsely vilified children. Yes, they were catholic. Yes, they were pro-life. Yes, they were Trump supporters. And white teenage midwestern boys. But that does not deem them “worthy” of a targeted, smear campaign, with the intent to destroy.

I demand to see apologies for spreading lies. From the media. From celebrities. From those bullies like Kathy Griffin, who not only passed judgement, but encouraged her followers to harm those boys. Just despicable.

This is not news. It is libel. And it’s tearing our country apart. 

We need to demand an ethical media that reports on truth. And for the love, stop with the hate-driven agenda. 

A country that breeds hate will succumb to it. 

Love your neighbor. End of story.


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beautybeyondbones

BBB: Because we're all recovering from something. // For speaking/business inquiries: beautybeyondbones@yahoo.com

290 thoughts on “The Covington Catholic Smear Campaign”

    1. Thank you so much friend. Yeah, the media is definitely trying to paint a different (and damning) picture. glad you stopped by hugs xox

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  2. Good for you for expressing your views! 🙌🏼 and you did it so well! That’s a scary thing today so I understand your dad’s position. Nicely done!!

    In addition to my experience as a journalist, I’ve worked with youth. boys specifically. If my boys had done what this boy did, we would’ve had a conversation about it. And not a political one. A serious one. No one should ever get in anyone’s space without permission—-especially not in this heated climate. Before we blame the media, let’s consider how intimidating it would be if someone did that to you. How close would they have to be to you to make you feel intimidated, maybe even frightened? Ask your dad what he would do if someone you didn’t know got that close to YOU.

    This is not a political issue—-it’s a safety thing. And it’s the kind of thing that could get someone killed considering the anger and hatred we see today.

    Food for thought: would he have done that if the guy was a rapper ? A wrestler? A professional boxer? Or maybe just a group of guys from an intimidating neighborhood? Probably not for obvious reasons. So while the media may be missing the real point here, I implore all of you reading this to see it as a safety and common sense issue, FIRST. The fact that this kid had a “trump hat” on means nothing in my world. He could have been killed because what he did is perceived as a challenge and is a possible trigger for violence.

    I always love your posts. Keep it up! And please, be safe!!!

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    1. Thank you friend for sharing this powerful perspective, April. I agree – personal space is important. Safety for sure! Great food for thought! Hugs and love xox

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  3. It takes so much courage to not go with the flow, but to look into a matter to find out the truth. Thanks for being courage.

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  4. I am very glad you addressed this. In my latest article I wrote about the March for Life, but I deliberately left out the Covington media debacle. I didn’t want to draw attention to anything other than the March and its purpose. However, I will be writing about this in my next piece along with a ton of media malfeasance on other issues. Thank you for being courageous here as I know how it can be distasteful to write about these things and call people out, more so for you than me because of your gentle nature. Blessings to you and yours always.

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  5. People who will not think for themselves drink from an empty well when the 30 second sound bite suffice you are a wined up toy with out a price, Sheep will group their easy to stacks because they don’t have to think just react. The press uses the very same road every time still people keep misreading the signs.

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  6. Thank you for speaking out on this with God’s Grace and a call to Love. It is what we all need right now in our Country, communities, churches and homes – Love. You gave the solution with the last words of your post “Live in Love.” Thank you for opening your heart and blessing us with your love. God Bless Milly.

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  7. Very well said! When the point of a “news story” is to create division, which is most often the case in our ridiculous media circus, then people can rest assured that TRUTH did not play any part in the writing. I am so encouraged by the young people I see and know who are calling out for people to do their own research!! They are not demanding people simply agree with their point of view… they are demanding people make INFORMED decisions. Nicely done!

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  10. The same happened to me. First I watched the viral video and was so angry at the boys. Then I read the whole story and regretted having been so quick to jump into judgment. They kept a stiff upper lip in a difficult situation that was meant to provoke them to violence. Since the media didn’t get that shot, they decided to manipulate what they had. And the worst thing is how this boy and his family are getting death threats… Who’s the real victim?

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    1. Thank you Paola for sharing this. You’re so right – it was media manipulation at its most disgusting. Hugs and love xox

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  11. I definitely have a different opinion on this whole thing. But despite the very polarizing political atmosphere these days, I think there’s no problem with having differing views on things, and it’s good to debate. I just wonder if you’ve seen the other videos circulating of the same boys that day? There’s one of them yelling, “SLUTS!!!” at random girls; another one where one of the kids yells out something along the lines of, “IT’S NOT RAPE IF SHE LIKES IT!” Now, do I recognize that these are teenagers, and teenagers say and do dumb things? Sure. But I also feel like America has perpetuated this sort of masculine “boys will be boys” rape culture that is luckily starting to implode, but those boys reminded me of that. Saying those types of things shows me that they have not been taught to respect women. And while the video of them with the Native American man wasn’t anything criminal, I do think that they looked disrespectful. I don’t care what race or ethnicity the kids and the elderly man were; anytime there are kids smirking in the face of an elderly person like that, I think it would seem disrespectful to me.

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    1. For what it’s worth, I understand your position but do we know for sure that the boys yelling those comments were part of the march? In the past, there have been verified reports of groups paying off people to enter a gathering and become a part of it. Then they start yelling and causing a commotion to make that group look bad.

      I agree that there’s no problem having a different point of view. The problem starts when one side condemns you for having that point of view. As a nation, we are in trouble if the mob begins to rule and suppresses those it disagrees with.

