Should Ralph Shearer Northam resign as governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia?

[Big Abraham]

Why are you defending black face on an Internet forum?

It's not really a defense of blackface so much as it is a critique of those who are up in arms about it. My overall feelings towards blackface, like anything else, are context dependent

[Koharu]

Why are you defending black face on an Internet forum?

It's not really a defense of blackface so much as it is a critique of those who are up in arms about it. My overall feelings towards blackface, like anything else, are context dependent

You're defending black face to a black person who has explained why it's racist and disgusting. Stop.

[Torrain]

Northam should have resigned last night, but I expect he’ll step down today. Yesterday he was called on to resign by:
- His predecessor, Terry McAuliffe
- VA State House Dems
- VA State Senate Dems
- The NAACP
- Rep. Elaine Luria (VA-02)
- Rep. Abigail Spanberger (VA-07)
- Planned Parenthood, and every pro-life group in existence (wow, finally some common ground)

The political gravity is too strong for him to go on at this point.

[Big Abraham]

Why are you defending black face on an Internet forum?

It's not really a defense of blackface so much as it is a critique of those who are up in arms about it. My overall feelings towards blackface, like anything else, are context dependent

You're defending black face to a black person who has explained why it's racist and disgusting. Stop.

Nothing in his post justified his assertion that all humour of this kind is inherently wrong.

Do you agree or disagree that context matters, and that there is a distinction to make between this yearbook photograph and the minstrel shows of the past?

[Woody]

Some sources are saying that Northam has no plans to resign.

[President Johnson]

Yes, because he can no longer effectivley govern after this. But that is a conclusion that he himself has to draw, since it's no legal offensive that he can be impeached for like it was the case with Blago or the Erotic Eric.

I do think he's not a racist and if he was, he changed decades ago. However, even if as 25 year old, we should expect better. It's not that he was 14 and did this for fun.

[brucejoel99]

Some sources are saying that Northam has no plans to resign.

Makes no sense smh. He must realize that, w/ both House & Senate Democrats calling for his resignation, it's hard to see how he governs when members of his own caucus are calling for him to leave office... right?

As President Johnson said...

Yes, because he can no longer effectivley govern after this. But that is a conclusion that he himself has to draw...

Seriously though, I really can't imagine him staying in office much longer.

[Torrain]

Why are you defending black face on an Internet forum?

It's not really a defense of blackface so much as it is a critique of those who are up in arms about it. My overall feelings towards blackface, like anything else, are context dependent

You're defending black face to a black person who has explained why it's racist and disgusting. Stop.

Nothing in his post justified his assertion that all humour of this kind is inherently wrong.

Do you agree or disagree that context matters, and that there is a distinction to make between this yearbook photograph and the minstrel shows of the past?

The context of the image was a man in blackface standing next to a goddamned Klansman in the yearbook of someone whose college nickname was apparently Coonman. Stop being disingenuous about this. Northsm was clearly insanely racist when he was younger.

It’s not just the image. If he was confident enough to use this picture as representative of him as a student, at a time when Virginia was just about to elect its first African American governor since reconstruction, what does this say about the content of his character at the time?
He seems to be a better man now, but if he refuses to stand down, he’ll have proven that he’s learnt nothing.

It’s time for him to go quietly.

Justin Fairfax is the governor that Virginia needs right now, just as Tina Smith was the senator Minnesota needed in 2018.

[Cold War Liberal]

Yes. I also really like the irony of his black LG replacing him during Black History Month as a result of this.

[Bernie Derangement Syndrome Haver]

I’m so excited for seven years of Fairfax. A refreshing new start for Virginia

[Torrain]

There's a press conference scheduled for this morning, so if there's a resignation coming I'd expect it to be announced then.

Can't find a time for the PC, sorry.

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/02/01/virginia-governor-apologizes-for-racist-yearbook-photo-1144007

[Torrain]

From Politico:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[OneJ]

Most definitely. But not because of the blackface thing, because honestly, who cares

Are you serious? Blackface was and has been used to reduce the identities of black people to nothing more as theatrical characters for white amusement. It is obscenely racist and disqualifying for anybody wanting to serve as a public leader.

