United States Governors

[AmazonGrace]

 

[GreyhoundFan]

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[onekidanddone]

As he weighs a challenge to Trump, Larry Hogan says he offers a ‘model’ of bipartisanship. That’s only partly true.

Not saying I'd vote for him in the general election, but I might consider chaining parties to vote for him in the primary.

Mr. OneKid has done this in the past to vote for a ReThug more likely to lose to a Dem.  I'd do it just so I could add to the count against shitface

Quote

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) is touting his dealings with Democratic lawmakers as a model of bipartisanship, drawing a national spotlight and accolades from Republican dissenters who are seeking a less-polarizing alternative to President Trump.

The governor, who is consulting with aides and national GOP critics of Trump about whether to pursue a White House bid, said at his inauguration this month that he and state Democrats have “put problem-solving ahead of partisanship and compromise ahead of conflict.”

But Hogan’s first-term record includes cross-party nastiness as well as collaboration. At times, he forged compromise with lawmakers on major issues. In other moments, he was disengaged.

He called political opponents “thugs,” barred more than 450 criticsfrom his official Facebook page and sometimes took credit for Democratic legislation he had initially opposed.

Leading Democrats in Annapolis say the governor was easier to work with in the second half of his term, an evolution that could reflect the divisiveness in Washington or his gubernatorial reelection campaign.

“The first two years of the term were more confrontational and hostile,” said state Sen. Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City), the vice chair of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee. “After the 2016 election and the rise of the Trump administration, I suspect the Hogan administration took a hard look at how the next two years would function. . . . I commend him for adjusting his approach.”

Hogan spokeswoman Amelia Chasse said Hogan “has worked in a bipartisan manner to deliver real, common-sense solutions that have changed Maryland for the better.”

“We don’t engage and fight on every one of the thousands of bills proposed each session,” Chasse said in a statement. “We let the legislature do their jobs and develop policy through a democratic process, and the governor does his job as the chief executive of the state.”

Those close to Hogan say he is unlikely to run for president in 2020 unless Trump is severely weakened or decides not to seek a second term.

But the governor has made clear he wants to be part of the national conversation, denouncing the recent government shutdown as a failure on the part of both Trump and congressional leaders. He says he could help the country return to “something better and more noble than the politics of today.”

After eschewing national television appearances in his first term, Hogan is participating in a PBS “NewsHour” panel discussion Monday evening with New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D).

The event, titled “Divided Nation, United States: Navigating Today’s Partisan Waters,” will  air live online, starting at 7 p.m.

 

Hogan campaigned in 2014 on a platform of reversing tax and fee increases enacted by his predecessor, Democrat Martin O’Malley, in the years after the Great Recession. During Hogan’s maiden State of the State address , he chided Democrats over the “floundering” economy and the “exodus of taxpayers fleeing our state.”

At the time, House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) said the speech was tantamount to “poking a stick in the eye of the people you need.”

Each side accused the other of failing to communicate, leading to bitter fights about the governor’s first budget and perennial conflicts over school spending. At one point, Hogan criticized lawmakers for pushing legislation to limit his powers and mockingly compared them to college students on spring break.

“They come here for a few weeks,” Hogan said on “The C4 Show” on WBAL-AM Radio. “They start breaking up the furniture and throwing beer bottles off the balcony.”

Hogan surprised Democratic lawmakers with unilateral announcements that he would close a scandal-plagued Baltimore jail, lower tolls on state roadways and order public schools to start classes after Labor Day.

In 2016, he lashed out at state teachers union officials who criticized a budget decision involving school funding, calling them “thugs” on his Facebook page.

[Hogan’s changes for Maryland come with an in-your-face attitude]

“There are times when he has been bipartisan, and there are times when he has been extremely partisan,” said Del. Eric G. Luedtke (D-Montgomery).

Democratic lawmakers say state government agencies were often little to no help in giving expert testimony or the governor’s position on proposed legislation. Hogan aides said the administration has provided advice and counsel on bills that it deems important.

Unlike O’Malley, who testified before legislative committees, Hogan prefers to bring lawmakers into his office to discuss measures, his staff said.

“Governor Hogan is not a career politician,” Chasse said. “He doesn’t see the need to follow procedural norms.”

Hogan originally opposed a ballot question on a constitutional amendment that would require the state to use casino taxes on education. Within weeks, he reversed his position and began calling the proposal the “Hogan lockbox.”

He took no position on legislation to provide free community college and did not work to help it pass in the Democratic-majority legislature. But after he signed the bill, he embraced the issue on the campaign trail and announced that if elected he would expand the scholarship program.

