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.
No, what happened there was that people found Kevin Hart’s old tweets (which he hadn’t deleted), and he was asked if he would apologize. He refused to apologize. That is why he lost the job. (Afterwards, he started apologizing, but it was too late. And then he started running around do a “woe is me” tour that only made people hate him worse.)
And, no, we don’t have to worry about every little problem someone has in the past. We are talking about a guy who dressed up in blackface, standing by someone in KKK robes, in the 1980s as some sort of joke. This is not a small thing.
There’s no reason to think this is a common problem. Even most racists weren’t that openly racist in the 1980s.
I also don’t like that we have to go through the forgiveness talk every time. It’s not that hard. You have to repudiate your actions, apologize sincerely, show you care about the people you hurt, and make some sort of amends for the issue.
It is unlikely he has already done this, since this whole thing was a secret no one knew about it. He doesn’t get forgiveness until he does. Thus, he needs to step down.
Then there’s the optics. Do you really think it’s a good idea to have “coonman” stay on for the Dems? Don’t you think that the Pubs would have a field day with that? Politics very often isn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that Clinton lost, either.
No one’s saying he can’t be rehabilitated. We’re just saying he should resign. I don’t mind if he, say, returns to private practice.
I see Northam and Kavanaugh as being very different too.
Kavanaugh was a spoiled shit who wrote some vile, ugly things about young women in his yearbook back when he was 16 or 17 years of age, clearly showing him to be a smug, arrogant little bastard.
Northam proudly dressed up in the ceremonial garb of a racist hate group that savagely, indiscriminantly murdered thousands of Americans on the basis of ethnicity or religion, a group that still in the minds of millions of Americans today is spiritually akin to German Nazis of the 1940’s, back when he was a 25 year-old medical student.
There is not enough lipstick in the entire world to pretty up this pig of a story. He will gone within hours.
The “Coonman” nickname was in his VMI undergrad yearbook; the blackface/KKK pic was in his med school yearbook.
‘Coon’ was of course another derogatory term for an African-American person, like ‘n****r.’
I need to tell you that you are repeating a falsehood. You may be unaware of that. But please consider yourself aware now.
Speaking of Northam and Kavanaugh, I fervently hope that as we speak, somewhere, someone is delevoping a wacky, Hi-Proof Hijinks filled sit-com in the tradition of the “Odd Couple”, “Perfect Strangers” or “Sid & Nancy” naturally to be called “Dr. Coonman & De Judge” which would follow our lovingly mismatched heroes on their weekly misadventures, filled with plenty of boofing, ralphing, "‘Skis with Timmy’’ and the Birthin’ of Nigra’ Babies, and of course in the end most importantly, lots learning and personal growth…
“Remember, tune into FOX Tuesdays at 9 for ‘Dr. Coonman & De Judge’, more fun than a trip to the Devil’s Triangle”
Bingo. I think it’s analogous to all those evangelical preacher scandals of the 1980s (e.g. Jim Bakker). They’d be exposed, confess their sins with much weepery, and then expect that forgiveness meant they got to go on as before.
Well, it doesn’t work like that. After shit like that, if you repent, you’re accepted back into the flock. But you don’t get to keep on being the shepherd.
Same here. Nobody’s casting Ralph Northam into the outer darkness; we’re just saying he can’t be Governor anymore. Too many people would be too uncomfortable having a leader who’d ever done that.
It was med school. These were adults. They didn’t need a faculty advisor.
Hell, I was on the college paper during my undergraduate days in the early to mid 1970s. I don’t think we even had a faculty advisor, but if we did, his role would have had to be pretty minimal, because I have no memory of such a person.
Northam’s office announced last night that he’ll be holding a press conference at 10am today. I would assume that he will announce his resignation at that time.
The Democratic caucuses in both the VA House of Delegates and VA Senate have called on him to resign. Terry MacAuliffe, his predecessor as governor, has called on him to resign. Presidential candidates (Kamala Harris and Julian Castro that I know of) have called on him to resign.
One thing I never quite understood is why the Democrats tolerated the presence of Senator Robert Byrd, a known KKK Man as a Democratic Senator. Perhaps because the governor at times in West Virginia was a Republican and could pick his replacement?
If the Lt. Governor happened to be a Republican, it would be fascinating to see the responses here.
The photo is a hideous disgrace. He should step down immediately.
I think for med school they probably don’t have anybody on the faculty looking into this kind of minor stuff. Those faculty treat patients as well as teach so they don’t have a lot of spare time
It’s a damn shame a solid progressive like Tom Periello lost to Northam in the primary. I lived in Charlottesville briefly and had the pleasure of voting for him in his successful run for Congress in 2008. Periello always knew which party reflected his own values. Northam voted for Bush in 2000 and 2004, and ran as a Demcrat forthe state senate in 2007 because he didn’t stand a chance of unseating the Republican incumbent in the primary. Always beware of conversions borne by expedience. The GOP can have him back.
If you really *wanted *to understand, you would. In short, he outgrew his youthful ignorance and recanted.
You might also look into the Southern Strategy, while you’re at it.
What the fuck were they supposed to do? They couldn’t stop him from running as a Democrat.
What an incredibly shitty and hypocritical comment. The responses would be exactly the same. What was fascinating was all of the comments from Republicans at first who were eagerly waiting for “spin” from tbe Democrats. Instead, without exception, they all called for him to resign. I’m sorry that you were disappointed by them doing the right thing.
It’s because he never sought to hide his past, and admitted and recognized how terrible it was, and apologized for it, committing himself to opposing racism as a Senator.
However, the existence of a dead, reformed racist Democrat does not excuse the continued support of Republicans for many living unreformed and unapologetic racists, including the current occupant of the WH, who spent years spreading a racist, evidence free conspiracy theory, who has praised white supremacists, and who has said many racist things himself.
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 also voted for him and think he has done a good job so far. He should resign.