# Virginia gov. yearbook page has Klan and blackface pictures **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 1, 2019, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809 "2019-02-01T22:05:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Royal\_Nonesutch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecb155/32.png) [@Royal\_Nonesutch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Royal_Nonesutch)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/21 "2019-02-02T00:09:39Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > He admitted that he’s one of the people in the photo. Well, with personal integrity like that, it’s clear that the “White House” is a place where he would feel very comfortable indeed… ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/22 "2019-02-02T00:14:21Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Well ho-lee fucking shit. That was my first thought. Second? “The fucking school agreed to put that in the yearbook”?? > Anyway, fuck that guy. Sorry he’s a Democrat in Redville, but fuck him. Agreed that he should resign, but Virginia is no longer Redville, and the governorship should be safely blue assuming the Democrats run a decent candidate in the next election. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/23 "2019-02-02T00:17:19Z")
Not to mention that the Lt. Gov. is also a Democrat, so if he does resign as he should the gov will still be Dem. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/24 "2019-02-02T00:17:23Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Well, well, well… > > So much dumb stuff preserved for eternity. And that’s _before_ iPhones! ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/25 "2019-02-02T00:18:53Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Maybe. I’ll try to keep an open mind. But I was in school 35 years ago and would never in a million years have 1) dressed like that and 2) thought it so benign that I would allow a photo like that to be put in a yearbook. > > People in the 1980s really did have a clue about racism and shit. Or should have. But that’s not my point. What you’re saying isn’t relevant to what I said. It wasn’t about the excusability or okayness of what he did—it was about who he is today. Condemning someone for being racist (or racially insensitive or whatever) is one thing. Condemning someone for _having been racist_ decades ago, if they’ve grown up and wised up since then, is something else. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/26 "2019-02-02T00:26:07Z")
That’s true, and if he’d like to prove it he can quit his high paying pension including government job, and volunteer his services in impoverished areas. That’s how he demonstrates what he believes rather than pay lip service to what he wants you to believe he believes. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/27 "2019-02-02T00:30:09Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Condemning someone for being racist (or racially insensitive or whatever) is one thing. Condemning someone for _having been racist_ decades ago, if they’ve grown up and wised up since then, is something else. I agree. What kind of public servant has he been? Judge him by that. Do we believe in rehabilitation or do we just pay lip service to the idea? Do we believe that people can change or not? ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/28 "2019-02-02T00:32:09Z")
Is it a great opportunity for the Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax? Virginia governors cannot serve successive terms. Should Northam resign and Fairfax take over, would he be eligible to run in 2021? If so, that would be advantageous. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/29 "2019-02-02T00:34:31Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Not to mention that the Lt. Gov. is also a Democrat, so if he does resign as he should the gov will still be Dem. Actually, [Lt. Gov Justin Fairfax](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Fairfax) does seem to be a pretty decent guy. And I bet there won’t be any pictures of him dressed up in Klan gear in his yearbook or anywhere else. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/30 "2019-02-02T00:35:07Z")
I’m a democrat who wants democrats to win as much power as possible, but Northam is fvcked. There’s no way he can recover. If this had been discovered during the campaign and if voters had voted for him in spite of it, that would have been one thing. But there’s no way we can support Northam now. The Commonwealth can do better. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/31 "2019-02-02T00:35:20Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > My first reaction was “He was so young and it was so long ago.” > > My second reaction was “But Kavanaugh…” > > He should probably resign, and I say this as a hyperpartisan Democrat. While also acknowledging that there would be no possibility of that happening if he were Republican. Since I’m not a member of either major political party, I’m not obligated to take a partisan stance. I don’t care what was in Brett Kavanaugh’s high school yearbook. I don’t care what was in Ralph Northam’s med school yearbook. Why should I care? I know plenty of people who said or did stupid or offensive things while in high school, college, or grad school, and then grew up and became model citizens. I don’t see any advantage to anyone in creating a culture where the dumbest thing that a person said in their youth circles back and harms them 30 years later. Who benefits from that? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/32 "2019-02-02T00:44:38Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > But that’s not my point. What you’re saying isn’t relevant to what I said. It wasn’t about the excusability or okayness of what he did—it was about who he is today. > > Condemning someone for being racist (or racially insensitive or whatever) is one thing. Condemning someone for _having been racist_ decades ago, if they’ve grown up and wised up since then, is something else. As I said, I’d keep an open mind. Are there really people who were _ **that clueless** _ as young adults who have now seen the light? I’m trying to imagine what he could say to convince me he realizes how awful that was and how he’s changed. ---
