repoman
Contributor
Is there an original copy of the yearbook that is in good shape? That should really get this settled.
I think it's becoming clearer now what is going on. Virginia Republicans are trying to stage a coup. Dig up dirt on the governor, make up dirt on the Lt. Governor. Get rid of them both and the Republican speaker of the house gets the seat.
Indeed, the behavior was wrong, but not worthy of resignation, for reasons previously stated. People make mistakes. Adults make mistakes. There needs to be sufficient room to allow people to evolve into better people, and when they do, not hold them accountable for those prior transgressions of this kind.
That's a fine principle for an adult, but a different standard exists for politicians. If this was Bob Northam who lived down the block from me, I'd agree that this wouldn't be worth giving a shit about. He is, however, a prominent member of a political party which is basing a decent portion of its platform on pointing out the racism of the opposing party, so a different standard applies to him. It undercuts every single argument every Democrat makes about the racist policies of the GOP if those arguments are rebutted by pointing out the Dem governor who thought it was cool to play KKK dress up. There's no scenario where he's not now a liability. Whether that's fair or unfair is kind of tough shit for him. If he didn't like finding himself in that sort of scenario, he was free to not get into politics.
Even if it was the case that this was just a mistake, his blatant lies trying to absolve himself of responsibility for it make him now nothing more than a pathetic fool. He could have honourably stepped and made the point that what the Party stands for is more important than his own career and given himself a prominent role in talking about just the sort of things that you're bringing up. Now, there's nothing left for him except whining for a bit before resigning in disgrace and not being welcomed anywhere anymore because he was an annoying dipshit about it.
A separate issue, one I am discussing, lamenting, is the practice of demanding resignation for past, minor, non-criminal, transgressions. I’m not confining the scope of the dialogue to Dems’ demands for resignation. Dems aren’t the only ones demanding resignation. Demands for resignation have been made by many people not in politics, and on the basis of this absolute, black and white approach. Neither is the phenomenon under discussion confined to politicians or quarantined to race. We have seen this approach permeate sports and entertainment to varying degrees.
Fuck what white people want. Poll the Virginia black voters and do what the majority wants.
If by here, you mean TFT, then they aren't closeted.Fuck what white people want. Poll the Virginia black voters and do what the majority wants.
Were any of them actually harmed here?
At least they have an idea that one white guy may be sympathetic to racist ideas.
They have no idea how many closeted racists are in power.
But closeted racists are all over the place in the US. They are everywhere.
Even here.
If the Virginia governor had handled this better, maybe things would have died down by now. I've even wondered if that yearbook photo was photoshopped. Why would a well known college put such a photo in its yearbook in 1984? The group that put this out is extremely far alt right. Shouldn't we be concerned about that?
Let's be clear. There is not any evidence Northam was racist at the time, or his photo was the result of racial animus. His conduct was certainly racial insensitivity and he did not exercise the best judgment in his actions.
Sen. Byrd was adjacent to the KKK in his younger days. He tried to make up for it. I would have wanted this guy to explain why what happened is negated by all of his positive work regarding outreach.If the Virginia governor had handled this better, maybe things would have died down by now. I've even wondered if that yearbook photo was photoshopped. Why would a well known college put such a photo in its yearbook in 1984? The group that put this out is extremely far alt right. Shouldn't we be concerned about that?
That is the main thing. If he'd handled this better, it probably wouldn't be a thing. If he'd said "Ya, this is dumb thing I did back in college because I was young and insensitive, but my career of working for civil rights issues clearly demonstrates that this is not who I am", then I don't think anyone except the right wing trolls would give a shit after giving him a stern tongue lashing and making him promise to never do it again. However, changing his story, trying to deny it after admitting to it, talking about the other times he wore blackface, etc, really just ruined him.
Let's be clear. There is not any evidence Northam was racist at the time, or his photo was the result of racial animus. His conduct was certainly racial insensitivity and he did not exercise the best judgment in his actions.
Smarmy diversion from the fact that HE KNEW he had this in his past, and dishonestly hid it from voters prior to his election.
He has lost all credibility with his electorate, and should resign for the good of Virginia. And the party of course, but that's secondary IMHO.
Are you suggesting he should have had it in campaign ads?Let's be clear. There is not any evidence Northam was racist at the time, or his photo was the result of racial animus. His conduct was certainly racial insensitivity and he did not exercise the best judgment in his actions.
Smarmy diversion from the fact that HE KNEW he had this in his past, and dishonestly hid it from voters prior to his election.
The credibility, if lost, might have more been loss by his, 'that's me' pivot to 'that isn't the photo of me when I did blackface'.He has lost all credibility with his electorate, and should resign for the good of Virginia. And the party of course, but that's secondary IMHO.
I disagree. He should go. This wasn't him as some 13 year old kid who was trying to look good for the older boys in high school, he was a 25 year old adult who not only made a conscious choice to dress up in black face and/or KKK costumes, but was impressed enough with his activities to include a photo of it on his yearbook page as one of his top memories of his time there. It's over the line and adults should be held accountable for adult actions. His nickname in university was, after all, "Coonman", and his fatuous claims that he didn't know why people called him that fall pretty flat.
Even if it was the case that people should get over it, from a political point of view, they won't. This now defines his political career, regardless of whether or not it's fair that it should do so. There's nothing this guy adds to the Democratic Party which wouldn't be served equally well by his Lieutenant Governor and his remaining in office actively harms any goals or initiatives that he's in favour of. The dude just needs to wander off to go fuck himself.
I disagree. He should go. This wasn't him as some 13 year old kid who was trying to look good for the older boys in high school, he was a 25 year old adult who not only made a conscious choice to dress up in black face and/or KKK costumes, but was impressed enough with his activities to include a photo of it on his yearbook page as one of his top memories of his time there. It's over the line and adults should be held accountable for adult actions. His nickname in university was, after all, "Coonman", and his fatuous claims that he didn't know why people called him that fall pretty flat.
Even if it was the case that people should get over it, from a political point of view, they won't. This now defines his political career, regardless of whether or not it's fair that it should do so. There's nothing this guy adds to the Democratic Party which wouldn't be served equally well by his Lieutenant Governor and his remaining in office actively harms any goals or initiatives that he's in favour of. The dude just needs to wander off to go fuck himself.
But we have to ‘get over it.’ We have got to accept the past and we have got to embrace that people —all people— are flawed, make mistakes, do things which they later regret, or see through different eyes. If you don’t accept that someone did something out of ignorance or insensitivity rather than malice, we leave no room for ourselves to ever err and grow and be forgiven.
It isn’t only that if we do not remember the past, we are condemned to repeat it. If we do not accept the part and grow and learn and forgive the past, we are condemned.
Wait... who is saying it wasn't wrong?We are living in upside-down liberal boomer reasoning Hellworld, where putting on blackface and posing with someone in a Klan costume, not to mention picking that photo to be one of the handful adorning a yearbook page representing my tenure, is somehow not worth labeling as racist,...
There was an election. If we start requiring people to resign past an election for this stuff (legal, non-violent, distasteful humor), people will hold onto it until after inauguration, post it, and then get someone to resign....and doesn't rise to the level of resignation from public office (the opportunity cost of which is basically nil since there are other candidates waiting in the wings who don't have a history of embodying racist stereotypes for fun)