I want to preface this with saying that I think that blackface is absolutely abhorrent and terrible and Northam should 100% resign.
I think that what happened twenty years ago, ten years ago, five years ago, in one off incidents is not something that should consistently be brought up as a testament to someone's character. I think everyone makes mistakes, some worse than others, and yes I think that saying "n*gger" once could be excused depending on how long ago it happened. I think what should matter is a person's character. I believe that what Northam did is not necessarily the worst thing that ever happened, although I think it's pretty egregious. What matters though, is not necessarily the one off act twenty years ago, but whether or not he has consistently held those views and consistently enacted upon his beliefs. Someone who is a member of the KKK is not a garbage person just because they use the N word, they are a garbage person because despite being confronted with the societal impact of their terrible bias they double down in their bigotry and use their positions to affect other people. Someone who uses racial slurs in a political protest is not necessarily a terrible person 5 years down the line as long as they have learned to recognize their demons, their wrongs, and strives to make improvements. Trump is not a racist because he said Mexicans were all rapists, as this could be interpreted as just plain ignorance rather than malicious intent. He is a racist because of his consistent actions towards African Americans, such as denying them pay, denying them stays in his businesses, slight comments about them in his private homes, his consistent comments about certain races, his support of racist legislature and practices.
I think that people consistently deserve second chances, and I am personally prepared to forgive even Ralph Northam for his views thirty years ago as long as he makes an effort to improve himself. I believe that Ralph Northam has not made an effort to improve himself, and for this reason must resign. After he chose to say that the person in those pictures was indeed him, with his yearbook nickname being "Coonman", him posing next to a KKK dressed member, he then decided to go back on his story and attempt to say that the person in those pictures was NOT him. This to me represents flipflopping and a disingenuous attempt at controlling the narrative. Northam has shown that not only does he admit to the incidents, he does not even show the nuance to recognize why they are bad, and shows the typical political outlook in straight denying it. I think his PR team sould be fired and he should resign from his position. What matters to me is not whether someone was racist in one event in their history as I believe that every single person should have the opportunity to improve themselves, recognize their mistakes and bias, and move on to become a better person, even in the event of repeated patterns. What does count though is whether the person even attempts to make strides, and it seems that Northam is just attempting to control the narrative. If he had recognized the issue, repented, and recognized that all humans are flawed and worked to improve himself then i would say that he shouldn't resign, as Lt. General Mark Herring
did also recently. I dont care if you did blackface as a kid, or even if you did it at 30 years of age, as long as you can be an adult, recognize that the situation was abhorrent, indicate why you perceive it to be wrong, issue out an apology, and strive to work the opposite of the biases you had.
As to the Sexual assault allegations, I struggle to form an opinion on them. I do not believe that every single sexual assault allegation is something that should be considered as 100% valid as it indeed ruins a person's social persona whether they are true or not. I would like to believe the justice system could resolve it with the accused having an attempt to resolve the issue or address the claims, but I am aware that the justice system is not exactly good at being fair and equal to every individual, and so am unsure if the denials are just another attempt at silencing a woman. I simply do not know enough about the issue and don't wish to give a weighted opinion either way. If the sexual assault allegations are true then they need to be addressed and he needs to resign.
