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.
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I wonder, if everything was reversed, and Justice Thomas was a Black Liberal/Democrat and the HuffPo was a conservative blog, would you all be calling these HuffPo posts about Justice Thomas as racist and hateful? I think you HuffPos would...
No, if it was a conservative blog people who held opposing viewpoints (like yourself) would not be allowed to post.
PERFECT!
No Consevative blog allows dissent.
Funny how the trollz never see that or admit to it.
I've been to dozens of conservative blogs and not one will allow dissent. Every time I've stated an opposing and non-abusive one at that, the post stays usually about 10 minutes.
At the RNC blogs they last about 1 minute. One lasted about 15 seconds and after that my IP address was banned.
So spare us the bullshit about what if..."what if" does not exist on other blogs that are not liberal.
Trollz just don't get it.
As far as Thomas goes, what can I add that others haven't already said. He's a liar and I agree with others, that he is perhaps must angry that he isn't white.
When I hear him say he was the victim(the usual conservative role "poor me poor me the liberals is out to lynch me") I just want to throw up.
His book should be grounds to have him impeached and removed from the bench. The dems may not like it, but he has already atated that he hates liberals and thus is unfit to rule without prejudice.
It really is a shame the courts have become run by conservatives who rule according to what the Thug party wants as opposed to what is correct, just and most of all, truly Constitutional.
But Thomas doesn't SEE himself as black, he sees himself as a man he says.
But what else would one expect from a person who counts Rush Limbaugh as a good friend.
I am a white man, bt I don't walk around thinking of myself as white. I am just a man, just like any other man. So is he.
Nice thought but so untrue. In America, the "black white" thing is what game is all about. Most slaves were black, segregation negatively impacted blacks, Jim Crow and the "black codes" were for blacks. Being white in America is an intangible in how America views itself. And how America views its non-whites is problematic, but know for a certainty, whites and non-whites are treated differently and often unequally.
If you'll recall, before Thomas was ever nominated to the bench, the discussions were about whom Poppy Bush would appoint to the "Marshall seat" - i.e., the "black" seat on the Supreme Court. Thomas and everyone else who paid attention know that he was "just the black man" who would be most acceptable to the racist neo-con Republicans and most tolerant of their destruction of the Constitution.
That's a pretty functional definition of what an Uncle Tom is - which Thomas resents, but not enough to turn down the white man's whip to use to keep "them other nigras" in their place.
In the days of slavery, there really were some black overseers, and legend has it they were some of the meanest mothers you could find.
"But Thomas doesn't SEE himself as black, he sees himself as a man he says."
Right -- I'll bet he stopped seeing himself as "black" right around the time he started making a little money.
--
"In 1968 Clarence Thomas responded to a minority recruitment program and enrolled in the College of the Holy Cross, a Catholic school in Worcester, Massachusetts. There he helped found the Black Student Union and graduated in 1971 with an A.B., cum laude in English."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_Thomas
Clarence Thomas is a pathetic, bitter man. Reminds me of Richard Nixon.
Nuff said, I feel sorry for the the guy, Old man Bush knew what he was doing when he selected him , the CIA teaches many tricksters.
I have read parts of his dozen or so opinions he writes each year. They are embarrassing; they are so poorly reasoned.
Thomas is totally bored with his job. I don't know if he is very smart or not. He hasn't asked a guestion in a year.
I think he just doesn't care. I was in the Supreme Court in 2003 and watched as he sat there motionless. I think he might have been asleep.
When five women claim to have been sexually harassed over a ten year period, and they don't know each other so they haven't compared stories, but they tell about the same type story, IT HAPPENED.
He should retire from the court.
"...When five women claim to have been sexually harassed over a ten year period, and they don't know each other so they haven't compared stories, but they tell about the same type story, IT HAPPENED. He should retire..."
Are you talking about Justice Thomas' or Bill Clinton's sexual harassment of women? Should Bill have "retired" from being President?
Bill Clinton is a politician not a Supreme Court Justice. It is sad to say that if we requested resignations from every politician who used their authority to take advantage of starry eyed young women working on their staffs we would have a government. Such behavior in politics is of long standing. I'm not saying it's proper but we'd be ignorant to suggest that it isn't prevalent with men from both sides of the aisle.
What the previous blogger was getting at is that Thomas was specifically hired to ensure that various types of harassment (racial, sex, gender, whatever) were identified and corrected. Thomas not only failed in his appointed job but he worked to undermine Equal Opportunity within the very organization our government set up to address it. Further, Thomas lied to gain his appointment to the court. I don't recall anyone asking Clinton under oath if he had extramarital sex while he was a candidate for the presidency. As far as we can tell, Clinton executed his job as president with extreme diligence and accomplished a hell of lot more than many presidents in spite of nearly six years of unjustified harassment by the opposition party who wanted his head regardless whether he was guilty of anything or not. Further, Thomas' treatment during his confirmation hearings pales by comparison to what Clinton had to contend with.
The point being that comparing Thomas to Clinton is comparing apples to oranges. While neither man has exhibited impecable moral behavoir, Clinton was qualified and accomplished his job in a more than satisfactory manner. Thomas was not qualified for his job and had he not been black, and, had he not lied to the Senate, he'd be doing something else presumably less intellectually demanding.
I've never heard of these five other women. It may be true- I wish you'd provide a link. In any case, ADR's point still stands.
Bill Clinton lost his right to practice law because he lied about his sexual encounters. Justice Thomas was confirmed as a supreme court judge. That isn't funny.
