Covington kids’ race, religion and politics made moment dry tinder for social media bonfire

"Open another can of outrage” is a phrase I first heard years ago. The speaker attributed the words to a New York politician and accused him of keeping manufactured outrage on the shelf and releasing it only for political gain.

Young and naive, I was scandalized by the possibility. Now I long for the days when outrage was rationed and dispensed only with cynical purpose.

These days, outrage is everywhere, is genuine and spontaneous — and far more dangerous.

Technology gives it the power to erupt instantly over the slightest provocation — or no provocation at all. But technology, for all its magic, can’t turn outrage into hate.

Only people can do that, and the most hateful people in America today are leftists.

Exhibit A is the confrontation involving a group of Catholic high school kids from Kentucky and a Native American activist last Friday in Washington, after the right-to-life march. A partial video set the internet on fire because it claimed to show the students mocking and harassing the older Native American man, who was banging a small drum.

Regardless, at almost any other time in any other place, the confrontation would have been deemed unremarkable — because it was. Sure, there was disdain, but no violence or even pushing and shoving. And you can see more menacing looks than that on a rush-hour subway any day of the week.

Technology gives it the power to erupt instantly over the slightest provocation — or no provocation at all. But technology, for all its magic, can’t turn outrage into hate.

Only people can do that, and the most hateful people in America today are leftists.

Exhibit A is the confrontation involving a group of Catholic high school kids from Kentucky and a Native American activist last Friday in Washington, after the right-to-life march. A partial video set the internet on fire because it claimed to show the students mocking and harassing the older Native American man, who was banging a small drum.

Regardless, at almost any other time in any other place, the confrontation would have been deemed unremarkable — because it was. Sure, there was disdain, but no violence or even pushing and shoving. And you can see more menacing looks than that on a rush-hour subway any day of the week.

But the Washington incident, near the Lincoln Memorial, had a unique element: the Catholic kids were predominantly white and pro-life, and some wore pro-Trump Make America Great Again hats.

 We used to say that George W. Bush was the most powerful president ever; he was still messing things up after Obama became president. Now, Trump is all powerful -- even his caps can cause a situation to explode. Wow!

Videos and accounts continue to emerge, and some who initially criticized the students, including prominent Catholics, have apologized or deleted their nasty comments. But it’s impossible to erase the knowledge that something must be very rotten in America for such an insignificant incident to spark such dangerous reactions.

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As others have noted, the Friday incident might not have happened had the Catholic kids been wearing school hats instead of pro-Trump hats.

But it’s a delusion to believe that, if Trump disappeared, America would be healed. The chasm opened in our society is not his fault, nor will it automatically close once he’s gone.

Those who oppose the coercively liberal culture found their voice in him, just as those who feel left out are bucking the ruling parties in Great Britain, France and across Europe.

While Trump is hardly an angel, the hatred for him is out of proportion to anything he says or does. Indeed, his accomplishments, instead of healing the haters, seem to be fueling ever greater outrage.

Haven’t these people ever heard of sedatives, psychiatrists or religion? Whatever their problem, the contempt for everything Trump, including his supporters, must stop before innocent people die.

As the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan once warned, a bullet has no friend once it leaves the gun.

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