Clarence Thomas: Nobody Knows the Trouble He's Seen
You have to feel sorry for the judge. Like George Bush he has failed upwards until the poor guy is now hopelessly out of his league. Unlike our president, however, he doesn't have to pretend to understand the complexities of his job for just eight years and then retire to the back nine. Poor Clarence is stuck there for life. He seems caught in some sort of chilling Twilight Zone episode, cursed for what he wished for. His new memoir, My Grandfather's Son,"is yet another sad chapter in his lifetime of self-hate.
Am I being too hard or condescending on what should be one of the wisest people in the nation? How else do you explain his terror of asking a single question from the bench? His excuse is that the other justices "talk too much."
It's called doing their job.
They arrive with questions that need to be answered, instead of dogma that needs to be adhered to. Justice Thomas is clearly that terrified kid in every class that knows that if he opens his mouth everyone will realize that he didn't understand today's lesson. Instead of being a beacon of pride for young black kids that, like him, might have been raised in poverty, he is an embarrassment.
His supporters point to his writings, but back in his chambers he is backed up by clerks who are some of our very smartest legal minds. Kato Kaelin could sign off on their briefs and sound like he knew what he was talking about.
George Bush the First's appointment of a black man who was patently unqualified to the highest bench is exactly what affirmative action is not supposed to be about. The point is to open up gatekeepers like elite law schools and medical schools. Once the students graduate, however, they, and every other job applicant has to rise to a certain standard. My sister is a heart surgeon. Nobody is going to let her cut somebody open just to fill a quota. She has to be excellent at what she does. The bar for a lifetime appointment to our highest bench should have been just as high.
My mom went to Yale law school a few years after Thomas, after having graduated Magna Cum Laude from Howard. She was a thirty-five-year-old black mother of two teenaged kids. She knew she was brilliant, the best of the best, and thrilled at debating the other students. She never once said, "Oh, I'm only here because they needed a brown body. I really belong at the DeVry College of Law."
And that's how she raised me. Old school. Yes, racism still exists, she would tell me. So a B+ might do for the white boys, but you have to be that much better. How pathetic is it that Clarence Thomas writes that he graduated from Yale Law School with his head hanging low, convinced that the world knew that his diploma came with an asterisk of inferiority? When my mom's friends graduated they burst out of law school ready to kick ass and take names.
The most odious part of Thomas's memoir is his continued insistence that his contentious confirmation hearings elevate him to the canon of tragic black heroes like Native Son's Bigger Thomas and To Kill a Mockingbird's Tom Robinson. As Jane Meyer and Jill Abramson clearly demonstrate in their book, Strange Justice, Anita Hill was only one of several and Thomas, now one of the nine highest judges in our nation, lied repeatedly during his confirmation hearings. The bitterness that seems to be eating away at him and spews out of this book might stem from the fact that he was the head of the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission while he was sexually harassing Anita Hill and he is now sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America because he lied his ass off in the United States Senate.
Loading comments…
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
Well, Trey, I agree with what you say up to a point, but calling anyone a Black Bush is hitting a bit below the belt. Is this a Limbo contest? How low can you go?
Clarence Thomas is awful, but he is no Bush.
Great work, Trey. The fact is that Clarence Thomas could not possibly be lower. If he had Bush's ill-gotten power the consequences for the world would be even more disastrous than they are with Bush. He has absolutely no conscience, no morals, no scruples and no wisdom. Thomas is the living embodiment of a certain character in a famous novel that has the word "cabin" in the title.
I'm getting a bit tired of people abusing Harriet Beecher Stowe's polemic. Clarence Thomas has more in common with Simon Legree than with the title character.
I hope Hillary Clinton appoints Anita Hill to the Supreme Court. That would be comeuppance for ol' CT.
Amen to that! Anita Hill would both qualify and deserve to be on the Supreme Court, two things Thomas lacks.
He should've left school with his head hanging low; my understanding is that he had terrible grades.
What I don't understand is how he passed the bar. I know he had a lot of mentoring, but I'm wondering if he also had some fiddling.
WOW! What hateful things some of you are saying.For a minute I thought that I was on a Bill O' Riley or Rush Limbaugh website. Let's not take ourelves so seriously and let Justice Thomas have his day in the sun. Chill!
