The current state of affairs in Richmond is really reflective of a broader reckoning that must come for the whole state, and our whole country. It is clear from the events in Charlottesville and the campaigns of Gillespie and Stewart that we have many problems that have been unresolved from the days of slavery and Jim Crow - what we have learned (if we didn't already know) is that these problems are lurking beneath the surface across the whole political spectrum. A whole structure of oppression, exemplified by the arrival of the first Africans 400 years ago this very year in Jamestown, must come down, and like any demolition job, there is going to be a lot of rubble left behind. The kind of self-examination required for this is really painful, which is why many people who can afford not to decide not to do it. Gov. Northam and Lt. Gov. Fairfax are accused of very different sins, but they have both exploited the power that our unbalanced society has given them to cruel and destructive ends, and they have both, to date, refused to do any of the work required to right their wrongs. If we are ever going to build a better future, for Virginia and for this whole country, we need to be able to do this kind of painful self-reckoning, and, in political terms, that will involve some short-term pain as we clear some of that rubble. Those such as Northam and Fairfax must step aside or be made to, so that those who are equipped to reckon with the past and envision a brighter future can step forward.