Yes I'm absolutely serious, and the fake moral outrage displayed by the liberals on the forum is hilarious. I don't care how blackface "was and has been used" in a historical sense, and something is only racist if done with hostile intent, and this was obviously done for humour. Who cares? Liberals remind me of puritans these days, I swear

There's nothing fake about my outrage. I am black and those images spurred a visceral response in me. Reducing the oppression of an entire race of people into a joke is racist. Racism is not just about burning crosses and committing violent acts. There is nothing remotely funny about the dehumanization of black people. Those images and the stereotypes they portray have had real life and sometimes fatal consequences for black communities. There is nothing about dressing up as a Klan member that was obviously done for humor. You are painstakingly ignorant and tone-deaf.

All of this.

[ηєω ƒяσηтιєя]

Most definitely. But not because of the blackface thing, because honestly, who cares

Are you serious? Blackface was and has been used to reduce the identities of black people to nothing more as theatrical characters for white amusement. It is obscenely racist and disqualifying for anybody wanting to serve as a public leader.

Yes I'm absolutely serious, and the fake moral outrage displayed by the liberals on the forum is hilarious. I don't care how blackface "was and has been used" in a historical sense, and something is only racist if done with hostile intent, and this was obviously done for humour. Who cares? Liberals remind me of puritans these days, I swear

There's nothing fake about my outrage. I am black and those images spurred a visceral response in me. Reducing the oppression of an entire race of people into a joke is racist. Racism is not just about burning crosses and committing violent acts. There is nothing remotely funny about the dehumanization of black people. Those images and the stereotypes they portray have had real life and sometimes fatal consequences for black communities. There is nothing about dressing up as a Klan member that was obviously done for humor. You are painstakingly ignorant and tone-deaf.

All of this.

[Torrain]

https://twitter.com/vademocrats/status/1091720393528885248

[Crumpets]

https://twitter.com/vademocrats/status/1091720393528885248

Key phrase "this morning." If he's still in by Monday, I'd be surprised.

[Suburbia]

Seven years of Fairfax....it would probably be good for VA, but it will lead to a Republican in 2025.

[Koharu]

https://twitter.com/vademocrats/status/1091720393528885248

 

[DINGO Joe]

Wading in quite late to this story

Obviously Ralph Northam was raised a racist hick and acted as such.  I guess the issue is do you believe could he transition into a decent modern adult and govern as such (and seems to have) or is his past too much to overcome.  I'd lean to the former but he clearly has lost many people quite quickly.

[Fuzzy Bear]

He should resign, he isn't owed the Governorship. This image is hurtful and trivializes what was America's worst terrorist group. A group who's sole purpose and function was to destroy Black progress in business, politics, and equality.

This. The white men in this thread pontificating about people changing and this “not being a crime” is SICKENING.

So why should Jewish folks view Jesse Jackson's "H----town" comments in the 1984 campaign any more charitably?  And before we go out and say that (A) it's not 1984 anymore and (B) Jackson made that comment (for which he never apologized, and for which apologies were never demanded by wide swaths of the left) let's remember that this is Black History Month.  Jackson's 1984 and 1988 Presidential campaigns will be a part of those discussions; his campaigns in the 1980s were historical touchstones in terms of Black History, were they not?  Will those positive discussions of Jackson's campaigns be a sub silentio endorsement of anti-Semitism?  Will such discussions reflect negatively on the whole of Black History Month and those who advocate its celebration?

Jackson's comments were also made in the context of a Presidential campaign where his association with Louis Farrakhan was on display.  Farrakhan is, perhaps, one of the most vicious haters of Jews in America, and he's at it to this day, but Jackson has never repudiated Farrakhan.  His comment about New York (actually, his comment was about Jews and how he viewed them in his heart) wasn't something he made as a teenager, or even a med student (and private citizen); it was made as a sober, middle-aged man in the midst of a Presidential campaign.  He knew what he was saying, and he knew who Farrakhan was.  Yet he's remained n public life, his Presidential runs lionized in some quarters, his qualifications for a Cabinet position celebrated.  He was never, at any time, requested to recuse himself from private life.  

