(screen shot of Nathan Phillips from CNN YouTube channel newscast published January 19, 2019)
CNN: We are hearing
from a Native American Elder, a Vietnam War veteran, speaking to CNN
after a disturbing viral video shows a group of teens harassing and
mocking him in the nation's capitol. Here is the video sparking
outrage on social media right now. Nathan Phillips was beating his
drum and singing an American Indian protest song and this was on
Friday on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, when he saw a clash
erupting between a group of teenage students and four African
American young men preaching about the Bible and oppression. Well,
Phillips says he immediately sensed danger.
Nathan Phillips:
When I was there, and I was standing there and I seen that group of
people in front of me and I seen the angry faces and all of that, I
realized I had put myself in a really dangerous situation. You know,
it was like here was a group of people who were angry at somebody
else, and I put myself in front of that and all of a sudden, I am the
one who all that anger and all that wanting to have the freedom to
just rip me apart, you know, that was scary. And I'm a Vietnam-times
veteran and I know that mentality of “there's enough of us, we can
do this.”
CNN: Then Phillips
describes the tense moments now being replayed over and over again
online, when a young man got right in his face.
Nathan Phillips:
When I started going forward and that mass of groups of people
started separating and separating and moving aside to allow me to
move out of the way to proceed, this young feller put himself in
front of me and wouldn't move and so if I took another step, I would
be putting my person into his presence, into his space, and I would
have touched him, and that would have been the thing that the group
of people would have needed to spring on me.
CNN: CNN's Sara
Sidner asked Phillips what bothered him the most about Friday's
confrontation. Here are his thoughts.
Nathan Phillips: Fear. (am's note: there is a pause here before he continues). Not for myself but fear for the next generation, fear where
this country's going, fear for those youths, fear for their future,
their souls, their spirits, what they're going to do to this country.
What they were doing was not making America great, it was just
tearing down the fabric. The whole idea, the spirit of America, that
wasn't it, you know.
*
From the perspective of Indian Country:
Trying to see this situation in its immediate context -- not ignoring the historical context in all its complexity
*
From the perspective of Indian Country:
Trying to see this situation in its immediate context -- not ignoring the historical context in all its complexity
1 comment:
When I was in my final year in what you would call highschool in the US (the year before entering university), one of my courses concentrated on how language is used in political speeches and media. The year was 1976 and media then was radio, tv and print.
We analysed many speeches and slogans and reporting styles etc., identifying the tricks of the trade - selective use of language, secret terminology, gaps, pauses, repetitions, inconclusive quotes, smear camapigns (hidden and obvious) and so on - and while this is now in some back corner of my mind, I can still recognise the honesty in Mr Phillip's words.
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