General Discussion
Showing Original Post only (View all)I'm so disappointed, sad and a little angry to see so many people not only defend Northam [View all]
but to go out of their way to make excuses for and dismiss inexcusable behavior that cannot and should never be dismissed. It astounds me to witness so many people completely ignore the pain and anger of black Americans who are trying to explain why this IS a big deal and Northam should step down as governor. And it is painful to have people tell us that we're overreacting, we've got out priorities mixed up, we're unfairly picking on a man "for something he did 35 years ago."
I don't know how many different times and ways I can explain this. But I'll try again.
This has nothing to do with unfairly "punishing" or refusing to forgive a man for long ago acts. Black people are THE most forgiving people on earth. If we did not have the capacity to forgive and didn't do it constantly, this would be a very different country, if it still existed at all.
So this is not about forgiveness. This is about a man who didn't just hold racist views and eventually grow out of them (if he ever really did). Northam clearly had racist views - ugly, hateful ones, not just unconscious bias - and acted on them in a vicious way. And he did it with pride and and a an arrogant, privileged certainty that it was so ok that he should memorialize it on film and then publish it for posterity in one of only 5 photos he selected to represent his four years of higher education.
This is about a man who seemed to believe that, despite that history, he could just move on and do whatever he wanted with his life and never address it, comment on it, own up to it, explain it or apologize for it. Or, even worse, did he think it really wasn't all that bad, so if it did happen to come out, he'd just deal with it then?
Either way, he hasn't done the work needed to earn forgiveness. Letting something slide for 35 years and then, when it comes out through no effort on his own, to simply say on the very day it's revealed "Whoops! My bad! Can you forgive me?" is not enough. Not by a longshot.
And even worse is the fact that so many people think that IS enough and are telling black folks that WE are wrong for not "letting it go." For not simply saying, "No problem, Governor. You haven't done anything really racist recently (that we know of yet), so of course you're forgiven. And WE apologize for taking so many hours after we heard about it at 5 pm today to absolve you. We hope we didn't cause you any undue discomfort by not immediately jumping to your defense!"
There are few things more annoying than not having our views considered - or, as in this instance, having our opinion and perspective dismissed outright - and then being lectured to on matters of race by people who have not experienced racism and don't seem to be the least bit familiar with racism, its history, it's impact and vestiges on us as a people and as individuals. And when that kind of back of the hand and condescension comes from our allies, it's especially frustrating and astounding.
To my fellow DUers, I urge you to stop telling us why Northam shouldn't bear any consequences for his behavior and dishonesty. Stop telling us we're overreacting. Stop telling us that what he did is no big deal. And PLEASE stop telling us that because a racist criminal is president and a racist sexual abuser is on the Supreme Court, we must shut up and allow a person who paraded around in blackface and/or KKK regalia to hold the highest position of power and honor in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Stop. Just STOP. And LISTEN to us. Read our words. Try to empathize with our pain and frustration. Understand why we think this behavior is unacceptable in any public official and is especially unacceptable in a man whom black voters put into office.
Pay attention to what WE think and say on this issue because our views matter and if you take the time to consider them, you'll probably learn something. And when it comes down to it, isn't that really the point of these discussions anyway?