Actually, that would be impeachment, not retirement. If you'll recall, the Repubs. tried that route with Clinton, and untimately failed. Sexual harrassement is every bit as widespread and systemic in our culture, as racism. I guess poor little Clarence was a victim, but not Ms. Hill. Puh-leeeze!
If he's bored it's because he can't hack the work and does so little of it himself. It's like an illiterate asked to do a book report. It might be the greatest work but it's gobbledigook to the student, regardless, and hence boring.
Please. I don't like Clarence Thomas. His presence on the bench is embarrassing but he ain't dumb and to suggest he is, is dumb.
as a recipient of an affirmative action scholarship for graduate school a number of years ago, i take great exception to justice thomas' remarks regarding his graduation yale.
as the recipient of such a scholarship, i was expected to maintain a higher GPA than the other students which of course meant i had to work a little harder than everyone else. i was continually reminded that i wasn't just in school for myself but that i was also a representative of the native american community as well. moreover, once i was out of school i was expected to put in time giving back to the community that had given me the opportunity to get this education & degree in the first place.
i don't know what justice thomas was doing all that time in yale, but if he was held to the same standards that my classmates & i were held to, then there was nothing for him to be ashamed of.
I refused a lot of "race" based programs and scholarships because I felt that I shouldn't need such things to suceed in life.
However, arriving at a wealthy private college and working full-time my senior year just to pay my rent while many other rich (predominately) white kids drove around in the BMW's given to them by their parents put things in perspective. My GPA suffered as a result of working so much while many of the wealthier white students who did not have to work could focus completely on their studies. Spring Break for them was a big party -- for me, it was an opportunity to earn more money to pay my rent.
This experience taught me that there is nothing wrong with taking advantage of the opportunities provided to you by your "race" -- certainly the disadvantages are there, so there is nothing wrong with seeking a balance.
I've often advocated that Affirmative Action should be economically based, rather than racially based but there certainly should be no shame in taking advantage of it.
Affirmative Action was the attempt to level the playing field, which is good and right. The only problem is that in reality stupid white people were considered 'equal' to the most intelligent black people and stupid white people still got the best deals. Then stupid white people began feeling sorry for themselves and demanded reverse racial preference claiming people of color and women were being treated better. My response is to tell them that it must hurt to have to compete on merit rather than to have their privileged handout.
The Bush prsidency: Lessons in Incompetencyand will-full dis-mantling, destruction of our CONSTITUTION! It would naturally go against the philosophy of Bush Co.,(who only want YES-MEN), to look for and promote the most qualified in all fields. Black youth need to look else-where for role models. All youth need ethical models!
Clarence Thomas represents the group who have "made it" and must now go along to get along. When you are bought and paid for this is your life. In his case, someone really twisted his thinking. To understand how any Black,(or any other), American could support the current rush to the bottom, Bottom-line, is truly an exercise in the sociological, psychological study of BRAIN-WASHING! Thanks for your post, Trey. It is most relevant! Peace
Thomas knows that self pity is the best kind because as anyone who wallows in it knows, it's truly sincere.
Has this guy ever made a decision that didn't do the GOP's bidding? All I need to know about CT was contained in Bush v Gore.
Well, it could be worse - think Harriet Miers.
When Justice Thomas stood up for the right of states to come up with their own medicinal marijuana laws, was that the GOP's bidding? What about when he went against the majority to stand up for private property owners to not have their land taken from them by governments and be given to developers?
What stood in the way of the first qualified black man to be appointed to the Supreme Court was not Anita Hill, ... but George Herbert Walker Bush. Given the opportunity, he chose the lowest hanging fruit on his tiny ideological tree.
A highly qualified Black Man or Woman WILL someday serve our Nation on the high court, but she or he will be found on a higher branch of a taller tree, far from that scrawny dying one upon which Clarence Thomas was found. We should all pray that tree is turned to firewood some day soon! Hell, it's just about all picked off as best I can tell, given the fruits on the Court appointed by the Reich!
Did you forget Thurgood Marshall?
If her health had been better and the political situation different, imagine the credit Barbara Jordan would have brought to the Court and the country as Chief Justice.
did he actually name Tom Robinson? one of the great tragic figures of literature, and wonderfully portrayed on film by the late Brock Peters? that's an insult, even to a fictional character... Clarence Thomas was no victim... and when he said something to the effect of "if I'd known it'd (confirmation hearings) be this hard on me and my family, I wouldn't have considered it," I remember thinking "it's not too late for you to back out, Mr. Thomas..."
alas...
Ellis writes:
"...and Thomas, now one of the twelve highest judges in our nation, lied repeatedly during his confirmation hearings".
What am I missing?
Who are the other three?
Ralph Neas will be very proud of you when he reads this.
My contempt for Clarence Thomas was sorely aggravated by Ellis's paraphrase "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." In way, I am sorry I avoided the interview so I could have heard this miserable excuse for a Black Ivy League student with my own ears.
I am sure that every Black student who entered the Ivy League in the 60's and either succeeded there or failed (as I did) are very clear that those who did succeed were not only the result of superior intellect, which was not the only requirement for success in this milieu, but the kind of true quality produced by Black families who demanded excellence from their children in the knowledge that "we have to be better." There were no special arrangements made for us; the bar was never lowered.
Clarence Thomas's sorry agenda is that of a man who has fallen in lock-step behind his mentors and views his own history through the lens of their dogma. I was prepared to understand his alienation from the Black Middle Class who rejected him as he was coming of age in Atlanta, but what he has done and said will have more deleterious effects on the struggles of the economically lower class African Americans (like himself)who want to be able to coompete on an even playing field. The Black upper middle class that he feels rejected him is doing just fine.
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