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  12. Hey! Do you have any posts about how you grew your audience? I’m new to blogging, but I have no idea how to get people engaged with my blog. I’m sorry if this isn’t the right place to post

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    1. Hey Krystel! Thanks for your question! Yes! I wrote an ebook! The links at the end of the post! Hugs and love xox

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  13. Awesome job! This is such a touchy subject but you did a masterful job addressing it. It’s sad when people (liberals and conservatives included) are so quick to jump on one side based on a 15 second video bite. I have friends on Facebook who did the same thing. Then, when the full video came out, they disappeared. I wouldn’t expect the MSM or celebrities to apologize but it is certainly something worth praying for. It’s a shame that these boys are being attacked because one side is looking to push a political agenda.

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  15. This is typical of the media. The story of a lady at a BLM rally calling for justice of her brother (who was shot while robbing an asian woman), was front page news, but the rape and murder of a white teenager by a black man was 7th – 8th page news.
    This typical of the media to hide the true story because it doesn’t help their political agenda nor gain ratings.
    They would show footage of the black man being beaten by or tackled by a white policeman and say “Police Brutality”, but they will completely hide the fact that it was the defendant who struck the first blow.

    Somehow by getting celebrities to act on their behalf to their agenda, the left and the media feel that they can control the minds of the people. Well… that is exactly what is happening around the world.
    Those of us who want to share the truth are easily dismissed with slurs like, “you’re uninformed” or “you weren’t there, you don’t know.” Well neither were you.. so why judge?

    People wonder why I don’t listen to the news. I don’t listen because its all propaganda. It’s not news. It’s not reality. Watching the news these days is like watching a really bad reality tv show; where everything hyped up drama and fake emotional baggage.

    This is why I just go home and watch Tom & Jerry… Oh wait.. Media says its too violent. 😦

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  16. First of all, bravo for this post. This is one of the most well-written posts I’ve seen. Thank you for that!

    I admit, at first blush, I took this story completely out of context. My husband and I had a discussion about it. That’s one of the many things I love about Al. Almost every day, we have civil discussions about things in the news, and how the media is portraying it. It helps me!

    We don’t watch much of the news anymore, just the local morning news. I occasionally listen to NPR, but I’ve mostly stopped consuming a lot of media. When I do, I usually look at multiple sources and coverage from multiple countries. It helps me, and it’s part of what I was taught in college. I was intending to become a journalist or a broadcaster, but quickly realized that I didn’t want to be a part of the “machine,” or being told/ordered what to say/write to protect the company image, whether it be a local organization, or something else. I prefer, and am much happier, to blog about topics that are important to me, and engage in conversations that way.

    THANK YOU! You are a light. Don’t stop.

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    1. Thank you so much Laura Beth. Wow that’s so kind of you to say!!yeah that was wise – you would have had to play by their rules. So glad you’re blogging! Hugs and love xox

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  17. Another point i found discouraging is that the school itself did not support the students initially.

    WASHINGTON DC – Covington Catholic High School and the Diocese of Covington released a joint statement:

    We condemn the actions of the Covington Catholic High School students towards Nathan Phillips specifically, and Native Americans in general, Jan. 18, after the March for Life, in Washington, D.C. We extend our deepest apologies to Mr. Phillips. This behavior is opposed to the Church’s teachings on the dignity and respect of the human person.

    The matter is being investigated and we will take appropriate action, up to and including expulsion.

    We know this incident also has tainted the entire witness of the March for Life and express our most sincere apologies to all those who attended the March and all those who support the pro-life movement.

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  18. Actually they were not peacefully standing there from what I could see. It seemed to me as though the boys were actually making fun of Nathan Phillips. Yes, they were there for a pro-life march- does the government tell men what they can and can’t do with their bodies? Nope, so why does the government has a right to tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her body? What about when it is a baby as a result of rape? Yes, after a certain point it is wrong to receive an abortion, people do need to be held accountable to a certain degree, and women do become aware of the changes happening inside their body. As a person of Native heritage I was insulted by these boys behavior, yes Nathan Phillips walked up to them, but then no the boys were not peaceful, and chose to mock him as well as the other Natives. Also, I was under the impression that this was a blog about recovery, yet it seems to also include political issues.

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    1. Hi Rachel, thank you for joining the conversation. This blog is about my recovery – and my faith is the solid foundation of my recovery. Without my faith, I would not have been able to recover. And so part of my faith is to stand up for God, and share a reflection on current events from a Christian perspective. I invite you to watch the entire video, and not just the 5 minute clip that the media is propagating. glad you stopped by! hugs xox

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  20. I see you as a warrior gardener who fights the jungle mentality predators. I am a social and spiritual gardener like you. I fight the jungle with gardens. I’m not sure gardens can win in this world, but better to be part of the solution than the problem. Fake news loves the jungle. It brings them ratings. Perhaps gardens don’t draw people enough for them, but my life in my garden is far better than the jungle they are full of. In their world it’s dog eat dog. They love the twisted jungle. Truth lives in the garden. I love the fellowship I have with other garden people, but you can’t have any good fellowship with someone who wants to eat you. Fake News wants to eat those boys alive and sounds like they’re doing a pretty good job of it. But predators eat each other too. Time is on our side.

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    1. Thank you Nichole for joining the conversation and sharing that article. I will definitely read it. Hugs and love xox

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  24. I heard this story earlier and it made those boys look like monsters. Now reading this, I’m here questioning the validity of all mainstream news I’ve heard. These companies have the power and the reach to foster love, yet they foster division. This is an abuse of power.

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