(This post may contain disputed claims. We make no assertions as to the validity of the information presented by our Opinion Columnist. We are an opinion blog, not a traditional news outlet, and this post should be treated as such. Enjoy.)Nathan Phillips, the American Indian who beat his drum in the face of the Covington Catholic boys, is doubling down on his version of events and insisting that his opponents be punished. However, as his narrative continues to unravel, he’s been destroyed by those who can see right through his BS.
An encounter between Native American Nathan Phillips and Covington Catholic student Nicholas Sandmann has sparked allegations in the media that Covington boys on a field trip in Washington, D.C. were mocking and taunting Phillips for his race. Phillips himself claimed that the boys surrounded him and were chanting “build the wall.”
However, according to a statement from Sandmann and a full video of the days’ events, Phillips instigated the incident by walking up to the Covington group and loudly beating his drum in their faces.
But despite the fact that Phillips’ claims have been widely disproven, he slammed Sandmann’s statement and suggested the boys should be expelled during an interview with The Cincinnati Inquirer.
“He needs to put out a different statement,” Phillips said. “I’m disappointed with his statement. He didn’t accept any responsibility. That lack of responsibility, I don’t accept it. At first I wanted the teachers and chaperones to be reprimanded, some fired, for letting this happen. For the students, I was against any expulsions, but now I have to revisit that.”
But it seems that the overwhelming majority of social media users aren’t buying Phillips’ story. “Your as* was only there to cause problems,” commented Janet Thomason. “The boy did nothing but show RESPECT. He could have punched that drum right out of his face, but he stood erect with a smile on his face and showed RESPECT. God Bless this young man.”
“When I’m walking along I don’t expect people to get out of the way! And I don’t Bang drums in their faces!” added Facebook user Barbara Davis. “Oh and by the way I am a registered Native American, My mother was full-blooded Absentee Shawnee and My father was White, So I could go either way but I choose to believe the kids.”
Insinuating that we may have a case of stolen valor on our hands, a current member of the US Army whose name is unknown was quoted as saying the following:
So, the Native American man, Nathan Phillips, is 64 years old. He says that he is a Vietnam War veteran. The last troops left Vietnam on March 29, 1973, when Phillips was 17 years old. Phillips claims that he did two tours in Vietnam. Tours can be anywhere from roughly 6 months to 2 years long. That means that Phillips would have had to have been, at the oldest, 16 when he started his 2 tours. Then you would have to take into account the time for his training and mobilizations. Phillips also claimed that he was a “Recon Ranger” during the war. There was no such thing as a Recon Ranger. The closest thing to a “Recon Ranger” is the 75th Ranger Regiment Reconnaissance Company. But even that unit did not exist until 1984, a whole decade after the Vietnam War. Even if it did exist at the time, the training length would be at least six months, if not more. So, something here does not add up…
Indeed, nothing about Nathan Phillips’ story quite adds up. But that hasn’t stopped him from making the rounds at any media outlet which will feature him, and it hasn’t stopped those media outlets from glorifying him while trashing the reputations of children attending a religious school.
