I have been a long critic of many of Justice Clarence Thomas’ opinions which often reject basic individual rights while embracing police and national security powers. However, I believe that Thomas is often treated unfairly for being a black conservative on the Court. While others like Justices Alito, Scalia, and Roberts routinely vote along the same lines, Thomas’ race is commonly cited in commentary while that is not a factor in the other justices on the right of the Court. This unfairness was vividly shown by the comments of Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) that Thomas is an “Uncle Tom” and suggested that he was not an authenticate black person. He has refused to retract or apologize of the attack. In the meantime, Democrats are uniformly silent in the face of this uncivil and outrageous attack.
In an interview with CNN, Thompson said that Thomas apparently “doesn’t like black people, he doesn’t like being black.” After raising votes in areas like voting rights, he added that “All those issues are very important and for someone in the court who’s African American and not sensitive to that is a real problem.”
Let’s be clear, I did not view Thomas as someone who was well-suited for the Court. However, many of these justices and their predecessors were on an the top lists of legal experts. They were selected for their lack of prior controversy or other more political factors. What concerns me is that his race is constantly raised by critics. He has every right to be a conservative and has shown a consistent and committed jurisprudence supporting those views. I do not agree with those positions but I fail to see why he should be defined by his race. Indeed, I thought that one of the key objectives of the civil right movement was to allow African Americans to be judged not by the color of their skin. Thomas follows the same interpretive approach as his colleagues — an approach mind you that is not supposed to be based not on a jurist’s personal desires or association with any group. He is not supposed to show loyalty to a particular group or fulfill expectations due to his race. I have no problem with criticizing Thomas for his votes in the same way as we often criticize his colleagues, but he should not face a race test by critics.
Thomas deserves better. I have always been moved by his life’s story. His father was a farm worker and his mother was a domestic worker. They were poor and both descendants of American slaves. The family spoke Gullah as a first language. His mother literally worked for pennies a day and his early life was spent in a home without indoor plumbing. The second of three children, he later lived with his grandparents when they became homeless. Thomas was the only black person at his high school in Savannah and yet was able to remain an honor student. He went on to attend college and Yale Law School. While few seem to want to admit it, that is a remarkable and inspiring life. He developed conservative principles and values in his life. Some find that incomprehensible but his incredible struggle produced a strong personality and will that can be admired even if you strongly disagree with his views.
What concerns me most is the virtual silence from Democrats to denounce this type of race-based attack. Being called an Uncle Tom is obviously deeply offensive to African Americans. Thomas and his family have gone through too much suffering and struggle to be treated so unfairly in my view. The suggestion is that being genuinely black requires you to reach the right conclusions and support the right positions. However, the very struggle that Thompson is describing was a fight to allow black men and women to be treated as individuals and not categorized by the color of their skin. Thompson should apologize and Democrats should show that they are not selectively outraged by race-based attacks.
What do you think?
Source: Washington Post
Karen,
You quibble about the use of the word ‘murder’ in an article You needlessly worry about hyperbolic divisive language. Murder is refined in this day and age.
Then you quibble when I stress the first part of your statement about your family’s use of trains.
Is it necessary for me to go back and copy, paste, review, all you have to say in order to exchange views lest I be in error? Is your expectation that it be perfectly precise?
Karen, actually I meant “corner man”, not coach. I bet you will win every round now!
Karen and I are very cool. Your efforts are pathetic. Any response to Karen’s smackdown of your assertion about black GOP? That’s substance. Karen is a woman of substance,
randyjet – still waiting for you to disavow the two racist Congressmen.
Karen, how nice for you to have someone to “coach” you. 🙄
Karen, the USPS IS profitable now. I suggest you learn something about the situation. The GOP passed a law demanding that the USPS pay a massive amount to fund the health insurance for all its employees for ten years to take care of all its future employees. There is no business reason for this,and the GOP has admitted the whole point is to bankrupt it.
When the USPS wanted to start its own airline to fly the mail around the country, FEDEX, UPS, and the airlines got Congress to pass a law that PROHIBITED them from doing that, even though such a deal would have made TONS of money for it. The GOP is the problem and they are the ones who make DAMN sure such business fails. So please learn something about the facts. The GOP wants to make US pay more to subsidize the airlines and FEDEX through the USPS. That is reality.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/07/us/postal-service-plans-to-end-saturday-delivery.html
Karen, A more succinct response for you 11:00 comment is “Straw Man.” You’re a boxing champ and I’m just being your corner man. I want you to be able to go all 12 rounds,
Randy
Thanks for the fuller picture.on Amtrak.
See what I mean, Karen!
Cut off the subsidies and you won’t have Amtrak. So I’m not feelin’ the love.
Feynman:
I have not played silly word games. You claimed that I had a position that I did not. So I repeated what I had said.
randyjet – where did I say that the resolution meant nothing?
I did not.
I said a few Republicans supported it, the Republican leaders did not expect it to pass, and that Scott Walker had distanced himself from it.
randyjet
Karen is afraid of a lot of things that have not happened yet. IPABs for one, US bankruptcy for another, major (unnamed) hospitals that won’t accept Exchange healthcare policies.
Fearing IPAB, US bankruptcy, etc. is like fearing going over the edge of the cliff. It is a reasoned fear. Not all fears are unreasonable.
Oh, but I do hate the vacation train plan to San Francisco. But not Amtrak in general.
I don’t have an antipathy to Amtrak. I have an antipathy to a company going 12 years past the date when it should have ceased getting subsidies, and then all the personal attacks, like “murder”, against those who try to fix this. Even the post office is expected to be (mostly) self supporting. It’s not rude or homicidal to try to get it to be self sufficient.
If it just can’t do it anymore, then by all means let’s discuss it. But terms like “murder” shuts down conversations.
CA cities who filed for bankruptcy – Stockton, Mammoth Lakes, San Bernardino . . . and more are on the verge.
Karen. You are a force of nature woman. You are a superb addition. Just realize, we are outnumbered here so choose wisely regarding w/ whom to debate. Otherwise you get spread too thinly. Just sharing some experience from being here a couple years. You have shown you can handle yourself quite well. I just don’t want you to get burned out. And, if you try and rebut every argument, you will run outta gas.
Karen
None in the legislature. Most would understand that was key in an informal conversation. You play harder ball.
Randyjet, they can go to Wississippi.
Karen, “Discretion is the better part of valor.” Just sayn!!!!