âOnly one thing would have been more âpainfulâ or âhorrificâ and that would have been my resignation.â
Iâm glad heâs not resigning.
Mistakes made decades ago should not force people from public office, unless the mistakes were against the law.
If Halloween costumes from the 1980s could force Democrats out, whatâs next? Offensive jokes told or laughed at in the 1990s?
Itâs been an awakening for me too. Prior to seeing that photo, I never would have assumed that anyone in the state of Virginia might have done or said anything racist in their life.
Fuck that. Kingâs âI have a dreamâ speech should have been an awakening. Having Richmond burned to the ground during the Civil War should have been an awakening. Having a Virginian write that âAll men are created equalâ in 1776 should have been an awakening. What is supposed to make us believe that Virginia is anywhere near waking up even now? How is a loser, coward and hypocrite like Northam supposed to be the vehicle for this alleged awakening?
If youâre going to cling to office like a stubborn turd, just say youâre sorry and shut the fuck up. Get the fuck out of here with âooh oops I never thought about how blackface was bad until just nowâ. Itâs insulting.
Christ, how was this the best Democrat Virginia could find to run for this office?
This is truly a clusterfuck. With the whole democratic slate needing to resign asap. And yet, handing the government back to the Repubs would not do a damned thing to advance civil rights that are so desperately needed right now.
âA lot of individuals across Virginia have been hurt.â Passive voice, taking no responsibility. He could have said âI have hurt a lot of individualsâ but I guess that comes too close to taking actual responsibility. The sense of entitlement is strong in this one.
And he still hasnât answered the questions about the âCoonmanâ nickname. I expect something about that to be dug up eventually, and it wonât be pretty.
Trading Places was released in 1983.
Dan Akroyd, one of the biggest starts of that year, wears blackface in it. Eddie Murphy also stars in the movie, which was one of the Top 20 Highest Grossing movies of 1983.
Where were the protests?
Iâm glad he is not resigning either, but for different reasonsâŚhas more to do with defending Virginia (hence Americans) against a coup mustered by the republican war-machine. Real-time civil war we are watching. Eerily, like the last one, being fought in Virginia. This is blood.
Give him the chance (Forgive him, O Lord) to institute some really great kick-ass programs as a way to repent. Heâll be watched. Big audience, great opportunity. I can find it in my heart to give him some love.
Christ, Democrats have as much work to do on race as do the Republicans. Itâs just sad reading these comments threads.
I donât really have an opinion on whether he should step down or not, but this narrative that normal people ran around in klan garb and blackface for Halloween in the 80s just blows me away.
Can one imagine if an African-American governor took photos of himself whipping a white man, or bustinâ up a chifforobe for a white woman? Heâd beâŚwell, itâs why the city is named Lynchburg.
I havenât once heard this guy clearly explain how he didnât understand then why blackface is so offensive but he does now. I wonder if we ever will. Not at this rate, Iâd think.
So what? Iâm here today in the same space with you and everyone else on this board and beyond. Iâm madder than you about virginia being awake. What a joke. What you say is true, every bit. But the point is all those âawakesâ were still in Old Virginia! Could have been any state.
This Governor has now offered himself for the remainder of his term to depart from business as usual and institute some kick-ass programs that can positively affect all of us. Can you give him this chance?
Letâs hold our noses over something quite dubious, and give Northam the remainder of his term.! Thank you.
In a mere matter of years we can loose so muchâŚ
Not up to me. I donât live in VA. But I know how Iâd vote if I did.
And so weâre ready to learn from our mistakes.
What you mean we, Paleface?
Good that heâs planning to focus on racial equity (WaPo 2/9/19) once this scandal dies down.
I would suggest he focus on wearing sneakers from now on so he doesnât even have think about that half-empty can of black shoe polish in the back of the closet.
Tommy Froment, the Republican Senate Majority Leader in VA not only was one of the first to condemn him but he actually edited (which means was involved in the choice of images included) the 1968 Virginia Military Instituteâs yearbook, rife with blackface and racism.
Moreover, he is paid $60,000 a year to teach a course at William and Mary College and his students have complained about his racist slant: https://thinkprogress.org/former-students-say-virginia-senate-majority-leader-taught-racially-insensitive-college-course-b82fabf8a683/
Well, he has denied that the photo in the yearbook is him. However, he has admitted to putting on skin darkening makeup in order to represent Michael Jackson in a dance contest. While the latter is still in poor taste and judgement I donât think itâs the same thing as putting on blackface in order to poke fun at black people. It would be terrible if a republican somehow ended up in the governorâs seat, so I think we have to consider which is actually worse. Him staying with his baggage or a republican snatching up that governorâs seat? I think Northam, considering the political circumstances, has an opportunity to make lemonade out of lemons. He says he wishes to spend the remaining years of his governorship pursuing equity. Iâm willing to give him that chance. Itâs far better than the alternative.