Redemption

[no_hypocrisy]

There are certain people who will be quick to condemn past inequities and poor judgment. And condemn in perpetuity.

But I am disappointed in those who were/are quick to push Northam out of office without doing appropriate consideration of all circumstances. Stuff like he isn't politically viable. How many individuals and groups want him gone, esp. Democrats.

But what about how a lot of us would give former criminal convicts a second chance rather than Northam. This is not false equivalence. The former convicts were in jail; they were convicted of hurting others and they paid the price with their time. We don't keep lawbreakers in jail indefinitely for their past mistakes. We give them another chance especially if they have turned their lives around with education, being social justice advocates, etc.

Northam has presided over a state that was Jim Crow not even 50 years ago and Virginia is evolving. Doesn't he deserve the chance to prove that he's continuing to represent the interests of more than a few disaffected racists, that he represents ALL citizens of Virginia?

I would have a different opinion had he continued to make light of the KKK, Jim Crow, racism, xenophobia, etc. But he hasn't.

[manor321]

1. Public service is a privilege

He represents everyone in VA and you're just demanding that African Americans accept he continues to represent them as their Governor, regardless of how that encourages racists.

He clearly has to go. We don't need him.

[no_hypocrisy]

3. Northam doesn't qualify for a recall election

https://ballotpedia.org/Laws_governing_recall_in_Virginia

Past transgressions should be addressed and debated. There is no proof that currently he is a racist enacting racist policies.

[tymorial]

2. Without redemption Johnson wouldn't have signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968

Again, just saying.

[empedocles]

5. Again, powerful point, 'just sayin'

[WhiskeyGrinder]

4. 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.

But I am disappointed in those who were/are quick to push Northam out of office without doing appropriate consideration of all circumstances. Stuff like he isn't politically viable. How many individuals and groups want him gone, esp. Democrats.

I don't know about you, but as a white person, I tend to listen when the NAACP has an opinion about something.

But what about how a lot of us would give former criminal convicts a second chance rather than Northam. This is not false equivalence. The former convicts were in jail; they were convicted of hurting others and they paid the price with their time. We don't keep lawbreakers in jail indefinitely for their past mistakes. We give them another chance especially if they have turned their lives around with education, being social justice advocates, etc.

The issue is that we know what convicts have done before they start to grow and change. We know their starting point, and what they're working for. Not knowing this was in his past, and knowing he didn't apologize for it until it was uncovered, and assuming his own team didn't know about it is very different.

Doesn't he deserve the chance to prove that he's continuing to represent the interests of more than a few disaffected racists, that he represents ALL citizens of Virginia?

There are a lot of Virginians saying they don't want his representation any more, and a lot of black people who are deeply wounded by this photo and the reaction of people who consider themselves allies.

I would have a different opinion had he continued to make light of the KKK, Jim Crow, racism, xenophobia, etc. But he hasn't.

That we know of. You could have said the same thing about him last week, before anyone knew about this photo. Which, I grant, is not really a fair point. None of us really knows anyone. But when someone is routinely courted by the Republican party, and when he says he voted for GWB both times, and has this in his past, I know how I feel about him, whether he's running in Virginia or Alabama or Massachusetts.

[Bayard]

6. Compare to Kavenaugh

Would we view him differently if he had admitted he was a stupid high school kid, and was no longer a sexual assaulter?