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The missing story on The Va Gov.

KLATTU

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First off, it is unlikely if I would have voted for this this guy if I were a Virginian.
But I don't believe in silliness, or virtue signaling, and I DO believe in fairness.


Whatever this guy did- it was THIRTY FIVE YEARS AGO.and it wasn't like he lynched a black man.

Are People not incapable of change???

Here's the missing story .

If he's a KKK level racist wouldn't there be multiple incidents of racism over the past 35 years?

Maybe there were- but I haven't seen any!
 
First off, it is unlikely if I would have voted for this this guy if I were a Virginian.
But I don't believe in silliness, or virtue signaling, and I DO believe in fairness.


Whatever this guy did- it was THIRTY FIVE YEARS AGO.and it wasn't like he lynched a black man.

Are People not incapable of change???

Here's the missing story .

If he's a KKK level racist wouldn't there be multiple incidents of racism over the past 35 years?

Maybe there were- but I haven't seen any!

That's a short sighted view. I just wrote how this issue relates to the broken windows theory:

"Broken windows" is the socio-criminological theory that crime begins in communities where neglect has physically manifested, a readily obvious example being broken windows in homes that have been allowed to go unrepaired. The signal sent is that this is an acceptable place to do other deviant things because the community is not dedicated to the idea of making itself beautiful or safe. If you see a broken window, you assume you can litter. And if you see both broken windows and litter, you assume you can do graffiti. And if you see all three you assume that vandalism is acceptable. The assumption (a proven and correct one) is that if a resident sees a break-in or a drug deal, he will not report it to the police because he has essentially forsaken his own neighborhood.

The broken window in this case is a politician having done black face, and the criminals that move into the forsaken neighborhood are full-on White Supremacists, because they'll assume that the Democratic Party is a place that will be tolerant of them or pretend they don't exist.

Republicans have been looking the other way from their own broken windows for decades. Because Republicans were dismissive that that this was an issue for them, White Supremacists have moved out of the shadows and have become a fully entrenched and dominant voice within the Republican Party to the point that White Supremacists now even occupy the White House.

Everything you do has a price you pay down the road. Republicans looked the other way and now White Supremacists have taken over their party, but Republicans are hardly the only ones with short-term vision. Democrats looked the other way when Clinton defiled the office of the Presidency by having an affair with an intern and then lying under oath about it. Democrats insisted this wasn't a big deal or an impeachable offense, and regardless of whether or not you agree with this, the price that Democrats paid at the polls in 2016 was horrific: having robbed themselves of moral currency on that kind of issue, Republicans were able to press forward with a candidate that was objectively worse on the pretext that they didn't need to explain themselves to critics who gave Bill Clinton a mulligan for his transgressions.

And of course, Republicans have abandoned all morality and ethics so totally that they have now robbed themselves of any moral currency for generations. And there's a really long term price we all pay. When just one side has been completely robbed of moral currency to criticize, the dividend is that the country as a whole suffers.
 
First off, it is unlikely if I would have voted for this this guy if I were a Virginian.
But I don't believe in silliness, or virtue signaling, and I DO believe in fairness.


Whatever this guy did- it was THIRTY FIVE YEARS AGO.and it wasn't like he lynched a black man.

Are People not incapable of change???

Here's the missing story .

If he's a KKK level racist wouldn't there be multiple incidents of racism over the past 35 years?

Maybe there were- but I haven't seen any!

I have the same views as you do. I still haven't seen any evidence that the man is a racist beyond some stupid picture from when he was young and dumb.
 
I have the same views as you do. I still haven't seen any evidence that the man is a racist beyond some stupid picture from when he was young and dumb.

That was my initial feeling as well. I had horrifying judgment basically all the way up to 30 (not proud, but there it is), and I can tell you some of the things I've said and done simply don't reflect how I behave today, and I definitely asked whether his yearbook page was reflected in his political record (which, to the best of my knowledge, is not). But then I watched his press conference which revealed in no uncertain terms that he's barely grown as a human being at all since that day, and then there's the "broken windows" principle I talked about in the post above yours.
 
And of course, Republicans have abandoned all morality .

You should have written this as the first sentence, so people knew not to take you serioulst and saved themslved the 2 minutes of their lives reading the rest of that mush- brained word salad.

#GIBBERISH
 
I have the same views as you do. I still haven't seen any evidence that the man is a racist beyond some stupid picture from when he was young and dumb.

You did hear him state that he was in the photo on day one and that he was not in the photo on day two - on which of those days was he lying?
 
You did hear him state that he was in the photo on day one and that he was not in the photo on day two - on which of those days was he lying?

As I've said before, he stood a greater-than-zero chance that the people would have forgiven him if he had stood by his initial apology. And then there was the press conference...

Anyway, I voted in a poll that he would resign by the end of the day. It was a bit of a gutsy vote, but I've seen this handwriting on the wall before and unless you're a populist named Donald Trump, these things always end the same.
 