“In those instances, we do all the work and he gets the credit,” said Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk (D-Prince George’s), the vice chairwoman of the Health and Government Operations Committee.

There were notable exceptions.

Hogan worked closely with Democratic legislative leaders to craft a deal that lowered health insurance premiums for residents affected by the dismantling of the Affordable Care Act. He also collaborated with them to approve dedicated funds for the Washington-area Metro system, address crime in Baltimore and boost school safety after a shooting at Great Mills High School in St. Mary’s County.

Sen. Robert A. Zirkin (D-Baltimore County), who chairs the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, said Hogan’s support for the 2016 Justice Reinvestment Act was crucial in bolstering GOP support for the criminal justice-reform bill.

When lawmakers were deadlocked over specific provisions in the closing days of the legislative session, Christopher Shank, a former Republican lawmaker who had become a top policy aide, negotiated a deal between the House and Senate.

“I’ve gotten to know [Hogan] politically and on a personal level. . . . He truly wants to work together,” said Zirkin, who earlier in 2016 had publicly rebuked the governor and demanded an apology from him for his “spring break” comment.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller (D-Calvert), who considers Hogan a friend and has known him for decades, said the governor has “evolved.”

“When he first got elected, he never held public office before and he was very conservative, believing government is the problem, not the answer,” Miller said. “He’s come around. He’s grown.”

 

Spreading a message

Two people who have talked about Hogan’s future with him recently and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss those conversations, said Hogan is not likely to directly challenge Trump in 2020 unless the president is significantly weakened. Trump has already raised more than $100 million for his reelection bid and consolidated support within the Republican National Committee.

Hogan is “very practical and realistic about where things are. . . . He sees what kind of percentages Trump gets in the Republican Party and how influential he is in some of the Southern states,” said one of the people, who spoke to Hogan before Trump’s poll numbers fell in the final days of the government shutdown.

“I don’t think he has one of these burning ambitions to be president,” this person said. “He does think that his message, and the Maryland example, is important right now. And he wants to find a way to spread it. Does he have to run for president to do it? Probably not, but maybe.”

Hogan, the incoming chair of the National Governors Association, has succeeded in drawing the media spotlight, including columns in the New York Times and The Washington Post and articles in BuzzFeedand Politico.

He plans to meet soon with commentator Bill Kristol and strategist Sarah Longwell, both leading anti-Trump Republicans, Chasse said. And he has told reporters he plans to hold political meetings when he visits Iowa in early March for NGA business, and will likely travel to New Hampshire in coming months.

Kristol has been meeting with Republican donors and potential candidates, showing them polling that suggests Trump may be vulnerable to a primary challenge, despite his high approval ratings among GOP voters.

“A fair number of those approvers are not on board for reelecting Trump, necessarily,” Kristol said. “When you say to them, ‘Going forward do you think Trump is the right guy to win in 2020?’, they get more nervous.”

In a recent interview with The Post, Hogan said he was focused on Maryland and “being a bigger part of the discussion.”

But he did not rule out a presidential run.

“I don’t think you can ever rule anything out,” he said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen over the next year, or two, or six years.”

 

 

[GreyhoundFan]

I'm completely heartsick over this. I have always respected Northam, but I think he needs to step down. "Gov. Ralph Northam ‘deeply sorry’ after photo emerges from his 1984 yearbook showing blackface, KKK hood"

Spoiler

RICHMOND — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) on Friday acknowledged appearing in a “clearly racist and offensive” photograph in his 1984 medical school yearbook that shows a man in blackface and another in a Ku Klux Klan robe.

“I am deeply sorry for the decision I made to appear as I did in this photo and for the hurt that decision caused then and now,” he said. “This behavior is not in keeping with who I am today and the values I have fought for throughout my career in the military, in medicine, and in public service. But I want to be clear, I understand how this decision shakes Virginians’ faith in that commitment.”

Northam, 59, did not say if he was the man dressed in blackface or Klan robes. The Republican party immediately called on him to resign, but the governor’s statement indicated that he would continue his work.

The image is in a 1984 yearbook from Eastern Virginia Medical School on a page with other photos of Northam and personal information about the future governor.

Northam, a pediatric neurologist, graduated from the Norfolk medical school in 1984 after earning an undergraduate degree from Virginia Military Institute.

The yearbook page is labeled Ralph Shearer Northam, along with pictures of him in a jacket and tie, casual clothes and alongside his restored Corvette.

