Democrats Call On VA Governor To Resign Over Racist Yearbook Photo

Katheryne Helendale

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It's not looking good for Virginia Democrats:

The complete and utter collapse of Virginia's Democratic Party | CNN Politics

In a nutshell, we have the governor accused of dressing up in blackface or in KKK garb in a yearbook photo, not to mention his confession of dressing in blackface for a costume party, and not knowing it was offensive. If he resigns, next in line for the governorship is the Lt. Governor. Unfortunately, he's being accused of sexual assault during the 2004 Democratic National Conference in Boston. Next in line after him is the Virginia Attorney-General. Unfortunately, he too also thought dressing in blackface was okay!

As the author of this article put it: What. The. Actual. Hell?
 

Katheryne Helendale

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I'm fine with burning it to the ground and salting what's left. We'll still have 49 left.
We could add Puerto Rico as a state, so we wouldn't have to change our flag. And that would have the added bonus of making Trump's head explode.
 

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Not long before then I was still calling those licorice babies by an n-bomb name. Don't get me started on Brazil nuts. Transgender was rarely even thought of and if it was it lumped in with gay, and gay wasn't the word we used. AIDS was exclusively thought of as the gay disease.

84 was closer to 64 than 84 is to now.
Hard to call it without knowing the guy. I mean if some of the dumb shit I said as a teenager ever made it to the light of day I'd never be able to get into politics. I had some pretty dismal views.

Note: This is stuff I said. At no point have I ever appeared in blackface or a KKK hood. Most teenagers lacked empathy back in my day, every teen was the center of their own idiot universe mainly spouting whatever dumb shit their parents said, only sometimes saying the "Quiet bits" aloud because, y'know... idiots. Hell I'd argue most adults never really make it out of this phase.

I have this whole pet theory that it's tied to literacy, as in actual "I read books" literacy. Reading forces you into the viewpoint of others in a way that no other media does.
 

Kara Spengler

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We could add Puerto Rico as a state, so we wouldn't have to change our flag. And that would have the added bonus of making Trump's head explode.
DC is in line ahead of them. I am sure donnie would just LOVE living in a state that is almost entirely Ds.

This morning the poll question on the local news was if elected officials should be held accountable for their actions before they were in office. The winning answer? That it depends on the accusation. Burn the state down ... getting elected is not a get out of jail free card.
 

Kara Spengler

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Hard to call it without knowing the guy. I mean if some of the dumb shit I said as a teenager ever made it to the light of day I'd never be able to get into politics. I had some pretty dismal views.

Note: This is stuff I said. At no point have I ever appeared in blackface or a KKK hood. Most teenagers lacked empathy back in my day, every teen was the center of their own idiot universe mainly spouting whatever dumb shit their parents said, only sometimes saying the "Quiet bits" aloud because, y'know... idiots. Hell I'd argue most adults never really make it out of this phase.

I have this whole pet theory that it's tied to literacy, as in actual "I read books" literacy. Reading forces you into the viewpoint of others in a way that no other media does.
A minor is a completely different ball game than Northram. We are talking about something in his mid 20s.
 

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Hard to call it without knowing the guy. I mean if some of the dumb shit I said as a teenager ever made it to the light of day I'd never be able to get into politics. I had some pretty dismal views.

Note: This is stuff I said. At no point have I ever appeared in blackface or a KKK hood. Most teenagers lacked empathy back in my day, every teen was the center of their own idiot universe mainly spouting whatever dumb shit their parents said, only sometimes saying the "Quiet bits" aloud because, y'know... idiots. Hell I'd argue most adults never really make it out of this phase.

I have this whole pet theory that it's tied to literacy, as in actual "I read books" literacy. Reading forces you into the viewpoint of others in a way that no other media does.

I agree with this theory about literacy. The whole problem with the right wing (and dumbfucks in the Dems) is really a lack of empathy.
 

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I agree with this theory about literacy. The whole problem with the right wing (and dumbfucks in the Dems) is really a lack of empathy.
<strother martin voice> "What we have heeyar is a failyuh to empathize."

But WTF, I'm as Celtic pale as my avatar and I KNEW even when I was young back in the 80's that blackface was wrong. Maybe these supposed Democrats were more akin to Douchey prepster College Republicans when they were young. Like Hardy Jens in "Some Kind of Wonderful" or Brett Kavanaugh in "Preppy Douchebag nominated for the Supreme Court"
 

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<strother martin voice>But WTF, I'm as Celtic pale as my avatar and I KNEW even when I was young back in the 80's that blackface was wrong.
Him knowing that is was wrong is not the point though. The title of this thread makes the same mistake; he's not being asked to resign because of a picture in a yearbook, he's being asked to resign because the picture indicates that's he's a racist pig. Adultery was the old white man's indication of unstable character for over a century in American politics despite the open sexual practices of the founding fathers. Any hint of it promptly ended a career.

We've seen a radical swing away from that narrow definition of good character over the past twenty years. Pubic opinion now dismisses sexual references, other than paedophilia, and critically examines racist and other hateful aspects of a politition's character. That's progress, a good thing, and something old white men will eventually have to respect.
 

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One of the commentators on cable news recently talked about Virginia's history. They had the capital of the Confederacy and produced some of the most militant Rebel leaders and officers (not to mention Lee himself). Yes, Tom Jefferson was a Virginian but in 1781 he wrote that blacks were inferior, either due to racial traits or to decades of enslavement. The culture there has never really advanced very far beyond that old systemic racism, though changes are slowly coming. So I'm not surprised that some doofy college kid didn't stop to think that blackface might be insensitive and insulting. He wasn't the only one. What he hasn't done yet is to immediately and honestly apologize. Too late.
 

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Him knowing that is was wrong is not the point though. The title of this thread makes the same mistake; he's not being asked to resign because of a picture in a yearbook, he's being asked to resign because the picture indicates that's he's a racist pig. Adultery was the old white man's indication of unstable character for over a century in American politics despite the open sexual practices of the founding fathers. Any hint of it promptly ended a career.

We've seen a radical swing away from that narrow definition of good character over the past twenty years. Pubic opinion now dismisses sexual references, other than paedophilia, and critically examines racist and other hateful aspects of a politition's character. That's progress, a good thing, and something old white men will eventually have to respect.
Perhaps, but we still have Trump for President and the GOP (as a whole) controlling the Senate. While indeed some people are holding racists to account, at least publicly, when some go in the voting booth they are expressing their true interest. When Trump and/or the GOP use coded words or even outright racist attitudes, policy and so forth people vote for them.
 
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Ryanna Enfield

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The picture includes someone dressed in Klan garb! I mean, the blackface is fucking offensive, but I'm shocked that there isn't a noose in the picture too. Can we confirm he isn't the one dressed as a klansman? I mean it was the 80's and a legit school in America actually published that picture in their yearbook? Where was the adult/editor/anyone who wasn't racist at the school? That picture belongs in a history book as an example of racism.
 

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About 30 years ago, someone suggested I might consider entering politics and seeking to run for Parliament.

I briefly considered the idea, but a serving Labour MP gave me the very wise advice that, when making my decision, I should consider whether there was anything in my, or my immediate family's, past that I wouldn't want on the front page of the The Sun or The Daily Mail.

While I had never appeared in blackface or anything like that, I rapidly decided that there were some stories for which the world is not yet prepared, and decided against the idea.

That was before we had the internet, of course. I have very little sympathy for any of the people caught up in this. Before entering politics, and before each election, they should have considered if they were prepared for what the opposition might dig up about them.
 

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Fucking Jesus Kunte H. Kinte Christ.
 
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