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Democrats Discuss: Holding our leaders to higher standards

With the recent revelations of Virginia’s governor, Ralph Northam, appearing in a racist yearbook photo, several people have called for his resignation, while others have rushed to his defense. The yearbook photo exhibits two people: one dressed up as a member of the Ku Klux Klan, and the other in blackface. Earlier this week, the governor apologized for his appearance in the photo but later denied that either person pictured was him. Despite this, Northam has admitted to dressing up in blackface around the same time frame. If you are a person of moral standard, any toleration of this obvious act of racism should bother you.

Many people have come to the governor’s defense with the common rationality that one cannot judge past actions by present-day standards. However, even if this photo had been taken in the antebellum South, blackface would still be racist, no matter how normalized the portrayal was at the time the photo was taken. Not everyone was being racist back in the day, just the racists were. If we choose to dismiss these acts as commonplace expressions of an era, we are choosing to adopt hatred in today’s world.

The same idea applies for other awful, prejudiced actions as well. Perhaps another prevalent example of this would be sexual assault. This past fall, Justice Brett Kavanaugh faced sexual assault allegations from multiple women, most notably Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who testified during his Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice. These actions and claims must be taken seriously. It does not matter how old you are or what decade it is; sexually assaulting a person has always been a despicable act of hatred and abuse. If we do not apply the strictest scrutiny to those we elect or appoint as our leaders and decision makers—and especially those who have had the utmost privilege as wealthy, white men in our society—we forfeit our right to a truly representative democracy.

For those who are troubled by these calls for Governor Northam’s resignation, I implore you to reflect: Did the people of Virginia elect this man with full knowledge of his past and present character? While the appointment of Justice Kavanaugh is extremely disappointing to those who advocate for the credibility of sexual assault survivors, the Senate had full knowledge of his alleged actions prior to a confirmation vote. A person’s life’s work is definitely critical to consider, and I am sure that is how Northam won over Virginians in his election. However, racist acts like his can radically alter the vote of constituents, making calls for resignation more than justified. Both Republicans and Democrats must agree: there is no room for the toleration of racism in our government’s leadership.

Mady Nutter is a freshman studying strategic communications at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to reach the College Democrats? Send them a tweet @OUCollegeDems

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