# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/121 "2019-02-02T15:46:13Z")
> [@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. I say he doesn’t resign. No use shooting yourself in the foot with your opponents gun. I’m not feeling charitable these days. It might be politically wise to resign, but I think trolling the GOP’s two facedness will make me feel better than punishing this person right about now. ---
**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, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/122 "2019-02-02T15:59:07Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > These are good points. Although, do we know that it was he who chose to include the photo in the yearbook? I mean, if you want to propose the most generous narrative one could possibly imagine, let’s really go for it… He got the nickname “coonman” years before from a knife fight with a family of raccoons. Years later, because of the hilarious double meaning of the nickname, naughty college buddies prepared an extremely elaborate joke costume with blackface, got him completely drunk and convinced him to wear it, posed next to KKK guy, then took a photo. You can’t tell that he’s so drunk that he doesn’t know what he’s doing because, you know, blackface - and the invisible broom propping him up. And the college yearbook has a tradition that your buddies can contribute the most embarrassing photo of you they can find and you have no veto. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/123 "2019-02-02T16:22:04Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I will admit to being somewhat curious as to why this is only surfacing now, and not back during the campaign. It’s not like yearbooks are deeply-buried secrets, and there are actual professionals in political campaigns paid to do opposition research. > > But regardless of the reason, it’s irrelevant. It has somehow turned up now, and it is disqualifying. I don’t think it occurred to most people that there would be a student produced Medical School yearbook. Are those common? I’m sure that they looked at his High School ones. But someone knew about it and dropped it right after his first big controversy. ---
**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, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/124 "2019-02-02T16:24:41Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I say he doesn’t resign. No use shooting yourself in the foot with your opponents gun. I’m not feeling charitable these days. > > It might be politically wise to resign, but I think trolling the GOP’s two facedness will make me feel better than punishing this person right about now. You don’t show that you respect and value your coalition partners by ignoring their concerns so you can schadenfreude more. The Democratic party is a coalition party that’s made up, in large part (not majority, but very large part), by African-Americans, and this is a slap in the face to them, generally. It’s not a good look at all to be saying “We should ignore this because it was something that happened decades ago.” ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/125 "2019-02-02T16:39:08Z")
> [@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. He could say “some of my best Lt Governors are African American”. It’s hard to chalk this up to youthful indiscretion. This was the reasoning skills of an adult in medical school in 1984. This is how he wanted to be remembered. Unless it was from a stage play on the evils of racism I can’t imagine how he can explain this. He didn’t just shoot himself in the foot politically he cast a shadow over his medical career. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/126 "2019-02-02T17:11:48Z")
We all know how this will end. He will resign, no later than Feb 3. If he was a Republican, this would be quickly forgotten. But Democrats are, and should be, held to a higher standard- as Al Franken can attest. ---
**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, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/127 "2019-02-02T17:14:13Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > He could say “some of my best Lt Governors are African American”. ISWYDT, but I’ll still note that Fairfax isn’t _his_ Lt Gov: in Virginia, each of the three statewide officials (Gov, Lt Gov, AG) run separately and are voted on separately. A VA gubernatorial candidate doesn’t pick a Lt Gov candidate as his/her running mate. ETA: now they’re saying the presser will be at 2:30pm. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/128 "2019-02-02T17:17:46Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > We all know how this will end. He will resign, no later than Feb 3. If he was a Republican, this would be quickly forgotten. But Democrats are, and should be, held to a higher standard- as Al Franken can attest. He made an announcement a couple of hours ago and said that he has no intention of resigning. He also said that it wasn’t actually him in the picture which is irrelevant in my opinion. It’s arguably worse. [https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/428187-northam-backtracks-says-he-does-not-believe-he-was-in-blackface-kkk](https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/428187-northam-backtracks-says-he-does-not-believe-he-was-in-blackface-kkk) ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/129 "2019-02-02T17:30:33Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > He made an announcement a couple of hours ago and said that he has no intention of resigning. He also said that it wasn’t actually him in the picture which is irrelevant in my opinion. It’s arguably worse. > > [https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/428187-northam-backtracks-says-he-does-not-believe-he-was-in-blackface-kkk](https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/428187-northam-backtracks-says-he-does-not-believe-he-was-in-blackface-kkk) Say what, now? If it wasn’t him, what earthly explanation can he offer for saying yesterday that it WAS him? I was originally in the “having worn an outrageously offensive costume at a party 35 years ago isn’t necessarily so damning that he should resign” camp, but the way he’s handling this has been so bizarre and weasely that it seems to say a lot about his character _today_. ---
**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, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/130 "2019-02-02T17:37:23Z")
Northam considering facial-recognition software to exonerate him, according to NYT source. This is all very bizarre. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/131 "2019-02-02T17:38:40Z")
