I rarely write off any individual, although a few are deserving of it. Clarence Thomas is rather interesting.
His self-imposed silence on the bench is unique, at least in my view of the court's history. No comments, no questions, rarely showing emotion. Mostly, I thought it was anger at the process and the confirmation hearing he went through. The merest mention of Anita Hill, cans of coke, or pubic hairs, must still boil his blood. (Let's ignore the justifiable outrage that she must have suffered, too)
But two things happened this week, and I suspect that both will have a/some/minimal/discrete impact on his psyche.
First, the Texas license plate ruling was a shocker. He actually joined the majority banning the use of the Confederate flag on Texas license plates. Perhaps he finally realizes just how fragile our race relations are, and how this simple reminder of war, racism, slavery and torture simply is unacceptable in this day and age.
Second, the horror in South Carolina, in the oldest, most respected church in that city, where 9 blacks, including six women, were gunned down in cold blood.
That has to send a message, even to someone who is so conservative, protected from the masses, and convinced of his absolute correctness on the matters of policy, procedure, law, and constitutional history.
I am a fat, middle aged, white liberal who believes in no god at all. And yet, my heart is breaking at what happened there. I simply find it impossible that Thomas would or could remain unaffected to his very core at this bloodbath.
Perhaps this will open his eyes just enough to realize that our society needs a lot of help, a lot of healing and a lot of investment. In schools, roads, jobs, middle class, and race relations. Perhaps it will lead to an epiphany which would change how the USSC deals with reality and our nation's future.
Perhaps. Or perhaps, his law clerk made a mistake and registered the wrong vote on the Confederate Flag issue.
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