It shows two people, one in plaid pants, bow tie and black faced, and the other in full Klan robes and a hood. Both men appear to be holding beer cans.

The person in black face is smiling. Beneath the photo, Northam lists his alma mater, an interest in pediatrics and offers a quote: “There are more old drunks than old doctors in this world so I think I’ll have another beer.”

Jack Wilson, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia said Northam should step down.

“Racism has no place in Virginia,” Wilson said in a statement. “These pictures are wholly inappropriate. If Governor Northam appeared in blackface or dressed in a KKK robe, he should resign immediately.”

Vivian Paige, a long-time political activist in Norfolk who has known Northam since he first ran for office, said she was distraught over the news and felt Northam should step down.

“I’m disappointed and I believe that he can’t lead the party any more,” said Paige, who is African American.

“Ralph and I are a year apart in age. It really cuts to the bone to me that someone would do that at our age,” she said. “Our generation – the tail end of the Baby Boom – we grew up in an integrated society. How could you not know that was wrong?”

Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro tweeted “It doesn’t matter if he is a Republican or a Democrat. This behavior was racist and unconscionable. Governor Northam should resign.”

The yearbook image was first posted Friday by the website Big League Politics, a conservative outlet founded by Patrick Howley, a former writer for the Daily Caller and Breitbart.

The Washington Post independently confirmed the authenticity of the yearbook by viewing it in the medical school library in Norfolk.

The revelation comes during a wild week in which Northam was accused by Republicans of advocating infanticide after he made comments defending a bill that would have lifted restrictions on late-term abortions. It was more surprising because Northam has billed himself as the political antidote to Donald Trump - an aw-shucks leader with a boring speaking style and a reputation for honesty. He gain the trust of Republicans, who worked with him last year to pass Medicaid expansion after four years of resisting it under previous governor Terry McAuliffe (D).

House Speaker M. Kirkland Cox (R-Colonial Heights), Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. Norment (R-James City) and other Republican leaders released a statement Friday that called the yearbook image “a deeply disturbing and offensive photograph”

In his statement, Northam said that he recognized “that it will take time and serious effort to heal the damage this conduct has caused. I am ready to do that important work. The first step is to offer my sincerest apology and to state my absolute commitment to living up to the expectations Virginians set for me when they elected me to be their Governor.”

A Northam ally, Senate Minority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax) defended the governor.

“His whole life has been about exactly the opposite and that’s what you need to examine, not something that occurred 30 years ago,” said Senate Minority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax). “While it’s in very poor taste, I would think no one in the General Assembly who would like their college conduct examined. I would hate to have to go back and examine my two years in the Army. Trust me. I was 18 years old and I was a handful, OK? His life since then has been anything but. It’s been a life of helping people, and many times for free.”

Sen. Richard Stuart (R-Stafford), one of the governor’s closest friends, said he had not been able to talk to Northam about the yearbook and did not know what to make of it, but said he stood by him.

“He’s my friend and I will always stand up for him,” said Stuart, who also took exception to claims that Northam had advocated infanticide.

“I do not believe he would ever support any such a thing. I don’t see it. I don’t believe it,” Stuart said.

“He is a doctor who’s dedicated his life to taking care of children, and he has helped the children of quite a few members in the General Assembly, on both sides of the aisle. And I do not believe [that Northam] in any way shape or form supports infanticide.”

Joan Naidorf, whose husband’s yearbook page sits opposite Northam’s in the yearbook, said she was surprised the photos are only now just coming out, given Northam’s stature in Virginia politics.

“We’ve often wondered over the last 10 years or so why someone didn’t dig this up sooner,” said Joan Naidorf, a non-practicing emergency room physician who lives in Alexandria.

When she first saw the photo shortly after the yearbook was published, Naidrorf said, “I thought: `That’s awful.’ I assumed it was something at a drunken frat party.”

Naidorf said she didn’t know when or where the photos were taken. Her husband, Tobin, wasn’t available Friday. He had met Northam a few times when they worked medical rotations together, but weren’t friends, she said.

Eastern Virginia Medical School allowed students to pick their own photos for their yearbook page, Naidorf said. Her husband chose their engagement photo and other personal pictures. Another student chose a picture of men also in blackface and dressed as woman in what appears to be a variety show routine.

Northam has built his 12-year political career on a clean-cut image as a soft-spoken doctor and Army veteran who headed Honor Council at VMI, a demanding job that required him to pass judgement on fellow students who lied or violated the school’s honor code.

