Kids these days!

In the '70's, as the Vietnam War was moving toward its finale, I wore a green Army jacket, courtesy of my then girlfriend, who had it from her older brother, a veteran of the war (both brothers served).  The jacket was a simple cloth jacket; no padding, no fur, no lining, the kind of thing you might expect to wear in tropical climes.

I wore it despite the fact I was virulently anti-war, and secretly scared to death I'd be drafted (and had been since the 6th grade, when a friend told me it was inevitable.  Fortunately it wasn't; I was in the last cohort (class?) to be in the draft lottery.  My number was high enough I missed altogether, and went off to college without worrying about failing out and getting caught to do my duty for Uncle Sam (as we put it then, derisively).  I wore the jacket derisively; but also because I liked it.  It was clearly military, but I thought it stylish (no comments from the peanut gallery!), at least comfortable, and besides, my girlfriend gave it to me.

So I think I understand why MAGA hats would be a thing among teenagers, especially those who want to annoy their parents or associate with a "winning brand."  Honestly "brand" seems to be all teenagers are about these days, something that isn't entirely new, so I won't go further afield with that.  Although, thinking back on my days of my Army jacket (I had a fake Navy peacoat, too; for a guy who didn't want to be in the military, I liked the clothing.  The peacoat was from Sears, and "navy" referred more to its color than anything more nautical), I don't think it would have been appropriate wear to a, say, anti-war protest, not that such things would have been a field trip for my high school.  Even if I thought I wore my jacket ironically, the irony was likely lost on almost everyone else:

“With regard to the hats, they were there for a pro-life march, which, granted, focused on abortion,” he said. “The hats that they were wearing, the so-called MAGA hats, the Make America Great hats, come with a certain political agenda that in my opinion can be seen as anti-Catholic, anti-Christian.

Certainly they represent a political agenda; even if it isn't anti-Christian (I think it is, but YMMV), what were they doing wearing them while on a school field trip?  As the priest said about their behavior:

“First of all, I think the students acted inappropriately,” he said. “I was raised at a time when we were taught, respect your elders. no matter how the Native American gentleman wound up in front of that student, that was the time to turn the other cheek, to step aside, no matter what you thought,” he continued.

“It wasn’t a time to thrust both cheeks, smirking, into the face of that elder. So, yes, where were the chaperones? This situation was escalating. you had the group that you mentioned with racial slurs. You then had kids behind them seemingly mocking this elder and smirking and laughing at him,” he said. “I don’t understand how the chaperones don’t step in and say, first of all, boys, get to the bus, to defuse the situation. that’s why a chaperone is there,” he said. 

If a picture is worth 1000 words, that kid's face is the dictionary illustration of "white privilege."  Answers to the priest's questions that involve reference to "baptized heathens" are unseemly and will not be countenanced here, or further discussed.  But yeah, I am thinking about it....