**Author:** ![Dacien](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dacien/32/5663_2.png) [@Dacien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dacien)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/33 "2019-02-02T00:51:53Z")
My first reaction is that plucking these photos from time and place, 40 years ago, and parading them around as if that’s the same person he is today is very distasteful. I think the whole practice is unseemly. However, 1984 wasn’t particularly a time when it wouldn’t have been outrageous then, either. Hard to make a call on this. One thing I do know is, if this had been even a low-level staffer in the current administration, there would certainly be much, much less reasonable discussion about this than we have now. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/34 "2019-02-02T00:54:21Z")
If he were 16, I could understand. Teenagers are super dumb and they don’t question the norms around them. But Medical School? That’s not being a dumb kid. Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/35 "2019-02-02T00:58:50Z")
What’s really necessary here is that the VA Democratic Party shouldn’t wait to see whether Northam resigns on his own, before getting together a delegation to tell him he needs to do so at his earliest convenience. It’s time to step up and deal with it in a way that unarguably puts it behind us. Or, to put it cynically, try to figure out how to flip the VA Senate and House of Delegates this fall (yeah, 2019 is election year in Virginia; it’s _always_ an election year in Virginia) with only lukewarm turnout by people of color. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/36 "2019-02-02T01:03:02Z")
He’s my gov. I like what he’s been doing, especially with regards to the Chesapeake Bay (not that that’s my bread and butter or anything :)). That said, this is not good at all. If he had browned up his face to look like, say, Eddie Murphy, I wouldn’t give a good gotdamn. But this isn’t innocent cosplay. That picture shows a couple of edgelords trying to get laughs off of racism and terrorism, from an audience that was overwhelmingly privileged enough to never have to worry about those things. And now one of those edgelords has been rewarded with the governorship. I don’t want him to resign, but I know why others are calling for it. The racial climate of the country is not great right now. If we have another Charlottesville this year, it’s not going to be cute when the governor calls for us all to get along and those who don’t want that redirect everyone’s attention to that yearbook picture. The Dems also need a clean house to lie in stark contrast with the GOP’s dirty one. As long as there are dust bunnies under the bed, the GOP can play the “both sides” card. Northam has done a great job in the little time he’s had. He can take pride in this if he does step down. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/37 "2019-02-02T01:41:10Z")
“[Coonman](https://archive.org/details/bomb1981virg/page/90)”? Jesus H. on a unicycle. (And how did I not know there was a town in VA called “Onancock”? :eek:\*\*) VA NAACP is calling for his resignation. Resign, dude. It’s over. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/38 "2019-02-02T01:46:03Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > “[Coonman](https://archive.org/details/bomb1981virg/page/90)”? Jesus H. on a unicycle. > > (And how did I not know there was a town in VA called “Onancock”? :eek:\*\*) > > VA NAACP is calling for his resignation. > > Resign, dude. It’s over. Okay, what does “DYKES” mean in this context? Anyone know? ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/39 "2019-02-02T01:52:38Z")
I don’t understand how none of this came up when he was running. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/40 "2019-02-02T01:52:45Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > I agree. What kind of public servant has he been? Judge him by that. Do we believe in rehabilitation or do we just pay lip service to the idea? Do we believe that people can change or not? > [@Procrustus](#): > > As I said, I’d keep an open mind. Are there really people who were _ **that clueless** _ as young adults who have now seen the light? I’m trying to imagine what he could say to convince me he realizes how awful that was and how he’s changed. If this was just an isolated (if utterly clueless) mistake, he _can_ be rehabilitated. His life isn’t over, he isn’t going to prison. But I don’t see how he can be rehabilitated _as governor_. The job is not all about him. It’s about the people he represents - and they surely have a right to transparent certainty about anyone in such a position. It feels pretty pathetic to be talking about ethical standards for those in public office given who we have in the White House. But perhaps that just makes it all the more important for Dems to hold the line. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809.md?page=3)