First elected to the state Senate from Norfolk in 2007, Northam has had a charmed political career. He was courted by Republicans because of his conservative leanings, and was identified early by then-Gov. Tim Kaine (D) as future governor material because of his experience in both health care and the military. Northam served in the Army for eight years after medical school, treating soldiers wounded in the Gulf War.

Politicos in Richmond reacted in muted disbelief, and many declined to speak on the record as the news first circulated Friday.

When he ran for governor in 2017, Northam paid special attention to black churches, often attending two or three every Sunday. His home pastor is African American. After the racial violence in Charlottesville that summer, Northam was among the quickest Virginia political figures to react, making an emotional plea that all Confederate monuments should come down.

He later walked that back and now says it should be up to localities, but said recently that his personal belief is that such statues are harmful.

Northam, 59, grew up on the Eastern Shore of Virginia in the fishing village of Onancock. His father was a judge and his mother was a school teacher. Northam and his brother attended desegregated public high school, where Northam played basketball and baseball.

The origins of blackface date to minstrel shows from the 19th century, when white actors covered themselves in black grease paint to portray African Americans but in a cartoonish, dehumanizing way. The minstrel shows put forth racist notions of African Americans as primitive and inferior.

Last week, Michael Ertel, Florida’s secretary of state resigned after the emergence of photos from 2005 of him in blackface, apparently mimicking victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Former NBC journalist Megyn Kelly stirred controversy in October for defending blackface in Halloween costumes.

The damage to the Democratic party is already bad, if he tries to stay in office, I think it will be irreparable.  we finally were close to even in the state legislature. I fear this will push us back to a 3/4 Rep majority.

[AmazonGrace]

This reaction tho

[CTRLZero]

12 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

I'm completely heartsick over this. I have always respected Northam, but I think he needs to step down.

Yes.  It might be arguable if, at the time, he was a stupid high schooler caught up in thoughtless, racist behavior.  But he was in medical school, age mid-20s, for Rufus sake!  I wonder who the other guy is.  I bet he hopes no one ever finds out.  It looks like the students could choose which photo went into the yearbook, so he thought it was a good idea to put that one in for posterity?  Yikes! 

[AmazonGrace]

Wait what, he already apologized and said he appeared in the photo but now he's saying he didn't?

Throw his ass out.

[Dandruff]

Is the issue now whether he was in the photo vs. the photo being shown on his yearbook page?  Did he forget about it or think it would never go public if he went into politics?  Wouldn't the photo have had to get past a yearbook committee in order to be included?

I think he needs to resign, but it makes me sad, especially given all of the abominations currently going on in politics.  Seems like it could be an Onion-type spoof of Trump & Co. (I did it, no I didn't), if it wasn't so unfortunately real.

[CTRLZero]

7 minutes ago, Dandruff said:

Is the issue now whether he was in the photo vs. the photo being shown on his yearbook page?

From the Washington Post article:  "Eastern Virginia Medical School allowed students to pick their own photos for their yearbook page, Naidorf said."  Whether or not he is in the photo, it is something he apparently personally selected as a remembrance to others for eternity.  I am roughly his age, and I can't imagine posting such a photo.  Incredibly poor judgment considering his age and future aspirations at the time.  I don't get it, and it makes me sad, too, especially if he has a good reputation otherwise. 

[Dandruff]

2 hours ago, CTRLZero said:

I am roughly his age, and I can't imagine posting such a photo.  Incredibly poor judgment considering his age and future aspirations at the time.

I'm also roughly the same age and can't imagine.  Is there anything the yearbook committee would have said no to?

[fraurosena]

I agree he should step down. What he did, and how he's trying to spin this is unbecoming of a governor, to say the least. But I am rather surprised at the incredible outrage I'm seeing on social media and in the MSM, in the sense that people are so much more indignant than they were with Steve King, who is openly racist right now.

I'm not saying Northam shouldn't be held to account. He should be.

But why is it that when a Democrat does something stupid, he or she is held to a higher standard than a Republican?

[AmazonGrace]

I guess when it's a Democrat it's a bug but when it's a Republican it's a feature.

 

He should go because if he doesn't it will forever give an out to racist Republicans. "Look what your guy did, and you did nothing, so you're the real racists here. So what if we put babies in cages."

Edited February 3, 2019 by AmazonGrace

[AmazonGrace]

 

[GreyhoundFan]

"Sorry, Republicans. You can’t call out Northam for racism and give Trump a pass."