Peace,
RPA/Tampa
and I thought a liberal..p
Hate has nothing to do with it. It's love that causes one to speak out strongly against someone who is in a position to cause such devastating harm to so many people and seems happy to do it. Thomas' "day in the sun"? The reality is that he'll have years hiding behind his cloak to do damage to those who have no defense against his actions. Anyone with a conscience can't help but take that seriously.
I had previously had very little respect for Thomas. After watching his pathetic "whoa is me" charade on 60 minutes, I now have NO respect for him.
His mind is so warped, he cannot think or reason in a competent fashion. He is in total denial that he was provided every affirmative action possible. Rather than expressing appreciation for these benefits and how his life has been enriched by them, he has turned on them. This is analagous to a mother eating her young.
His grandfather was a dirt poor, totally uneducated person who had a few strong, positive convictions. Rather than comprehending their true value, he twisted them into the opposite effect.
Rather than cherishing his acceptance and full scholarship at Yale and recognizing it as his ticket to freedom and success beyond his wildest dreams, he instead reversed this opportunity into a negative belief system.
He had served only one year as a judge, when GHW Bush nominated him for the US Supreme Court and ludicrously stated Thomas was "the best qualified person in America." This makes GHW even dummer than W. Like father, like son. We must never forget or forgive GHW for his incredibly stupid decision.
Thomas's refusal to ask even one question from the bench in all these years raises serious suspicion about his intelligence. His buffoonish response to why he fails to ask questions, as he must, if he has not already made up mind on the issue, further supports his bizarre mind set.
I strongly agree steps must be taken in the future to convince him he has served his time and it is time to move on.
Jack
Mr. Ellis has crafted a terrific opinion which is spot-on.
RPA - the only hate in this little burg is the immense hate Thomas has - for himself. The cringing, overarching self-loathing this man has for himself is astonishing. He lives and perseveres in spite of himself and only to slay his perceived enemies - anything with a pulse he thinks is "liberal". He cares not a whit about the collateral damage he causes along the way.
He's like Bush - he sleeps perfectly soundly at night with a clear conscience - because in his mind he has done nothing wrong and has nothing for which to answer.
I just wish Democrats in the Senate were a little less "collegial" and more careful about who they confirm to the Court - looks what happens when you don't.
Good words RPA - I think what people are forgetting is many of the Senators that voted him on to the bench are still in office. When do we learn? I guess I should have said how quickly we forget. Instead of waiting for Hillary to put Anita Hill on the bench, why not vote for Obama and allow him the honor.
There is a very big difference between hateful things being said, and truth. Most of what has been stated here is truth. I did not miss a minute of the televised hearings back in 1991. Thomas was a disgrace then and an even bigger disgrace now that he continues to try and perpetuate the lies about Anita Hill. He was/is the liar. Seems to me if you watched the proceedings, you'd have no doubt about it. His conversations now that he is trying to sell his book of lies just go to prove he lies.
To put his name in the same sentence with Thurgood Marshall is also a disgrace. Thomas continues to be an embarrassment to all Americans.
So do your homework folks before you open your mouth and put your foot in it. No need for you to follow Thomas' example.
He is living with his comeuppance as evidenced by his insecurities and continuing anger. Meanwhile, Anita Hill has moved on.... graciously.
spot on mr.ellis.
clarence thomas' self-loathing and self
pity are pathetic, and such a traitor to
the black youth he hopes to inspire. ugh
white folks commenting on how racial injustice should be dealt with...is like convicted criminals deciding how much time they should serve.on the other side of the equation..
Bitta, bitta, bitta. Life has never been fair friend, but don't give up hope. Keep the faith.Blam
to say whites cannot stop being racist is of course untrue and it mostly speaks to your own racism which obviously is high.
Goodbye.
Wow - and who said racism does not come in all colors?
You all are just pissed off a black man in power has strayed off the left path. As time goes on and Blacks "move on" and away from "Selma forever", you'll see more of this- it's a sign of progress and advancement.
Yep, off the left path and onto the corporate path. Apparently his difficult upbringing was easily forgotten when he was seduced by the Reagan Administration. By the way Robster, were also pissed off at Scalia.
