I think we’re on the same side. From what I’ve heard, the BI group is a not uncommon presence in the DC area & they tend to regularly be confrontational in that manner. So, just seeing broadcast on YouTube, it goes from being just one of those annoying things you tune out during your commute, to a couple dudes coming…

I am not defending the MAGA choad teens—sacrifice this douchebag and all his friends, for all I care—but your comment is really confusing to me. What do you mean by “Black Israelites . . . being confrontational. But that’s kinda their deal”? How does that not apply to MAGA choads, teen or otherwise?

I watched the almost 2 hour video made by the black zealots (I can’t remember the name of their group), and while those guys were hurling abuse at everyone, including the kids, I don’t get why people now throw Mr Phillips in with them.

As a progressive Catholic from the South, I find that Mr. Bales’ explanation is precisely and exactly the same as my experiences, over many decades, with regard to a large subspecies of reactionary Catholics. This is especially true with regard to the politics of gender and birth control. Without nominally adhering…

Somebody said something about “turning the other cheek” or something in a book once. Don’t remember who it was but it feels appropriate here.

“I was an asshole because those other guys were assholes” is from the Bible, right? 

Yeah, this is a shitty defense: There were some worse, crazy, adult assholes there, so these teen assholes are cool. 

I’m a victim of bad geography recall. For some reason I think of Kentucky as being much farther south, as if there’s a blank between the northern states and the southern one. 

The party of personal responsibility is confused as to why there are consequences to wearing white supremacist gear in public. Sad.

and “AGAINST MY CHARACTER AND MORALS.”

Not a Tomahawk Chop! Just an Angular Wave Hello.

If only Savannah would ask Cashman how he came to be standing in front of Mr. Philips. I’ve seen reports that this “blameless” kid came down the steps to stand in front of Mr. Philips which seems odd for someone who claims he was just standing there minding his own business. It is also clear from the interested…

I did myself the extreme disservice of watching some of the “extended” footage. I do not understand why everyone is prostrating themselves at the altar of these MAGA choad teens, begging for forgiveness. Sure, now we know that the group of Black Israelites that was there was being confrontational. But that’s kinda…

The number of people backtracking on the MAGA assholes is bullshit.

the media has tripped over itself to prove they were not unfairly targeting the teens for their political beliefs.

There was someone doing the same in the comments of the Deadspin-Concourse piece Laura Wagner wrote yesterday and I’m kind of losing my mind.

Wow, it’s almost like this school/community has a track record of being awful and shouldn’t be given the benefit of the doubt!

That Oxford link says almost exactly the same thing I do. Like I said, “diffuse” kinda works, because one gets the general idea behind “making conflict less concentrated.” But “defuse” works better, because that was a potentially explosive situation between the MAGAts and the Black Israelites, and what it needed was…

to try to diffuse conflict

I’m still so shocked that a high school students could be so callous as to just stare at a Native American leader like that.  What I saw was pretty horrifying, regardless of what these libertarian apologists are saying.