The internet went crazy over the weekend when a video surfaced showing an encounter between students from Covington Catholic High School and a few Native American protestors. Initially, several media sites presented the story as if the students were harassing the Native American, blocking their path and chanting “Build that wall.” As the story unfolded and more complete videos of the incident arose, it became clear that wasn’t true at all.
In fact, it was Nathan Phillips, the Native American in question, who approached the group of students, unprovoked, after tensions rose between the Covington group and a third party of Jewish African-Americans who were yelling at the teenagers. It wasn’t clear that anyone was chanting anything related to the wall, and it seems the students (who had just participated in an anti-abortion march) were actually “harmless” onlookers.
It’s true, the media was unfair towards the young Catholic group. Especially towards the teenager who appeared to be smirking at Mr. Phillips (the teen later released a statement giving his side of the story). But there’s a good reason behind the public’s initial outcry.
Nathan Phillips
Several sites jumped to the teen’s defense. Reason Magazine, for example, even claims that “there’s shockingly little evidence of wrongdoing, unless donning a Trump hat and standing in a group of other people doing the same is now an act of harassment or violence.” Yet that’s just the thing. Donning a Trump hat is a problem.
It is a hateful act at its core, in just the same way displaying a Nazi swastika or donning a KKK hood. The students lost my sympathy the moment they did it: regardless of the actions of others, the teens were already being hostile. The reason might seem subtle to some, but it is there nonetheless. While they weren’t actively aggressive, they were in fact tacitly violent as soon as they put on those MAGA caps and t-shirts: not because it’s wrong to want America to be great, but because of the historical context and full political backdrop in which that phrase was created.
“Make America Great Again.” The mere sound of it should make us cringe. The infamous tagline for Trump’s controversial presidential campaign is still his administration’s slogan, and millions of Americans rally behind the terrible meaning of the words. That’s the issue. As things stand now, after Trump’s incessant attacks against immigrants with his words as much as his policies, MAGA stands for something beyond America and greatness: it stands for intolerance, discrimination, and contempt for outsiders. The whole Trump campaign, his speeches and general political discourse, is riddled with antagonizing and aggressive statements, undertones, and subtexts against many communities. He promotes discrimination by focusing on deliberately careless generalizations, referring to foreigners as “animals” and criminals.
That tagline, and the merchandise that sports it, is quickly becoming a symbol of hatred, just like the swastika or white hood before it. The MAGA red cap stands for an inexorably violent political discourse which depicts “most” immigrants as violent predators. It promotes xenophobia and islamophobia and serves as banner for right-wing extremists and white supremacists all over America.
Trump’s campaign was built upon a brazenly hostile attitude that appealed to the fears and anger of his base. Throughout his time as president, Trump has regularly refused to dissociate himself with several white supremacist groups. His rhetoric in fact supports racism and sexism on many levels, and he has explicitly promoted violence against protesters at his rallies on several occasions, citing “the good old days.” MAGA is constructed under that shadow. It’s not an innocent phrase, but a loaded expression that encourages exclusion and discrimination.
So yeah, donning a Trump hat and standing in a group of other people doing the same is now actually an act of harassment or violence. Despite the teens’ overall innocence in this instance, they weren’t without guilt. While not actively aggressive, they were passively promoting the same hate which is responsible for some of the worst humanitarian crimes of recent US history: the same hate that has broken America in half. That’s why you simply shouldn’t expect the benefit of the doubt when wearing MAGA paraphernalia.
Many of us would be indignant if we saw someone waving a Nazi flag in front of a Jewish audience. Even if they were doing nothing else, that alone would be violent. It’s the same kind of reaction when people wearing MAGA caps interact with non-whites: behind the timid smirk, behind the innocent intentions, there’s a deeply disturbing aggression that society shouldn’t tolerate.
(That said, I don’t support extreme reactions against the teenagers either. We should criticize the symbolism behind the red caps. We should criticize people for wearing them. We should point out their usage amounts to implicit hostility. But we shouldn’t physically harm nor psychologically abuse the people who use them. One thing is to be critical of the MAGA attitude, but sending death threats is a very different matter. I don’t condone the latter.)
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