This scandal is not a scandal.

The clash between the hecklers The teenagers of Covington Catholic and the stoic drum of Indian activist Nathan Phillips are a perfect test of Magarorschach. It is at this point that you incorporate a picture of a MAGA hat into one of Hermann Rorschach's original ink spots. Better fault lines than any other meme or post imagined by the most whimsical bear working in the Russian disinformation machine.

As good as this machine has become to ignite America, it has nothing on the Americans ourselves

The confrontation at Lincoln Memorial has pinpointed the most sensitive nerve of the cavity that is the national discourse. There was everything: Trump, white children, a Native American elder, black followers practicing anti-gay invectives, abortions (remember, teens were there for the March for Life) and medical videography. legal. If the images had been found on Anthony Weiner's hard drive, the only way to get polarized would have been more polarizing.

Now Covington Catholic's advocacy of unsuitable teenagers has lost all its victim value, with central figure Nick Sandmann behaving fairly well in the Today show primarily by acting appropriately. A backlash in the rebound of indignation may still occur, but for the moment there is no second smile theory. So let me use this opportunity to recast Covington Catholic's impertinent teens. With my apologies to Mr. Overton, I want to move Covington's window from thinking about adolescence as cruel / diabolical to insensitive / foolish.

What to remember about silly teenagers of Covington Catholic, is that, although they are silly, they are also teenagers. They are inspired by adult education and cultural messages. Their chaperones failed by not thinking of a different plan of action. Instead, they let their dozens charge with the black Hebrew Israelites, a collective of notorious provocateurs. And I blame the adults for allowing the wearing of MAGA hats. This headgear is more than a support for a political figure: it is a reproach to any claim of compassion based on faith.

A phrase that some Catholics use to describe their social teachings is the "seamless garment". This is the concept of "consistent life ethics" which considers all life worthy of being protected – from the fetus to the murderer – and also extends the concern for nuclear weapons and the treatment of prisoners of conscience. war. The MAGA hat is the incarnation of a president who cheerfully calls for the execution of convicted criminals, criminal defendants and even exempt non-criminals. Wearing the hat does not mean that the clueless teenagers of Covington Catholic are ipso facto incarnations of privilege, power and malice. But this indicates that they were poorly supervised and that Sandmann's "silent prayer" of de-escalation was a kind of deformed deity.

Covington Catholic's worst act of uncomfortable teenagers was to get into the "tomahawk hit" and his accompanying vocals in the face of a true Native American. That said, two days after the showdown, the football fans rushed for the Kansas City Chiefs with the exact gesture and the similar songs, moved by the beat of a great war drum acting as a fake ceremonial.

The presence of these songs in a sporting context does not excuse them in this one – intended for an activist participating in the March of Indigenous Peoples. But it is up to adults to differentiate between these contexts, or even to change norms in all contexts.

For Ben Shapiro, Laura Ingraham and Donald Trump, the teenagers of Covington Catholic are heroes. Their heroism lies mainly in the fact that they encouraged the liberals to take ownership of themselves. For those who have not repressed their condemnation, as Laura Wagner wrote in Deadspin, the news agencies that withdrew their initial assessments are "so desperate to make sense," because their desire to be considered weighted is more important than necessary. report the most accurate version of the truth. "

It does not affect me at all. When I communicate to listeners (or readers) my most thorough and complete interpretation of what has happened, I do not use "precision" to sound reasonable. I use the reason to be precise. I would prefer to keep my indignation for what is scandalous and to ignite us only by what is incendiary, not stupid.

By the way: One of the most interesting defenses of the foolish teenagers of Covington Catholic was that they were accused of shouting "Build the Wall!". There is no video evidence about it. Think about it. "Build the wall!" Is the signature proposal of the President of the United States. That is the question that drives the most urgent short-term dispute in America today (the shutdown). It's also a shortcut to fighting words. All conservative commentators who have defended Covington's hateful teenagers have argued that they, though perhaps odious, did not say, "Build the wall!" It is remarkable – not to approve of the strong president's program is cited as exculpatory, often by the same people who think that building a wall is the right policy.