I suspect he’s scrambling and desperate and maybe a bit in denial, and that he’ll accept the need to resign in the next day or two. ---
**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, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/132 "2019-02-02T17:42:02Z")
As a matter of interest, valid reasons for recall in the Virginia statute: > [@](#): > > …Neglect of duty, misuse of office, or incompetence in the performance of duties when that neglect of duty, misuse of office, or incompetence in the performance of duties has a material adverse effect upon the conduct of the office… And the petition must exceed 10% of votes cast when he was elected. > **[Laws governing recall in Virginia](https://ballotpedia.org/Laws_governing_recall_in_Virginia)** > > Ballotpedia: The Encyclopedia of American Politics > **[States with gubernatorial recall provisions](https://ballotpedia.org/States_with_gubernatorial_recall_provisions)** > > Ballotpedia: The Encyclopedia of American Politics If he flatly refuses to resign, I can’t see how he could be recalled based on that statute. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/133 "2019-02-02T17:43:03Z")
I’m perfectly willing to hear him out–it’s not like a nuclear bomb is gonna explode if he doesn’t resign by Monday–but unless his explanation is both remarkable and convincing, he needs to go. (Remarkable + convincing could be something like, “I had a black girlfriend in college, which led to a bunch of racist fuckers calling me “Coonman” and putting that in the yearbook without my permission. One of those same racist fuckers went to medical school with me and put this picture on my yearbook page to continue his harassment of me. I did my best to ignore him, thinking that you don’t feed the trolls, but now I regret that. The name of this guy is Bob Smith, and here are the school records that prove my account, and here’s another member of the yearbook staff who remembers his odious pranks and will testify under oath about them.” I don’t expect a remarkable + convincing account.) ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/134 "2019-02-02T17:44:55Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I’m perfectly willing to hear him out–it’s not like a nuclear bomb is gonna explode if he doesn’t resign by Monday–but unless his explanation is both remarkable and convincing, he needs to go. > > (Remarkable + convincing could be something like, “I had a black girlfriend in college, which led to a bunch of racist fuckers calling me “Coonman” and putting that in the yearbook without my permission. One of those same racist fuckers went to medical school with me and put this picture on my yearbook page to continue his harassment of me. I did my best to ignore him, thinking that you don’t feed the trolls, but now I regret that. The name of this guy is Bob Smith, and here are the school records that prove my account, and here’s another member of the yearbook staff who remembers his odious pranks and will testify under oath about them.” > > I don’t expect a remarkable + convincing account.) If it were something like that, then I think it would have stuck in his psyche even after all these years, and that would have been his first response. ---
**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, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/135 "2019-02-02T18:07:26Z")
There’s always room for some levity, and Charles C. W. Cooke provides it: “Given how his week is going, there has to be some chance that Northam was the guy who attacked Smollett.” ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/136 "2019-02-02T18:11:37Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > This was 35 years ago when he was young and in school. I’m not sure it tells us much about the man he is today (but the way he responds to it will)—and _that’s_ what I think should determine whether or not he should resign. Not that young, and certainly old enough to know better. I would not hold it against him if I found out he was my doctor, or my neighbor, or my client. But, we do need to hold the people who not only set policy, but also act as role models to a higher standard. There are plenty of people in this world who want power, we can afford to be a bit picky as to who we give those reins to. > [@Dacien](#): > > This whole thing is just ghoulish the more I think about it. With future elected officials having grown up saturated in social media, we’re in for a heck of ride. Not that much. That we have more information to make informed decisions about who we choose to represent us is not a bad thing. The only ones who would think it is a bad thing are those with something to hide. > [@Dacien](#): > > If you were to judge me even by who was just _ten years ago_, you’d be looking at a completely different person. I’m embarrassed, regretful, and ashamed of some of the mistakes I’ve made just _ten years ago_! If I was fighting for what I believed in today with a new outlook, in a more mature and well-adjusted place, and somebody brought up some awful thing I did in my twenties, I’d feel deeply wronged. That’s not who I am today, that’s not what I stand for, and I distance myself from those mistakes completely, and have moved forward from them. > > This is called being human. And our elected officials are no different. Yes, that would be a good description of the lack of accountability that is rather rampant int he Republican party these days. “Well yeah, what I did was awful, but you should feel ashamed of yourself for bringing it up.” If you know you did awful things in your 20’s, apologize for them now and start your repentance for your sins. Getting upset that someone brings up something that you did, and only offering a grudging non-apology if that for “anyone who may have been offended”, is too little too late. Since you know these awful things you did, should you ever run for office, I would suggest getting out in front, and laying them out before you get too far in your campaign. Your voters may reward your honesty, and find your repentance to be sincere, or they may find your actions too egregious to accept. Either way, they are making an informed decision as to whether or not you are what they want to lead them. If you hide it, and they only find out after, then they will be less forgiving. > [@octopus](#): > > If politicians have to recollect every affair, every off color joke or comment, every poor choice in robes and pointy hats we might be in for a long series of confessionals. Imagine if everyone’s internet search history was public knowledge. :eek::eek::eek: I can remember every single time in my life that I have dressed up in blackface or klan robes, can