We Can Stop the Next Covington Catholic Outrage. Make Social Media Responsible

If your weekend passed without being outraged by a viral video of a handful of Catholic schoolboys from Kentucky and a native American man with a drum, count yourself among the lucky - and rare.The video showing boys from Covington Catholic wearing MAGA hats and smirking in the face of tribal elder Nathan Phillips appeared first as a vindication of every leftwing trope about white privilege and bigotry and class. Then, as more video emerged, it was suddenly a vindication of every rightwing trope about the liberal media and reverse racism and coastal elites.Whatever the sad interaction was, it says less about the boys and Mr. Phillips than it says about us as a people. We are addicted to our outrage. We are addicted to our self-righteousness. We are addicted to the feelings of superiority and certainty that come from snippets of video and audio that pour across our computer screens, inevitably lacking context and hopelessly dehumanizing their subjects.  Continue reading...