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Del. David Englin, left, angrily criticized Del. Frank Hargrove, right, on the House floor. STEVE HELBER/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

You may have read about the Virginia delegate who said that blacks should “get over” slavery, and then in a newspaper interview asked, rhetorically, where the trend toward apologizing for the past should end. “Are we going to force the Jews to apologize for killing Christ? Nobody living today had anything to do with it.”

Living as I do in a state of splendid isolation from most of the news media, I hadn’t heard about this until a friend who is not a Virginian (it’s not his fault, he’s just unlucky) sent me an email saying “You must be so proud! - not.” I winced and replied, “Don’t forget, I am also ‘represented’ on the federal level by Virgil Goode.” But as I read the story, my reaction is a lot more mixed, because it raises — and tangles — several issues.

* Generational perspectives. In the first place, Delegate Frank Hargrove (R-Hanover), is 79. He is an old man who has seen as much change in race relations — for the better, mostly, I’d say — as any generation in history. He was born in 1927, I assume. That means he was 30 — well into his years of maturity — when Prince Edward County in Virginia was closing its public schools rather than accept racial desegregation, and well into his fifties when Virginia finally began to desegregate. That’s a lot to adjust to. As a 25-year veteran in the house of delegates, he must have been about 55 when he took office in 1982. So why in the world should anyone expect him to have the same views as people generations younger than himself? Why should he? That doesn’t mean he’s right or wrong; it means he has a right to his opinion. Since when is “group-think” valuable? Which brings us to

* Political correctness. I can scarcely express the depths of my contempt for the concept and the practice. What gives me the right to dictate how you think or speak? Nothing. So what gives you the right to dictate how I think or speak? That fact of the matter is that political correctness is bullying, and toadying, and nothing more, however dressed up it may be as sensitivity or whatever. Delegate Hargrove is quoted as saying, “Political correctness has us so damn intimidated, we’re afraid of everything. I won’t be intimidated.” Well - to that extent, good for him. You want to know what the opposite of political correctness is? It’s a quaint old concept called freedom of speech.

* Generational apologies. Here it seems to me both sides are right, and if anyone were listening each side could concede what the other side is saying and we’d actually make a slight bit of progress in understanding each other.

Pro. Those favoring an apology value it as a symbolic gesture. It is true, unfortunately, that the prosperity of Virginia, the South, America — and, arguably, the British, Spanish, and Portuguese empires and therefore the whole western world — was economically founded on slavery. It was unconscionable and can no more be justifed than it can be undone. But if we cannot undo the evil, it is important that we at least acknowledge that it was evil. I am sure we have all heard stupid people apologizing for slavery, asserting that “it wasn’t all bad,” that masters had an economic interest in the well-being of their slaves — as if the historical record wasn’t clear that the average lifetime of slaves in the rice or indigo plantations, for instance, was five years.

Con. Those opposed to an apology see it as only a symbolic gesture, designed to further specific political agendas or, as delegate Hargrove points out, to appease political correctness. They argue, correctly enough, that no generation can undo what previous generations have done, and living persons cannot be, and should not be, held responsible for what was done in the time of their grandparents or their grandparents’ grandparents. As he said, where does it end?

So on the one hand, there is the symbolic acknowledgement that wrong was done. But on the other hand, everyone alive profits from the society created by the capital amassed in that 250 years of wrong-doing. Everyone, black, white, mixed race. Fate has shoveled us in together, for better or worse.

* Personal Intent. It seems likely to me that delegate Hargrove did not intend to give offense, and may have been surprised, or at least dismayed, by the fact that offense was taken that he did not intend. I am interested, for instance, to read that several years ago Hargrove opposed a resolution to apologize for the forced sterilization of mentally retarded people in the early 20th century. His own brother, the news reports said, was a “victim” of the program. Hargrove objected to the legislature apologizing for something his well-meaning parents consented to, based on the best advice of their time. That strikes me as a rational and defensible stand, though of course debatable.

Oh, and by the way, Hargrove’s son-in-law is Jewish. “This whole thing has been taken out of context,” he said. “I just asked the reporter a question to make my point. It wasn’t that I was saying the Jews ought to apologize.” As for the criticism over his slavery comment, Hargrove said, “It’s political posturing, that’s all it is.”

* Racism. This charge, of course, is the A-Bomb of American politics, the nuclear option that removes thought from the table. Calling someone a racist means you no longer need to consider what he said or why he may have said it. It also puts you yourself up on a moral pedestal. This may be good politics, but let me tell you, it’s a damned bad feedback system. Filters that are used to automatically remove input deemed “racist” are sure to be used, misused, and overused. Tell me that this hasn’t been done to death in the past 50 years. And the odd thing is, that kind of accusation masks the huge and painful progress that we actually have made. Note that delegate Hargrove is quoted as saying, “our black citizens ought to get over it.” Did you hear that? Our black citizens. Do you think any Virginia legislator in 1957 was calling black Virginians “our black citizens”? We’re making progress, but between PC and politics, it sometimes becomes “racism” even to notice racial differences unless they imply some form of black victimization. And that, in turn, means that sometimes accusations of “racism” are steeped in — racism!

* The Old Victims and Villains Game. Besides, in a sense Hargrove is right. Slavery is over. “The present commonwealth has nothing to do with slavery,” he said. “I personally think that our black citizens ought to get over it. By golly, we’re living in 2007.” Sure, you have to wince when you read it stated that baldly, but that’s just an old man, unwilling and perhaps unable to bend with the times. Yet it is certainly true metaphysically that there is nothing so crippling as seeing yourself as victim. For one thing, it tempts you to disclaim responsibility for your own choices. For another, it divides people into two classes, victims and villains. You know what that is called in psychology? Projection! That’s saying, “I don’t do evil, you do.” Which of course is nonsense. The line between good and evil runs not between people but within people, and anyone who says otherwise is not to be trusted.

* Lingering unsuspected effects. Del. David Englin (D-Alexandria) rose in the house and in a trembling voice said that his Jewish grandparents fled Poland, “where they were driven from their homes by people who believed that we, as Jews, killed Christ.” He said he feared that “My 7-year-old son is more likely to be verbally attacked and physically attacked” because of Hargrove’s rhetorical question. Clearly this was not Hargrove’s intent. “I didn’t even know you were Jewish,” he said to Englin. “… I don’t care what your religion is.” (But then, and you have to love it, he added, “I think your skin is a little too thin.”) The point here is, Hargrove’s words exploded where he never intended them to, in a way he didn’t intend. Is this not true of everyone, continually?

* Decency. It sems to me there were two grace notes in this story. One is that when Delegate Englin, who who sits next to Hargrove, rose and explained why Hargrove’s words troubled him, Hargrove stood and patted Englin’s arm. And Englin, asked if he thought Hargrove is mean-spirited, said instead, “He just doesn’t get it.”

* Inadvertent Comedy. According to press reports, “Several black lawmakers say the measure, H J728, would promote racial understanding and healing.” Uh-huh. Seems to be working just fine.