Pandora’s box: Unleash the furies!
I’m guessing that some media outlet must have been hot on Attorney General Mark Herring’s trail, otherwise I can’t imagine any other reason for him to make this confession in a statement just released:
In 1980, when I was a 19-year-old undergraduate in college, some friends suggested we attend a party dressed like rappers we listened to at the time, like Kurtis Blow, and perform a song. It sounds ridiculous even now writing it. But because of our ignorance and glib attitudes – and because we did not have an appreciation for the experiences and perspectives of others – we dressed up and put on wigs and brown makeup.
This was a onetime occurrence and I accept full responsibility for my conduct. That conduct clearly shows that, as a young man, I had a callous and inexcusable lack of awareness and insensitivity to the pain my behavior could inflict on others. It was really a minimization of both people of color, and a minimization of a horrific history I knew well even then.
If Democrats insist that Northam must resign, will they now insist that Herring must resign? It certainly disqualifies him from running for governor, does it not? Alternatively, now that it has been revealed that all three Democratic statewide office holders have (or may have) committed grievous sins against the PC canon, do the arbiters of political correctness suddenly decide that enough is enough, things have just gone too far? Let the drawing of hair-splittingly fine distinctions begin!
Personally, I find this revelation particularly sweet coming from a guy who launched his campaign based on a direct appeal to the growing hysteria about race, asserting that white-supremacist hate crimes are on the rise. That claim has no factual foundation in Virginia, as I have demonstrated.
Just a reminder of what Herring said about Northam on Feb. 2: “It is no longer possible for Governor Northam to lead our Commonwealth and it is time for him to step down. I have spoken with Lieutenant Governor Fairfax and assured him that, should he ascend to the governorship, he will have my complete support and commitment to ensuring his success and the success of our Commonwealth.” Ouch!
