Reaction To Covington Incident

My Eng 102 Assignment

My assignment was to watch the first video that went viral, react, then watch the video on the New York Times that showed a slightly broader view of the incident. My thoughts are unedited, and probably grammatically flawed at some points. Here’s what I wrote.

Covington Reaction

My initial reaction to the first video was disgust. From beginning to end my stomach wrenched. I realize my own bias while watching the video and I will point those out as well. First thing I noticed was the red “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) hats that many of the teens were wearing. I automatically associate them with someone that believes that America will be great without diversity. Someone that believes immigrants, specifically immigrants of color, shouldn’t be allowed to seek asylum in this country. Second, I noticed the Indigenous elders. You see elder Phillips face to face with a teen wearing a MAGA hat and a smirk on his face. They were looking at each other eye to eye, my heart dropped. Growing up I was also told to never look adults in the eyes. Something that was passed down from black generation to black generation as a survival tactic. You don’t want to look the white man, or authority figure, in the eye because it will come off as being arrogant and that you’re equal. That seemingly innocent gesture could cost you your life. To see the student staying down an adult like that was a reminder that there is two Americas, the one where society told me that me, a black person, is lesser than, and one where society told the student, a white person, that he’s better than.

The video also evoked a deep sadness from me. A sadness that in our country racism is so overt and tolerated that people make a mockery of it. It’s in our movies, media, politics and at our sporting events. As we saw the students exemplify performing a chant used at Atlanta baseball events. A chant that is racist and offensive on so many levels, yet we see people perform it all the time. This country is built on racism and the genocide of Indigenous people. These students were simply being American, and to be American means to be overtly racist, and disrespectful to other’s cultures and beliefs.

After watching the second video my reaction mainly stayed the same. The first video did its job, it got me so emotionally invested that no other angle or storylines will convince me that the students were doing the right thing. The second video just reiterated what I already felt, these students are a prime example of white supremacy and male entitlement. I don’t believe that our country is more divided now than ever before. We just have access to social media to expose it and be in charge of our own narratives instead of depending on traditional news sources.

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