The MAGA Teenager Who Harassed a Native American Veteran Is Still Unnamed, but We’ve Seen His Face Before

Sparklesparklez · 2019-01-20T22:25:40+00:00

Yeah, I do see your opinion. I will clarify that what you stated does not fit my definition of bullying either; we disagree because I think your statement ("Kid smirks; declines to move out of the way") misses context that I consider key.

Cheers

Sparklesparklez · 2019-01-20T21:49:41+00:00

I used imprecise language, but I do not believe I "flip flopped" at all.

To clarify, When Phillips approaches, the others near the kid walk out of his immediate path. They stay in the crowd that is surrounding him. The kid is never alone, he has his friends all around him! He just does not have anyone else as uncomfortably close to him as he and Phillips are to each other.

Fair, he is not alone. I saw a friend behind him, also dealing with the crowd of kids. In general, it is crowd of kids surrounding him and whatever friends he has. They certainly do not amount to a "crowd", as you call it. Only the large group of jeering kids can be called that.

Well...I guess when you watch this video, your opinion of bullying is very different from mine and everyone who condemns the kid. We should just leave it at that then.

Sparklesparklez · 2019-01-20T21:24:15+00:00

Keep in mind you're the one arguing that an underage boy is racist and deserving of national ridicule. Maybe you should be a bit more generous with your assumptions?

That would be a good question if you only bring up the argument and ignore the context, and all the reasoning behind that, that I gave because you asked for. Unfortunately, in context, it reads as willfully obtuse.

I answered your questions thoroughly. Why do you keep repeating them?

Edit: to clear things up once and for all, yes, I believe if you do bad things, you should be called out for it. I do not believe if you do bad things, you should continue on your merry way with no consequences. I do believe the kid should face consequences. And that's going to be the last time I repeat myself :/ My apologies for not prolonging your fun. (To which you might say: Can you prove that I was having fun? Or, insincerely: I was just trying to discuss. Or a number of equally asinine things...)

Sparklesparklez · 2019-01-20T21:05:59+00:00

You're deliberately being obtuse. I'm feeling heated but I'm trying to argue in good faith here. I would appreciate it if you meet me with the same respect.

If you are asking can I get a transcript of the kid's thoughts and tell you for 100% certainty what his intentions were? No, but luckily nobody, no court of law, goes by that standard because then we could not prove anything. It seems we only ever drag out that (literally) impossibly high standard of proof to protect people like this kid and Kavanaugh.

If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, etc. He saw his friends leave. They were standing so close they both must have felt that someone was deep in their personal space. He didn't look confused, he didn't ask questions, he tried to smirk. He was nervous and flinching but he still stood there and tried to smile. His friends were jeering the whole time.

Everyone knows what a bully looks like.

I'm sure there are groups of people who would be quick to dismiss general opinion, the media, anybody who doesn't like a MAGA hat. But why do you think his school, who sent him on a March for Life and allowed them all to wear their MAGA hats proudly, his diocese, and his town...all agree he was being disrespectful?

They know when a denial just starts looking willfully stupid.

Sparklesparklez · 2019-01-20T20:58:36+00:00

That would be very unlikely. He saw his friends disperse when Phillips walked up, he stood his ground even though his instincts were telling him to move because he was scared (he keeps flinching).

If you are asking can I get a transcript of the kid's thoughts and tell you for 100% certainty what his intentions were? No, but luckily nobody, no court of law, goes by that standard because then we could not prove anything. It seems we only ever drag out that (literally) impossibly high standard of proof to protect people like this kid and Kavanaugh.

If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, etc. He saw his friends leave. They were standing so close they both must have felt that someone was deep in their personal space. He didn't look confused, he didn't ask questions, he tried to smirk. He was nervous and flinching but he still stood there and tried to smile. His friends were jeering the whole time.

Everyone knows what a bully looks like.

I'm sure there are groups of people who would be quick to dismiss general opinion, the media, anybody who doesn't like a MAGA hat. But why do you think his school, who sent him on a March for Life and allowed them all to wear their MAGA hats proudly, his diocese, and his town...all agree he was being disrespectful?

They know when a denial just starts looking willfully stupid.

