What if it was to show that times have changed and even the most radical in caricatures can now come together in harmony? You and I don't know the context. You and I didn't see it on TV like we saw and heard tRump's national security advisors, yet tRump gets away with saying they were taken out of context.

Poor choice? Yes. Your indignation in ruining someone's life who's actions later in life have clearly shown he is not who he is in that photo, I'd say are worse.

I am sure there were some at that school. I think it is about as likely a scenario as it is that I look like Brad Pitt when I wake up tomorrow morning.

I wonder what it was back then?

which was Eastern Virginia

There are armies of people whose sole purpose is to comb through old tweets, old yearbooks, old speeches, etc. And their job is to bring people down. And usually we revel in that.

Northam is no different just because there's a different consenant after his name.

it is a typical yearbook committee that selects? It's almost like whoever took pic and whoever put it in yearbook might have been out to get him? Surely too, there had to be a faculty advisor who should have censored.

None of any of this is an excuse of course...just seems off.

Btw...late 70's in Birmingham, KKK families, even kids, out on streets collecting money. I saw them

Last edited Sat Feb 2, 2019, 10:35 AM - Edit history (1)

What would we say?

He reputed his early invovement in the Kln, served until he died.

A picture that looks ike a Play from 30 years go?

As an African American and a Virginia Resident, I and my family "was" proud voters for Northam. The African American vote, especially with black women, brought Northam that win.

Doesn't matter if it was 35 years ago. Doesn't matter if he is of good character now. He's a good governor and I'm quite sure Northam is a good man, a good doctor, a good veteran, and NOT a racist.

But that image is there and we all see it. But you also can't dismiss the images of African Americans during Slavery, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow. Watch the 60 Minutes segment on Lynching and The National Memorial for Peace and Justice. Look at the images of unarmed young men being killed.

Should I tell my two adult black children to dismiss the images of their heritage? So, why should I or any DU member here should easily dismiss images of Northam in either of the two individuals.

I can't take back my vote but Northam can do the right thing and resign.

A lot of good points are being made on DU about this. The dress-up occasion itself is a prime example of institutional racism and the white privilege that allows participants to avoid confronting what they're actually doing. Just a "fun" party where the white participants dressed up in roles involving the torture, mutilation, and murder of black people in the United States. Hilarious, right?

Even worse, on what planet would a young pediatrician think THAT was the photo that best represented his years in medical school.

but my integrity doesn't allow me to alter my standards just because someone is a Democrat. I clearly remember the 80's and our society had come far enough for any adult to realize that dressing up in black face and a member of the Klan was wrong. To dismiss this because Northam is now a "good guy" feels like the very thing I hate about many in the Republican party.

or Ted Kennedy's personal treatment of women? (A lifetimes of transgressions). Democrats generally ignore JFK's behavior toward woman and his unwillingness to address institutionalized sexism until shamed into taking some limited action by persons such as Eleanor Roosevelt.

I don't know know much about Northam's political career but I didn't support Bill Clinton's impeachment or demands that he resign even though he did apparently lie under oath. I am also not sure that many of the Democrats who demand a Northam resign do not themselves practice significant discrimination.

It is, as ever, true that humans are quick to point out the sins of others rather than calling attention to our own moral shortcomings or pour own participation in institutionalized racism,


It is definitely easier to attack one person than to take decisive against the institutional racism many democrats actively participate in today. It is particularly damaging when calling out an individual becomes a substitute for making institutional racism.

I'd like to see Democrats from the overwhelmingly white states actively work to diversify their states. I'd like to see liberal and progressive Democrats in all states work to diversify their neighborhoods and build up diversified public schools. (Our schools are more segregated today that they were in the 1970s-often it is Democratic parents who choose non-integrated charter schools and private schools and leave our public schools to decay in a de facto situation of separate and unequal.

Getting the beam out of our own eyes is the challenge.

Jackson isn't an elected official. I am a big believer in not overturning elections especially over things that were known at the time of election. Here Northam's issue is a total blindside. He literally won his race running as the non racist candidate. If Ted Kennedy ran as the candidate of family values and on the strength of his marriage and then we found out he was having affairs left and right then maybe he should resign and then run again.

Maybe there is a lesson there. -or maybe Massachusetts voter were just being politically expedient

Ted Kennedy actually had an accident that resulted in a young woman's death. He left the scene of the accident, swam across a fairly wide body of water, and did not report the accident until many hours later, after discussing damage control with political consultants.

I used to make excuses for Kennedy because of his family's personal tragedies but the fact is he was a highly morally flawed person for decades who refused to be accountable for his actions and left a trail of destruction in his wake. His bad behavior actually preceded the family tragedies. He got a slap on the wrist (a year's suspension) for cheating on an exam At Harvard.

He was a recipient white privilege. Millions of women and girls were disadvantaged and discriminated against over the course of Kennedy's decades of "youthful indiscretions." Yet the voters of Massachusetts kept inflicting him on the country, as was their right.

Jackson ran for as a Democrat.office. I recall rumors, but I don't recall his announcing his affairs at the time. Do you know whether he revealed his behavior when he mounted his campaign?

I do remember Jackson's wife at a later time speaking of her pain and telling reporters she did not want to hear about Jackson's transgressions.

now were his affairs why, likely not. The people of MA made a choice. The people of VA didn't. He chose to hide what he did.

For the most recent 32 years, Northam has not been accused of racism.

What would we say about a young black man or woman who committed a robbery at age 25 and served time in jail, became a lawyer and lived an upstanding life for years, and then ran for public office? Would we say that such a person should not be elected?

Playing devil’s advocate here because I think 25 is still young, and we all develop better judgment through life experiences. Young people don’t stop and think about how their actions today will reflect on them in the future—as many college graduates have found out when prospective employers checked their social media pages and decided not to hire them.

I don’t justify what Governor Northam did, but I’m not sure he deserves to lose his position because of it.

ran as a law and order candidate and somehow kept it secret until it after the election then he should resign.

the voters would know about it. There's a big difference there. If Northam's team didn't know this photo was floating around out there, that shows a deep lack of judgment on Northam's part.

I understand the science about the brain at 25, but the amount of effort it takes to chose, design and put on a racist costume make it clear that it's not a spontaneous thing. You don't just fall into it. And the racist nickname can also indicate long-term practices. Plenty of college students (and med-school students) don't post racist shit on social media. It can be done. Making excuses for people who do it simply perpetuates it.

The devil doesn't need an advocate.