Spoiler

Finally, the GOP is calling out a chief executive for his appalling insensitivity on an issue of race: Saturday, via Twitter, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) decried that chief executive’s “past racist behavior” and said “He should resign.” In two tweets posted on Saturday, Republican Party chair Ronna McDaniel listed off what she sees as that same chief executive’s callousness on race, including, apparently, his appearance in a photo, 35 years ago in which one person is in blackface and the other is wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood. The conduct that these Republicans denounced clearly deserves condemnation, no matter how or when it occurred.

Unfortunately, they’ve reserved their scorn for one chief executive, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, and have held back when it comes to criticizing a chief executive from their own party, President Trump, for his racially divisive statements and public positions. That is naked hypocrisy.

Northam, without doubt, brought this criticism on himself: Friday he released a statement apologizing for appearing in a 1984 medical school yearbook photo “in a costume that is clearly racist and offensive,” saying, “I am deeply sorry for the decision I made.” Then on Saturday, he went before live cameras to say, “I believe then, and now, that I am not either of the people” in the photo in question. A risible, flimsy explanation, unacceptable for anyone, let alone the governor of a state.

Republicans, sensing a relatively rare moment when, for once, the other party had to own a race-relations debacle, joined Democrats in calling for Northam’s ouster. In addition to McCarthy and McDaniel, Virginia GOP chair Jack Wilson called on Northam to step down, saying the governor has “lost the moral ability” to lead. Ever since Election Day 2016, when Trump’s supporters promised he wouldn’t be as awful as his critics — including me — warned he would be, Republicans have longed for a moment when they could at least pretend to gain the high moral ground.

But while Democrats, and decent people everywhere, have a right to demand that Northam step down, Republicans who continue to support a party dominated by Trump can’t be taken seriously on this point.

Trump’s record on race-related issues is abysmal. For years, he fueled birtherism to attack President Barack Obama. He once argued that a federal judge, Gonzalo P. Curiel, couldn’t be impartial in a case involving Trump because, as Trump said, “He’s a Mexican. We’re building a wall between here and Mexico.” Early in his presidential candidacy, Trump called for a “total and complete ban on Muslims entering the country.” In office, he ruminated on the United States needing more immigrants from places such as Norway and fewer immigrants from “shithole” countries, referencing Haiti, El Salvador and African countries.

Despite polls taken at various times during his presidency that show significant percentages of Americans either see Trump as racist or, at a minimum, someone who has “emboldened” racists, the president still enjoys the support of Republicans in Congress and 78 percent approval among Republicans in the latest Washington Post/ABC News poll. For the most part, the party has indulged his race-baiting comments and his crude handling of racial issues. But somehow party leaders, who stand firmly behind him, and a national party that just passed a resolution expressing “undivided support” for him, seems to have no qualms about calling out Northam.

How Northam got all the way to the Virginia statehouse without the yearbook photo being discovered will wind up as a case study in future training for political opposition researchers and for reporters. Regardless of how it happened, it’s fair to view his inconsistent statements and conclude that he never thought he would have to explain any of this until after it became public. That disingenuousness is damning in itself, and if the voters and elected leaders of Virginia decide that this episode disqualifies him from serving honorably in office — it appears they do — that’s their choice. (I happen to agree with them.)

Democrats don’t have completely clean hands on race issues; if nothing else, the Northam episode illustrates that. But when commentators such as David Limbaugh ask if Trump supporters must “forfeit the right to pass any moral judgments” because of their continual excuse-making for him, the only reply is: yes. Criticizing Northam for “past racist behavior” and his present equivocation after more than two years of overlooking an astonishing record of divisiveness reflects little more than a self-serving, morally repellent double standard. There are plenty of good arguments for kicking Northam out of his job. The newfound racial piety of a party that sold its soul to Trump isn’t one of them.

 

[Dandruff]

How about if Northam, now that he's in the spotlight, lists the major reasons why Trump is unfit and offers to resign when he does?

[AmazonGrace]

What do the Virginia governor and attorney general have in common? they both did blackface.

 

 

And the Lieutenant Governor is accused of sexual assault.

 

Things are wild in Virginia.

[fraurosena]

What is it about the American angst with a white person dressing up as a black one? Why is it always such a problem? In the case of the governor, I understand why people are upset, as the context with the KKK member is disconcerting (to say the least). But dressing up as a rapper? Why is that so bad? They were dressing up as people they admired. Why is that so terrible?