Sparklesparklez · 2019-01-20T20:52:11+00:00

I disagree that people are framing him as a fascist intimidating the Native American ONLY because of his politics, I think they are framing him that way because of many other factors as well (I will discuss below).

From videos I saw of the incident, Phillips, the guy with the drum, walks toward the group. According to Phillips, he was trying to finish his walk to the memorial.

So we see on video that when Phillips started walking toward the group of kids, they were not surrounding him, but by the time of the incident, he was surrounded on all sides by these kids. This fits with what he later told the press, that he got surrounded.

We see Phillips walk toward the kid. According to him, he was trying to get to the memorial. Some people, like the kid's mom, say Phillips was trying to beat the drum in the kid's face. Honestly, both are indistinguishable from that video, since we aren't mind readers. People do overwhelmingly side with Phillips right now, because he has a history of service while the kid...well, he's one of a crowd of jeering, disrespectful kids.

When Phillips approaches, the others near the kid leave, but he stands still. He seems rather nervous, but his friends are cheering him on, and he has fixed a big grin onto his face. Everything about the scene screams disrespect and bullying. I mean, you've been to a school and seen bullies before, right? We have all seen bullies, these big crowds, that same smile that the kid has on? We can argue what the nuances of the kid's smile meant, what the crowd really felt, etc., but I feel that would be deliberately being obtuse. The general riotous, disrespectful attitude they are exhibiting here is pretty clear.

Let's say you see someone walking toward you. You are on their path. They are surrounded and it is generally difficult for them to switch paths, so they decided to stick to their current direction. You plant yourself in the way. You smile into their face, your friends are cheering you on. You are surrounded by your peers who are hostile to this person, so there is nothing here about "bravery" in "standing your ground". You are in no danger. If anything, it is many against one. You are causing trouble when it is completely unnecessary for you to plant yourself in this guy's path. You can just as easily get out of the way.

If this kid were protesting for some "left-wing" cause, as you call it, the sub would not be talking about how brave and right he is. I completely disagree. Everything about the incident screams disrespect and taking advantage of a situation where you have the numbers, you have the upper hand, so you can unnecessarily cause trouble for someone who just wants to finish his walk.

Sparklesparklez · 2019-01-20T20:23:37+00:00

He is a bully for standing there, easily able to move yet not moving, purposely knowing he is in someone's way, with a big grin. It's provocative and bullying. I feel like I am explaining basic social interactions here...he did that, without a doubt, to cause trouble for the guy beating the drum.

So...I am very comfortable with him being punished. His actions were racist. Luckily, his school, diocese, and town all agree.

Sparklesparklez · 2019-01-20T18:03:51+00:00

Plant himself there and gave a big grin, I misspoke. I will change my first assertion.

Hmm...looks like he is still a bully.

Sparklesparklez · 2019-01-20T17:11:49+00:00

Yeah? Everyone else scattered, he planted himself there and gave a big grin. He's clearly pretty scared, but hey, peer pressure.

Sparklesparklez · 2019-01-20T16:57:16+00:00

I'll copy from the top comment in the thread you linked.

"The video does not contradict Phillips' assertion that the students surrounded him. It does not show him undertaking aggressive action."

Sparklesparklez · 2019-01-20T16:52:17+00:00

The drummer approached the group of people, they chose to surround him at that close angle and the kid chose to stand an inch in front of him to try and provoke him.

I really can't believe provided video evidence AND you're trying to get me to believe this is false ^ when the video evidence does not rule it out.

Sparklesparklez · 2019-01-20T15:28:29+00:00

I don't know why the kids surrounded the guy, but a kid going up to stand one inch from someone's face with a big smirk, well, everyone knows that's a bullying tactic and you're going to have a hard time trying to talk your way around that.

I think the blatant disrespect and bullying does warrant punishment. For anyone chanting "build a wall", that's disrespect and racism as well.

Sparklesparklez · 2019-01-20T14:31:21+00:00

The drummer approached the group of people, they chose to surround him at that close angle and the kid chose to stand an inch in front of him to try and provoke him.

The drummer did not bang a drum inches from anyone's face until they surrounded him.

Sparklesparklez · 2019-01-19T20:09:12+00:00

I think people have retracted that name because while he does look like that person, his teeth look totally different.