I have the same views as you do. I still haven't seen any evidence that the man is a racist beyond some stupid picture from when he was young and dumb.

i agree, and I've defended what happened decades ago. It didn't help his case though that he apologized and admitted. Then denied but noted this other time when he did dress up in blackface.

But his real problem is defending a bill that permits abortion until delivery and then extended that past being born.
 
First off, it is unlikely if I would have voted for this this guy if I were a Virginian.
But I don't believe in silliness, or virtue signaling, and I DO believe in fairness.


Whatever this guy did- it was THIRTY FIVE YEARS AGO.and it wasn't like he lynched a black man.

Are People not incapable of change???

Here's the missing story .

If he's a KKK level racist wouldn't there be multiple incidents of racism over the past 35 years?

Maybe there were- but I haven't seen any!

I actually agree with you. His erratic behavior and flipflopping in the days following the original story, however, make me question the judgement he has now, in 2019. Yeah, I believe people can change drastically in 35 years. Almost nothing about my personality from when I was the age he was back then is the same now, and that was only about 20 years ago for me. So if it hasn't been a pattern of behavior since then, and the behavior wasn't predatory in nature, I tend to give a pass. Though using it as a tie breaker between candidates who are otherwise equally qualified makes sense as well.

However, I do judge politicians and senior officials by how they handle pressure and stress. And the VA governor's behavior in reaction to this gives me pause. I felt similar with Kavanaugh. I had political reasons for opposing Kavanaugh but that is normal. And I didn't take a position on whether or not Ford's accusations were true. The accusations made by others seemed less plausible to me. But the way he handled himself in response to the accusations was what made me doubt his ability to handle the position. I will admit, that so far, he has conducted himself admirably since taking the bench so he is off to a good start in assuaging my concerns about partisanship and vindictiveness.

But we have hundreds of millions of people in this country. I think we can afford to be super picky in choosing people to fill these positions. They need to be able to do the job AND they need to be able to hold the trust and respect of the people they serve. It isn't a jobs program or an entitlement. Honestly, with respect to these high level positions I am not all that interested in "being fair" to the people in them.

I have a feeling I was all over the place in this reply, but am too lazy to reword it. ;)
 
You did hear him state that he was in the photo on day one and that he was not in the photo on day two - on which of those days was he lying?

Yeas so what? He choked in anticipation of the lynch mob.

The left has overplayed the racist card so often , he knew he was going to be a superficial lamb so they could keep calling every other Republican one.

What he has ever DONE that would indicate he has animus for black people?

Enact a 15 % surtax on Popeye's ?

#LAFFRIOT
 
As I've said before, he stood a greater-than-zero chance that the people would have forgiven him if he had stood by his initial apology. And then there was the press conference...

Yep, but then he faced the terrible decision of whether he was the one in blackface or in the KKK hood. He appeared to see being in blackface as the clearly better option and then made up a story to deny being in "total" blackface in the yearbook photo but (later that year?) partially did so to (help?) win a dance contest. In other words, he does not deny having been in blackface (at least once) but later learned that it was not cool - even for a guy known as "Coon man" (indicating that it might well have been more than once).
 
Yep, but then he faced the terrible decision of whether he was the one in blackface or in the KKK hood. He appeared to see being in blackface as the clearly better option and then made up a story to deny being in "total" blackface in the yearbook photo but (later that year?) partially did so to (help?) win a dance contest. In other words, he does not deny having been in blackface (at least once) but later learned that it was not cool - even for a guy known as "Coon man" (indicating that it might well have been more than once).

I was simplifying. It was the press conference and everything else he said after the initial apology.
 
If he's a KKK level racist wouldn't there be multiple incidents of racism over the past 35 years?

You don't have to be a KKK level racist to be disqualified from power. That is the problem with too many right-wing **** heads. They think that just because they're not actively putting burning crosses in anybody's front yard they can't be racist. If at any point in your life you thought it was a good idea to go to Halloween dressed in Klan robes with a buddy in the black face you clearly do not have the type of judgment necessary to be the Governor of a state. I don't care if it was a joke or a stupid joke.

Furthermore, the fact that so many of your friends thought this was a good idea that they took funny pictures and put it in your yearbook tell us that you surround yourself with a lot of people of very poor character. If these are the types of people that are informing you and influencing you then you need to go.
 
For me his defense of I know its not me, because I would remember being in blackface. I actually did do blackface that year for a dance competition and remember that well, so there is my proof thats not me. Is bizarre at best.

If this happened five years ago Northam would have a good chance to survive this scandal. We are at a point merely suggesting blackface may not always be racist can result in demanding someone loose a job, it is hard to justify an elected official actually being in blackface keeping their job. We are in a time that has an almost unacceptable level of purity standards. As kids who grew up digitally cataloguing ever second of their life on social media enter politics things should get interesting
 
And of course, Republicans have abandoned all morality and ethics so totally that they have now robbed themselves of any moral currency for generations..