Don't say it's because white people used to dress up as black minstrels. Because damn, that was a century ago. In that case, women should be up in arms about men dressing in drag, because two centuries ago, women were deemed 'less than' and weren't allowed to act in plays, and female characters were all played by men. By that logic Ru Paul is a misogynist. Or making fun of transgender women. Take your pick.

It should not be made into a problem when one person tries to look like another. Eddy Murphy dressed up as multiple white people, and even jewish ones. But nobody complained, did they? In fact, he was admired for doing such a good job of it. Why then is it a problem when it's a white person dressing up as a black one, if it is all done harmlessly and without any other intent behind it other than emulating someone you admire? It is the intent that a person has that makes the difference. If no harm is intended, then none should be taken. If the intent is to be like someone, because you admire them, want to look like them, what's the harm? When I was 13, I went to a party with a million tiny plaits in my hair, like Bo Derek. Should I be condemned for that, because I certainly wasn't a 10. I know it's a silly comparison, but you get what I mean.

Yes, racism exists, and it is absolutely reprehensible. It should be quashed and obliterated, let me be completely clear about that. But you can cross the line and become hypersensitive. In my opinion, people are being overly sensitive in the Virginian attorney general's case. 

[GreyhoundFan]

26 minutes ago, fraurosena said:

Don't say it's because white people used to dress up as black minstrels. Because damn, that was a century ago.

Actually, in some parts of Virginia, there were still organized minstrel shows until the early 21st century.

I certainly don't speak for everyone, but to me, the biggest issue is mocking a powerless or less powerful minority. Many places in the south were/are not good places for people of color.

33 minutes ago, fraurosena said:

In my opinion, people are being overly sensitive in the Virginian attorney general's case. 

Frankly, at UVa (University of Virginia) in 1980, it doesn't surprise me much. I knew several people who attended UVa in the early 80s and visited there multiple times. There were multiple people I met there who were very snooty and dismissive of anyone who wasn't a WASP. Lots of rich white frat boys. My family was from a lower socioeconomic class and more than one person commented that my clothes weren't nice enough, and I was only visiting for a weekend or a day.  Those same guys loved wearing t-shirts with the phrase "no fat chicks", showing their intolerance for anyone not exactly like them. I'm not saying Herring did that, but it was definitely not an uncommon attitude and feeling there at the time.

[fraurosena]

2 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

Actually, in some parts of Virginia, there were still organized minstrel shows until the early 21st century.

I certainly don't speak for everyone, but to me, the biggest issue is mocking a powerless or less powerful minority. Many places in the south were/are not good places for people of color.

I did not know that about the minstrel shows. I'm rather taken aback, to be honest. WTF?  

I agree with you that mocking a minority (powerless or not) is reprehensible. If that is the intent, then of course it is objectionable behavior. My point is about those cases where that is not the intent at all. It seems to me that all cases are treated as if they are mocking, when not all of them are.

[prayawaythefundie]

I kind of get @fraurosena ‘s point here trying to understand if / why it is always considered offensive to dress up as a person of another ethnicity.

 Maybe it‘s about dressing up as someone stereotypically? Like you can dress up as a woman convincingly as to seriously portray a woman. Or you could exaggerate stereotypes. Same could be the case when dressing up as a black person. It could be a serious attempt to portray said person who happens to be black or it could not even be a half-ass attempt at looking like someone by just displaying stereotypes. I think only the latter would be mocking?

[onekidanddone]

Fuck it. I'm done with the humans. All of them (except everybody on FJ)

Edited February 6, 2019 by onekidanddone

[mamallama]

This reminds me of an old mommy dilemma of mine.  Third graders had an event where they pick a historical figure, wrote a report and then came to made up to look like that person.  So, proud mommy moment, most of the kids picked sports or entertainment people and tried to shoe horn them in as historical.  My daughter picked Frederick Douglass and I was super proud.  Then I realized a big part of the grade was how much the kid looked like the person in their biography.  Not for a second did I consider black face or any kind of make up lest it be construed as black face.  While on it's own it seems harmless, given the US's history it's viewed as racist even if there's another way to look at it.  

In the picture I saw it's pretty clear to me that it's a racist stunt.  For example, using shoe polish rather than going for a realistic skin tone.

[onekidanddone]

Yes, dressing in black face is disgusting, racist and did I say disgusting.  I'm not doubting it happened, but the timing of all this sounds hinkey.  For all three of Virginal's top Democrats being called out almost simultaneously seems like it was planned.  Whoever had the information and waited to BOOM BOOM BOOM. 

So now what?  

[LeftCoastLurker]

Saw this from NM governor and wanted to share...