Of Blackface, Statues, and Virtue Signaling
-- by David Swink, 02/06/2019
The Left has perfected the art of "virtue signaling", pointing to alleged evils on the other side while maintaining that their own are as pure as the driven snow. In Charlottesville, they painted all evil-doings to white nationalists, while ignoring the fact that their own Antifa initiated the conflict. In the Virginia governor's race, they ran an ad showing a pickup truck flying a rebel flag, obviously driven by an Ed Gillespie supporter. And Confederate statues and selected school names (eq, JEB Stuart) have been deemed unacceptable because they are anathema to the professionally offended on the Left.
So this week, the worm has turned. Governor Northam's med school yearbook showed him in either blackface or a KKK hood as part of a college skit in the 1980s. Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax has subsequently been accused of sexual misconduct in 2004. And now Attorney General Mark Herring has admitted wearing blackface at a college party in 1980. The Democrat Party and their Mainstream Media allies are now "horrified" that their meme -- only Republicans are racist -- is falling apart.
Now, I'm a Conservative, and no fan of the current Virginia executive leadership, but I don't think the aforementioned incidents are cause for a duly elected officeholder stepping down. The lesson that should be learned is to remember the importance of historical context. What was acceptable "way back when" may not be acceptable today; but it also follows that the moral guidelines of today are not applicable to what happened two or more generations ago -- either in personal conduct or in historical monuments. (And what if today's conduct could somehow be judged by previous generations? Imagine their outrage!)
The only real offense I witnessed last week was Governor Northam's support of infanticide. Kathy Tran's (D-Fairfax) bill (HB2491) was quickly defeated in Committee, but the pediatrician-turned-governor's verbal support of the bill was shocking, to say the least. It's not unreasonable to suspect that the yearbook incident was promoted (and possibly even uncovered) in order for the Media to downplay the infanticide issue that originated in the New York legislature and spread to the Virginia assembly the following week.
Lesson for politicians: "Those who live in glass houses ..."
Lesson for voters: Be more discriminating, knowing that WaPo and other left-wing media will NOT expose dirt on the Left; elections have consequences.