That is what happens when you worship orange Gods.
 
Yeas so what? He choked in anticipation of the lynch mob.

The left has overplayed the racist card so often , he knew he was going to be a superficial lamb so they could keep calling every other Republican one.

What he has ever DONE that would indicate he has animus for black people?

Enact a 15 % surtax on Popeye's ?

#LAFFRIOT

He should have simply been honest stating that in his younger days he engaged in racially insensitive and highly discriminatory ways which he has since stopped doing. Perhaps, even going so far as to admit that his (occasional?) application of blackface makeup (way back then?) might well have earned him the (now embarrassing?) nickname of "coon man".

Given his propensity to lie in very recent public statements, he is not fit to be Governor of the state of VA.
 
That was my initial feeling as well. I had horrifying judgment basically all the way up to 30 (not proud, but there it is), and I can tell you some of the things I've said and done simply don't reflect how I behave today, and I definitely asked whether his yearbook page was reflected in his political record (which, to the best of my knowledge, is not). But then I watched his press conference which revealed in no uncertain terms that he's barely grown as a human being at all since that day, and then there's the "broken windows" principle I talked about in the post above yours.

I'm separating the issue of his response from the story.

I just don't think he should be wrecked over that stupid post. JMO, that's all. It was stupid and it was ignorant. But is it HIM, as the world knows him today? I haven't seen any evidence of it.

Thank goodness my employer has no idea of all of the stupid, dangerous, ignorant, and, quite frankly, often illegal things I did when I was 22.
 
You don't have to be a KKK level racist to be disqualified from power. That is the problem with too many right-wing **** heads. They think that just because they're not actively putting burning crosses in anybody's front yard they can't be racist. If at any point in your life you thought it was a good idea to go to Halloween dressed in Klan robes with a buddy in the black face you clearly do not have the type of judgment necessary to be the Governor of a state. I don't care if it was a joke or a stupid joke.

Furthermore, the fact that so many of your friends thought this was a good idea that they took funny pictures and put it in your yearbook tell us that you surround yourself with a lot of people of very poor character. If these are the types of people that are informing you and influencing you then you need to go.
You missed the point ENTIRELY. Take your hyperpartisan glasses off for one second as I clearly have.

Where has he demonstrated that he 's racist since then? You know , beyond the subtle dog whistle stuff only virtue signalers like you can pick up.
Y. If at any point in your life you thought it was a good idea to go to Halloween dressed in Klan robes with a buddy in the black face you clearly do not have the type of judgment necessary to be the Governor of a state. I
So that's your standard .? If we can dig up some dumb Stuff somebody did 35 years ago- that's that' a deal breaker?

Pfffftt. #GLAS HOUSEs
Yo
Furthermore, the fact that so many of your friends thought this was a good idea that they took funny pictures and put it in your yearbook tell us that you surround yourself with a lot of people of very poor character. If these are the types of people that are informing you and influencing you then you need to go.

Maybe he finally figured out they weren't exactly the right people to hang around with, moved on and changed his views. Maybe he's not perfect like you who always picked social justice warriors to hang around with .
 
I' haven't seen any evidence of it.

Thank goodness my employer has no idea of all of the stupid, dangerous, ignorant, and, quite frankly, often illegal things I did when I was 22.

Yes. Precisely Exactly.
 
He should have simply been honest stating that in his younger days he engaged in racially insensitive and highly discriminatory ways which he has since stopped doing. Perhaps, even going so far as to admit that his (occasional?) application of blackface makeup (way back then?) might well have earned him the (now embarrassing?) nickname of "coon man".

Given his propensity to lie in very recent public statements, he is not fit to be Governor of the state of VA.
Oh he lied?
Then what's he fit to be? President?

#LAFFRIOT

#OBAMA-LIE OF THE YEAR
#TRUMP-lies daily
#Hillary - Lie machine
 
If he still feels the need to lie about his (allegedly) past actions then what has he learned?

That's not what I'm posting about. And I can't answer the "lie" anyway. I simply responded to Klattu's OP, which I agree with. One has nothing to do with the other.
 
I'm separating the issue of his response from the story.

I just don't think he should be wrecked over that stupid post. JMO, that's all. It was stupid and it was ignorant. But is it HIM, as the world knows him today? I haven't seen any evidence of it.

Thank goodness my employer has no idea of all of the stupid, dangerous, ignorant, and, quite frankly, often illegal things I did when I was 22.

Neither you nor I were ever perfect, but I think that our responses to our past would have given measurably greater reassurance to anybody concerned whether we're the same people that we were then.
 
Oh he lied?
Then what's he fit to be? President?

#LAFFRIOT

#OBAMA-LIE OF THE YEAR
#TRUMP-lies daily
#Hillary - Lie machine

Valid points all - it either is or is not acceptable to lie and remain in office. I would imagine that the vast number of politicians who lie on a regular basis is why doing so has not been made into a criminal or impeachable offense.
 
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