you? > [@ITR\_champion](#): > > Recall that a few weeks ago, the Academy Awards chose Kevin Hart to host the Oscars this year. And shortly thereafter, he was dropped from the job due to some bad jokes on Twitter about homosexuality. And since then, they haven’t been able to find anyone to take his place. > > If a certain job means having every stupid or offensive thing a person has ever posted online or made public anywhere else will be dragged out in public at great length, and then used to wreck one’s career, the number of people willing to do that job may suddenly drop. To zero, in some cases. Depends on the perks of the job. If getting a MW job at McDonalds required that sort of background check, then no one would want to flip burgers. > [@](#): > > If the Democrats decide that every poorly chosen, decades-old joke by one of their politicians should be a career ender, they might likewise find that the number of people wanting to run for office as Democrats will decrease. There is no shortage of people who desire power. Winnowing that field down to those who have not dressed up in blackface with a KKK member shouldn’t prevent us from finding qualified candidates. > [@boytyperanma](#): > > It probably was, when I saw the headline “Calls for resignation as VA governor apologizes for racist year book photo” I assumed he was a Republican. Republicans usually have all the ‘best’ racists. > > We’ll see if CNN makes an on air correction or if they go the FOX News route and mention it on a web page somewhere or in some cases never make a correction at all. Yeah, when I first saw the healding, I thought, “Gee, 'nother racist Republican… wait, I thought they elected a democrat as governor. Yeah, well, fuck. He’s gotta go.” > [@](#): > > I don’t care if it was over 30 years ago. That means he’s had over 30 years to apologize. Instead he ‘forgot’ about it or actively buried it. He’s only chosen to apologize after he was caught. He needs to go. He had to have known that that existed, and hoping that something like that just doesn’t come out shows poor judgement as well. > [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I haven’t read the whole thread, but I know that I am not the only person who is wondering what kind of weirdo they had for a yearbook advisor. As an adult, they are probably given pretty free authority over the content, but still… someone should have thought that was a bad idea. > [@Ancient\_Erudite](#): > > If the Lt. Governor happened to be a Republican, it would be fascinating to see the responses here. What do you think would be different? Democrats would be calling for a republican to step down as well. > [@](#): > > The photo is a hideous disgrace. He should step down immediately. Hey, fascinating, we agree on something. > [@Riemann](#): > > I mean, if you want to propose the most generous narrative one could possibly imagine, let’s really go for it… > > He got the nickname “coonman” years before from a knife fight with a family of raccoons. Years later, because of the hilarious double meaning of the nickname, naughty college buddies prepared an extremely elaborate joke costume with blackface, got him completely drunk and convinced him to wear it, posed next to KKK guy, then took a photo. You can’t tell that he’s so drunk that he doesn’t know what he’s doing because, you know, blackface - and the invisible broom propping him up. And the college yearbook has a tradition that your buddies can contribute the most embarrassing photo of you they can find and you have no veto. I was thinking more or less along the same lines for the extenuating circumstances that would make this less horrific. And even still, you should come out ahead of it. When you first think about going into politics, you say, “So, I have an embarrassing\* story of when I was in medical school…” \*embarrassing may not be the right word, but it would be up to a politician to come up with the right words. ---
**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, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/137 "2019-02-02T18:19:43Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > There is no shortage of people who desire power. That’s not the relevant number. Sometimes it seems that there is indeed a shortage of people who desire power _and can be trusted with it_. ---
**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, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/138 "2019-02-02T18:21:43Z")
> [@Dacien](#): > > There’s always room for some levity, and Charles C. W. Cooke provides it: > > “Given how his week is going, there has to be some chance that Northam was the guy who attacked Smollett.” Or if Northam’s the guy on the left, maybe the same people attacked _him_ on the way home from a party, and he can corroborate Smollett’s story. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/139 "2019-02-02T18:31:53Z")
Not responding to anyone in particular here, but I am not too afraid that politicians’ pasts are going to be sifted through going forward. Some people will have pics from the theater club, or maybe golf or volleyball, or here they are at a party with a beer (_and they’re only 20!!1!1_), maybe doing something a little silly like[W Bush’s cheerleader pic](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/419397784021534827/). That might have been a little embarrassing. But then there is Governor Klan. Or coonman, one of those. Every time he says something, this pic is going to come up again. There’s dorky stuff like W’s cheerleader stuff, and then there is fondling an unconscious woman in military garb, and then there is dressing up like the fucking Klan- or one of their stereotypes. OMG. That scene at the end of Pink Flamingos in which Devine appears to eat fresh dog poop? Gives me the willies just to remember it, but at least that was in context with the rest of the movie. Chess club past? Debate club maybe? Young Republicans? Churchy breeders association? Business leaders of tomorrow, or Boy Scouts, or maybe Habitat for Humanity? Track team? Guitar nerd? 90s slacker stoner? Goth girl? Angry poet? Used to be fat? Really awkward tan suit? The time before you had cosmetic surgery? No, the fucking Klan. :smack: ---
**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, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809/140 "2019-02-02T18:44:53Z")
> [@Dacien](#): > > Northam considering facial-recognition software to exonerate him, according to NYT source. This is all very bizarre. Not sure that’ll help him prove that he’s not the guy wearing the Klan hood. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-gov-yearbook-page-has-klan-and-blackface-pictures/828809.md?page=8)