Who Will Defend Innocent Whites?

A group of Catholic school boys ignited a nation-wide panic last weekend simply by not stepping aside when an Indian approached them, drum in hand.

The incident occurred on the footsteps of the Lincoln Memorial. Students from Covington Catholic High School were there as part of the March for Life, and were acting like typical teenagers. They chanted their school’s fight song and laughed among themselves.

These students were first harassed by “Black Israelites” — extreme black nationalists — who shouted anti-white and anti-gay slurs at the group of mostly white teenagers. Then a group of American Indian men approached the Catholic school group, as their leader, Nathan Phillips, beat a tribal drum. One boy stared at Mr. Phillips with a smile as the rest of the boys continued to shout and sing their school’s fight song.

This harmless incident was quickly promoted by the media as a horrifying example of white supremacy thanks to one viral snippet of the encounter. Many journalists were traumatized by the boy’s smile and declared it the look of white privilege. Leftists rushed to dox these young men and their families in order to punish them for not showing total deference to non-whites. Mainstream commentators fantasized about assaulting and killing these young men.

Most disturbingly, conservative and Catholic institutions rushed to join the mob calling for blood. These are the people who should defend their own from baseless accusations. Instead, conservative and Catholics betrayed these young men to appease their enemies.

They didn’t wait for the facts to emerge. The Diocese of Covington condemned the students’ actions as harmful not just to Mr. Phillips, but to “Native Americans in general,” and added that the boys might even be expelled from their school. This condemnation was seconded by the Archbishop of Louisville, Joseph Kurtz.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore also denounced the students, saying their actions violated the “respect for life.” The Sisters of Mercy, a prominent Catholic institute of religious women, attacked the students. “Racism and intolerance in all forms go directly against Catholic social teaching,” the Sisters’ tweeted. “The disturbing videos being shared of this incident showcase a bigoted disrespect of indigenous peoples and remind us how urgent our work for racial justice remains.”

Jesuit priest James Martin, who has over 200,000 followers on Twitter, said he was “disgusted” by the students and argued their behavior was “not Catholic, not Christian and not acceptable.” Fr. Martin continued to believe the students’ were in the wrong even after video footage showed otherwise, claiming the Diocese of Covington’s apology was proof enough that there was wrongdoing. The March for Life itself condemned the students in tweets the group later deleted.

“Conservative” commentators were no better. Former Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol called the students “MAGA brats” and contrasted their behavior with the “calm dignity and quiet strength of Mr. Phillips.” Mr. Kristol later deleted that tweet but didn’t issue an apology. Many other conservative pundits who rushed to judgment did. Those who admitted their error included Meghan McCain, David Brooks, and Fox News’ Guy Benson.

National Review started off badly. Editor Rich Lowry praised the Diocese of Covington’s apology as “necessary,” even though he admitted the video footage showed no real wrongdoing. Mr. Lowry continued to insist that the boys’ behavior was “obnoxious, dumb and disrespectful.” Only later did he delete the tweets and apologize for being wrong.

National Review even deleted an entire article because of new information in later videos. Managing editor Nicholas Frankovich argued the students “might as well have just spit on the cross” in their treatment of Mr. Phillips. “They mock a serious, frail-looking older man and gloat in their momentary role as Roman soldiers to his Christ,” he wrote in the deleted article. NR eventually atoned with what became the site’s most-read article of the time: “Nathan Phillips Lied. The Media Bought It.”

The knee-jerk reaction from Catholic and conservative leaders reveals their impotence in the face of left-wing hatred. They are not on the side of whites who upset non-whites simply by smiling. Why did professional journalists, who presumably know that there is never just one side to a story, go along with the leftist stampede?

As for “progressives,” the mere existence of young white men is a provocation. Their insouciance, their faces, and their whiteness made them evil. It didn’t matter whether they actually accosted Mr. Phillips. The Indians claimed — falsely — that the students were a menacing presence; these boys’ faces were then enough to satisfy the Left’s visceral animus towards Middle-American whites.

The hatred for Brett Kavanaugh was motivated by similar grievances. Liberals wanted to believe Mr. Kavanaugh was a rapist because he fit their stereotype of what preppy white guys are really like. Conservatives defended Mr. Kavanaugh against the Left’s attacks, but they miserably failed the Covington boys. So did the Church.

Whites need institutions that will defend us and our interests. We cannot allow our leaders to stab us in the back whenever a non-white complains. Let us hope the Catholic Church learned a lesson. As for the conservative movement, it serves no purpose if it can’t defend white children from abuse.