- Joined
- Sep 16, 2012
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- Location
- Tucson, AZ
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- Political Leaning
- Conservative
While I do kind of get a kick out of all the media and politicians squirming in their seats over this guy and the picture I do want to be fair to him, as I'd hope others would be fair in different circumstances.
This picture was taken in 1984. That's 35 years ago and, frankly, a lifetime ago from a sociological perspective. Back then it wasn't uncommon to look at issues of race from a sarcastic perspective. We often made fun of racial issues as a way of pointing out the silliness of ever having had any real hatred. TV shows such as The Jeffersons, Benson, Different Strokes and The Cosby Show, among others, poked fun at racists. This episode of Saturday Night Live features Billy Crystal in blackface talking to Joe Piscopo. Does anyone really think Billy Crystal was doing that because he was a racist?
Times change. People change. Things we thought were funny or "cool" in one generation are often looked at with scorn in subsequent generations. It's just the way things go. It's also rather unfair to expect someone to look 35 years in the future and envision an act which is seen as relevant and provocative in the current time to be offensive in the later time.
There is plenty of reason to dislike Northam. His support of a vile "abortion" bill is enough. But the "racism" bit is, in my opinion, very much overblown. Unless the guy has a history of disenfranchising blacks it's rather unfair to use one picture from a generation ago to judge him today.
This picture was taken in 1984. That's 35 years ago and, frankly, a lifetime ago from a sociological perspective. Back then it wasn't uncommon to look at issues of race from a sarcastic perspective. We often made fun of racial issues as a way of pointing out the silliness of ever having had any real hatred. TV shows such as The Jeffersons, Benson, Different Strokes and The Cosby Show, among others, poked fun at racists. This episode of Saturday Night Live features Billy Crystal in blackface talking to Joe Piscopo. Does anyone really think Billy Crystal was doing that because he was a racist?
Times change. People change. Things we thought were funny or "cool" in one generation are often looked at with scorn in subsequent generations. It's just the way things go. It's also rather unfair to expect someone to look 35 years in the future and envision an act which is seen as relevant and provocative in the current time to be offensive in the later time.
There is plenty of reason to dislike Northam. His support of a vile "abortion" bill is enough. But the "racism" bit is, in my opinion, very much overblown. Unless the guy has a history of disenfranchising blacks it's rather unfair to use one picture from a generation ago to judge him today.