It's hard to describe my reaction to what occurred during a peaceful march through our nation's capital. Kentucky High Schoolers taunted a Native American Elder during the Indigenous People's March, while they were on a field trip for the March of Life. Cherish the elders because of them, we wouldn't be here (literally). The respect of other cultures seems to be lost on some of this generation and it truly shows in those who follow Donald Trump's words as if they are biblical. The fact that most extremists feel the need to disrespect those who are different from themselves shows how toxic zealotry can be. It is shown in the videos how zealots can be unhealthy for society in general.
I have so much respect for Nathan Phillips in how he handles the boys taunting him. The Native American was just playing his drum calmly as the boy tried to push his buttons. I spent some time analyzing different videos and official information about both the March for Life and The Indigenous People's March and I found some interesting scenarios. Considering the March of Life and the Indigenous Peoples March were on the same day and their starting points were over an hours walk from each other and the video looks like its shot in the afternoon, it shows that the marches have been done for quite some time.
Indigenous Peoples March Washington, D.C. www.youtube.com
This is a case of children being influenced by their environment, and it shows that these kid's environment didn't preach tolerance and kindness to those different from them. The fact that they sported the red hats during the March for Life ironically shows their ignorance. Imagine the fetuses that they are trying to protect grew up years before them to fight for his rights and happiness as a Native American in American society.
Could it be that they only think of the rights of culturally similar babies and not all the babies? It's something to think about. Before you think of this piece being biased as those seen on the rest of the internet, think about this. Most articles about how this elder was being bullied wouldn't show the calmest video. I think the elder has every right to say what he believes in as does the boys, but the elder at least didn't taunt the kids but continued his song calmly.
The views of the kids were represented with their "Make America Great Again" hats and their taunts by screaming "Build That Wall" at the people after the Indigenous Peoples March. Yes, the students were hanging around the Lincoln memorial but it shows in other videos that the Native Americans went towards them as a group. Other videos show that the kids were singing their school song and that it was thought they were making fun of the Native Americans.
The reason why I chose this video is that the kids surrounded the elder gentleman and his group and were taunting him as they were playing their drums. The kid that is centered in this video represents how children nowadays respect elders who aren't related to them. To be honest, if my mom had caught me doing that to an elder, I would have been grounded.
