When the Ralph Northam “scandal” broke, I had several discussions with acquaintances and friends who were all convinced he should resign. I didn’t agree. I felt that anybody can do something stupid when they are young and it shouldn’t be held against you thirty-five years later. In that time period, Mr. Northam left college, got a job, became a doctor, married, had children, went into politics, and eventually rose to the office of governor of Virginia. But he did a stupid thing in university. To demand his resignation is disproportionate to both the scale of the incident and the amount of time that has passed.
There is also something I don’t like about the self-righteous outrage expressed by many– but not all– on the subject. Especially when some of that outrage comes from people with skeletons in their own closets.
I won my argument– a rare thing, you know– with one person. I browsed through my collection of photos from college. There, in 1975, Halloween, was a picture of a good friend of ours in blackface, posing as a slave, accompanied by a black girl in whiteface, posing as a southern belle. I showed it to her.
Nobody then or now could seriously have regarded this man as a racist. In fact, he was consistently liberal and progressive and got along well with the blacks on campus (which is more than you could say from a lot of the other white students there). In fact, the black girl who played the southern belle worked with him in the cafeteria. They got along so well they pulled this stunt together.
I wanted to post the picture on Facebook to show my friends that it is quite possible for a decent, progressive human being to make a mistake. I am not even sure it was a mistake: there was nothing in his performance that was meant to mock blacks or slavery. It made light of it to some extent but only a ridiculous person would have believed that this gentleman actually thought slavery was no big deal. As I said, he was one of the most consistently progressive minds on campus. Yet there he is, in blackface. It was Halloween. Have you ever used the costume of a horrible person at a Halloween party? Jack the Ripper, maybe? Cleopatra? Gypsy Rose Lee?
One of the people who disagreed with me about Northam was convinced. And very alarmed that I might post the picture: he could get fired from his current very responsible position if they found out about the photo. I was convinced, not because the picture was really damaging, but because ignorant people might really demand that he resign his job.
To those who say they are able to “forgive” him, but he should still resign…
Whatever it is you think you are offering Ralph Northam, it is not really “forgiveness”. Call it something else. According to the bible, if someone stole your coat and you caught him and sent him to prison for it, and then announced that you forgave him– he is released. Because to “forgive” means to absolve of any obligation incurred as a result of a transgression. I like that meaning. I think we could use more of it. And I strongly believe that if you forgive Mr. Northam, then you are done with the issue and we move on.
If you want him to resign, you have not forgiven him. You are vindictive. You want to make him suffer more consequences.
You want to punish him.
You want him to pay.
Own it.
So Kamala Harris apologizes for her history as a nasty prosecutor. Well, Democrats– be consistent! You MUST resign your seat. You really seem to be very sorry for it. Your apology seems insincere and contrived, calculated to save your position, not to express real remorse.
Your apology counts for nothing.
It is not accepted. It’s not enough. You must pay and pay and pay for your offense, until the mob of little purity fairies surrounded by microphones had decided they have had enough. Never! Quit the race! Leave! You are finished! You are despicable! Anybody could have known it was wrong and you didn’t!