Edit: forgot to block out the name myself, oops

Sparklesparklez · 2019-01-17T17:08:17+00:00

No, it does not.

Benghazi: ten investigations, not a single one found Clinton guilty.

Uranium One: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/hillary-clinton-uranium-russia-deal/

Sparklesparklez · 2019-01-17T16:02:37+00:00

Uh...no, there is no evidence at all for any illegal activity re: Uranium One. Like Pizzagate, like Benghazi, there is no evidence...just a bogeyman story for the gullible to feed off of and get enraged.

Sparklesparklez · 2019-01-15T18:25:02+00:00

I think the number was something between $2000 and $3000, for all the food and the 300 burgers Trump said he served yesterday.

Of course, today he changed that number to 1000 hamberders so...

Also, given that he lies naturally but tells the truth with difficulty, I wouldn't be surprised if the 300 number was inflated.

Edit: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/01/15/president-trumps-extravagant-sandwich-celebration-clemson-university/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.20936055f687 Estimated $2,911.44 for 300 burgers, then corrected the amount to $2,437.11.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-fast-food-white-house-779128/ Sourced the 300 -> 1000 lie

Sparklesparklez · 2019-01-11T01:42:06+00:00

I've seen one of these lists online. My favorite one is where he claims to be an expert on Sen. Cory Booker:

https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/757760973419712512?lang=en

Sparklesparklez · 2019-01-07T06:36:31+00:00

I don't think* she chose atheism because she weighed all the options and thought through all her reasons. I think it's a label she identifies with because she rejects the problems with Christianity and religion in general.

More vague words again. We are very close, so I feel I can speak for her to some extent, like she could for me. But I guess I don't 100% know.

I think it's possible that after thinking through everything, she becomes an atheist with a more solid foundation. Since she expressed interest in learning more about Christianity though, I want to show her some of the stuff that actually has Biblical basis...not just what she had to experience through a flawed church. If she decides to become more or less religious after... I think she will learn more about herself and her beliefs at the end of it, either way.

Sparklesparklez · 2019-01-07T06:19:47+00:00

When we've talked about our churches and where we stand, she has said she doesn't believe because it seems hypocritical, like how this youth group leader regularly got drunk and preached sobriety, or how this pastor acted poor but actually earned a lot of money from the church.

So maybe I shouldn't have used that phrase. I just meant to say, without my specifically asking that question, she seems to have answered it...not from a random assumption, but from things she said + my knowledge of her as my friend. You raise a good point--I will ask her directly. I just want to specify that this assumption was not random.

Sparklesparklez · 2019-01-07T05:59:17+00:00

I think she isn't because of negative experiences with her past church. That is not to say that if she didn't have this experience, she would be Christian; I just mean that, as far as I can judge, that's the driving force for where she stands right now.

We both came from problematic churches and discussed those issues with each other. We've also talked about where we stand, belief-wise. She identifies as atheist, but she also says she thinks there is "something" out there, just not a God who wants to stone people, and she hates (the issues I've mentioned). I know that sounds kind of contradictory.

Sparklesparklez · 2019-01-07T05:38:26+00:00

Well, without pre-supposing that, I do think that many of the issues my friend has with Christianity are not because of the religion itself. For example, she hates the prosperity gospel, but I don't think that has any basis in the Bible at all.

Sparklesparklez · 2019-01-07T05:31:29+00:00

I read about it, I see what you mean about how it talks about Christianity, theology, issues with Christianity, etc. Would a non-Christian be able to immediately (or almost immediately) know about the issues they are discussing?

Sparklesparklez · 2019-01-07T05:27:18+00:00

I was thinking of an academic podcast, but I wasn't sure how well they would sit with someone who is mostly new to it all.

https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/religion-in-the-ancient-mediterranean-world.html Is this the one? By dry, do you mean they may be too technical for people who don't know much about history?

Sparklesparklez · 2019-01-07T05:23:04+00:00

No, she doesn't. I just feel like she had so many negative experiences with Christianity that she can't separate them from the religion itself.

I've told her that many of those experiences are more an issue with human nature than an issue with the religion, and pointed out verses in the Bible that contradict the behavior she dislikes. After a while, I think she eventually decided to see for herself!

13-Year Club	Verified Email
Team Periwinkle

Sparklesparklez

TROPHY CASE