That I'm a white male does not make my opinion on this subject irrelevant.  Because if it does, then we need to examine the opinions of black folks who are not "racist" (in the sense that they view white persons as inferior), but whose viewpoints are driven, to some measure, by unrelenting resentment toward white people.  An unrelenting resentment that is excused, and even praised in some circles.  A resentment that, whether it's blacks resenting whites, whites resenting blacks, etc. impedes one's ability to be fair in drawing conclusions.  And when political figures have these issues, it impedes their abilities to be fair in their public life.  This standard is applied to Steve King, and that's most appropriate.  This standard is not applied to Ilhan Omar, and that is pathetic.  And that's to say nothing about Alcee Hastings.

The question of whether or not Northam should resign is twofold.  In terms of being able to govern, he certainly needs to consider it.  The firestorm surrounding this is what it is, and too many Democrats have made statements that they can't walk back, while, for the GOP, he's now a gift that can keep on giving.  But as to whether he should have to quit because of something he did 35 years ago that (A) was stupid, and (B) super-inappropriate, but (C) was not a reflection of his real self; the answer to THAT question is a "NO!".  It's an ex post facto standard that, in this case, is not fair, given the totality of Northam's life, and the totality of his record in public life.  

The principle here is one of whether 35 years of living, including years in public life, ought to be voided by a stupid move in college.  It's not as if Northam was the President of his college's chapter of the Proud Boys.  It's not as if he's lived an adult life littered with questionable racist antics.  It's not as if his entire political life has been one where his posturing has been one of being on the side black folks are not on (as, say, Brian Kemp has been).  I suppose perspective and asking people to view the totality of circumstances is ridiculous.

There are liberals galore who advocate passionately (and rightly) for persons to have second chances.  They advocate that convicted felons have second chances in meaningful employment, even when their records involve offenses involving theft and dishonesty.  They advocate that persons convicted of drug offenses in their youth, even felonious drug offenses involving dealing drugs, be forgiven, and treated as if these offenses that didn't happen.  (Indeed, we had a President whose biography involves confessions of cocaine use and even sale, and that was OK with millions of Americans, including myself.)  And I agree with all of this.  People SHOULD have second chances.  People SHOULD be able to live down their past.  Is that aspect in doubt?

In that regard, Northam hasn't harmed anyone; he hasn't sexually harassed anyone, he hasn't racially discriminated against anyone who has applied for employment with him.  He's done something offensive in a stupid moment in college where he used poor judgment, but the barrage of Northam, The Nazi stories hasn't poured forth yet.  That would change my view considerably, but that also hasn't happened yet.

I expect Northam to go.  Life will go on.  Perhaps, however, this episode could bring people to consider that this sort of self-righteous hysteria ought to be tempered with an honest view of the Big Picture and a smidgen of self-examination.  Perhaps I'm aiming high.

[Torrain]

Northam press conference pushed back to 2.30. I think he’s given himself extra time to fight for his job. It won’t and it shouldn’t do him any good. The state party has made their lack of confidence clear.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

When is RFK going to admit that he resents the honkies?

[Fuzzy Bear]

I suggest that Northam leave the Democratic Party and declare himself an Independent.  He's done nothing wrong as Governor.  He's committed no impeachable offenses.

Gov. Ralph Northam (I-VA).

I say, let it happen.

[President Johnson]

I suggest that Northam leave the Democratic Party and declare himself an Independent.  He's done nothing wrong as Governor.  He's committed no impeachable offenses.

Gov. Ralph Northam (I-VA).

I say, let it happen.

And how does he get anything done? If you don't have backing from either political party, you just can't govern effectively. Not my understanding of public service.

[Crumpets]

I suggest that Northam leave the Democratic Party and declare himself an Independent.  He's done nothing wrong as Governor.  He's committed no impeachable offenses.

Gov. Ralph Northam (I-VA).

I say, let it happen.

I don't know. I heard he supported the murder of untold numbers of babies.