In a recent 60 Minutes interview Thomas said he not only wants to help black people, he wants to help all people. The interviewer neglected to ask how wanting to help people and his (Scalia's) voting record are so divergent. The people don't need Thomas' kind of help. Thomas votes against the people and for the ruling class every time.
wanting to execute children is a little scary. I guess some people have evolved more than others.
Perhaps people are pissed off because a man in power protects the powerful while having the opportunity to protect those who need protection from power.
Great Post, Mr Ellis. Justice Thomas actions before the US Senate is more than just "lying". It has a legal name: Perjury and it is punishable as a criminal offense that usually includes jail time and a hefty fine. What an example to to world, a justice on our Supreme Court is a perjurer. I won't even begin to discuss the perjury committed by our Attorney General Gonzalez. So much for the "values" republican party.
Clarence Thomas is the only human who could smoke more freebase cocaine in a sitting then Marion Barry. Marion was the winner with number of Hookers in a single night though.
Clarence is more decadent than Keith Richards and more arrogant than Bin Laden.
If Clarence Thomas had a heart, he would have voiced his opionion in Gore v. Bush about caging the votes and the felon lists for African Americans.
I watched his interview on 60 minutes. He is one of the angriest men in America. He should get a life at age 59. Since he has no life except bitterness for his life, he was never fit to serve for his lifetime. The Bush family continues to fail America.
Martin S. Friedlander, Esq.
During an interview to plug his book on ABC's Night-Line on Monday 10/1, Thomas was asked why he wrote the book. His reply was: he wishes he had a book like his when he was a young black boy to help inspire him.
He proves his ignorance. Didn't he ever hear about Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois,or Fredrick Douglas? Just to name three black men who wrote to inspire their race. Maybe he was too busy reading Huck Finn.
Or porn magazines
lets all wear brown paper bags over our heads. when people ask why...say that "since clarence thomass won't do it for himself...
It's obvious that even though Thomas has made it all the way up to Justice in the Supreme Court that deep down he knows he does not belong there and that he is way over his head. It's one thing to see an angry black man in the ghetto, something else when you are who he is and still harbors this personal animosity towards the democrats who skewered him during his confirmation. A great man would have risen above this and showed America his worth. Instead, with this book, he has committed professional hara-kiri and has showed the world what a loser he truly is.
Thomas is blaming racism to mask his lack of integrity. I saw those hearings and Hill was not racist, nor was she lying about the coke can, in my opinion. Thomas was the empty-headed precursor to Gonzales. But the last few justices have lied to get the job, fearing the Bork curse. Alito tip-toed around Roe v Wade, presenting a false impression that he may be independent. Now he is part of the solid wall of partisanship that phones it in at the Supreme Court. Our highest court have been devalued by these raw political appointments.
I agree with you completely
I said it while revited to those revolting hearings then, and say it again now, Anita Hill is an American Hero
I continue to enjoy Trey Ellis commentaries. Some take him too literally or have no sense of humor -- particularly regarding the Blacks will vote for Obama post. I'm not Black, but Ellis' commnetary is exactly how I feel.
Once again we have the stupid Democrats to blame for this, like Alito and Roberts. In all three cases they should have opposed the nominees, but they let them through. I am a registered Democrat, but I will not vote Democrat in the next elections. Look at how the Democrats in the Majority have allowed the Republicns to run and ruin the show. Sorry guys, not this vote.
Bye Bye
Barrister, do remove your head from your backside. If you don't realize that the idiotic repuke party will starve its own grandmother to death to keep the Democrats from making progress, something is wrong with you. The repuke party has been evil and filthy since nixon, prejudiced, bigoted, arrogant, selfish, and stupid. They believe in only themselves. A permanent repuke party??? That's what they want and it will lead to the total destruction of this nation in a very few short years. bushit has already done most of the work (thanks to the filth of rove and cheney) already. You're going to vote repuke? For whom? I'm sure you think another dud actor will just the ticket, like that pitiful fool reagan, so far gone into Alsheimer's when he was installed in office that if told by the flunkies to recite Humpty Dumty during his state of the union speeches, he would have done so. Or maybe mccain, so we can have another escalation of this stupid war. Take your pick, they're all losers, who just might get elected the same way bushit did, be given the position and electronic manipulation of votes.
Well maybe Bush will change the Constitution and three-peat. Will you vote for him again?
You must be logged in to comment. Log in or connect with
