Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas appeared at a conference hosted by a number of conservative think tanks in Dallas, Texas, where he spoke about his feelings on the recent leak of a draft Supreme Court advisory opinion that marks 50 years to overturn precedent for reproductive rights. Buckle up, it’s going to be tough.
As might be expected, Thomas lamented the disruption of institutional norms. But unlike some of his peers, along with members of Congress and a seemingly endless parade of political pundits who have all worried about how this leak might undermine Americans’ opinion of the court, Thomas appears to be saying it is his trust in us is in jeopardy.
“Look where we are, where that trust or belief is gone forever,” he said. “When you lose that trust, especially in the institution that I am in, the institution changes fundamentally. You start looking over your shoulder. It’s like a kind of infidelity that you can explain but can’t undo.”
Judge Clarence Thomas described the leak of a draft memorandum overthrowing Roe v. Wade as “a kind of infidelity” that has destroyed trust among Supreme Court members. https://t.co/BtollgfHQJ pic.twitter.com/FunNexykDx
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 14, 2022
From there, Thomas decided to condemn the protesters who have gathered outside the Houses of Justice. And while other judges have tried to maintain the court’s utterly ridiculous facade as a non-political institution, in this room full of conservatives, Thomas takes us against them.
“We’ve never done that before,” Thomas said. “They would never visit the homes of Supreme Court Justices unless things were going as we wished. We didn’t throw tantrums. It is our duty to always act appropriately and not to retaliate.”
According to HuffPost, “the crowd seems particularly receptive to Justice’s comment on the Liberals” and applauds Thomas’s convictions.
“We’re supposed to behave better than they do themselves,” Thomas said, later adding, “You also won’t see people walking up to other people, attacking them at dinner or in a restaurant, throwing things at them.”
Aside from the disturbing othering of Liberal Americans, Thomas’ claim that conservatives don’t “throw tantrums” when things aren’t going their way politically is utterly unrealistic. Is Thomas forgetting that just last year a full-blown riot erupted in the US Capitol because Donald Trump’s supporters refused to accept the outcome of a legitimate election? Perhaps Thomas should look inside here, as it turned out that his own wife was one of the most vocal advocates of repealing that election, sending a slew of whining, cajoling texts to Trump’s chief of staff and other influential contacts.
Even just looking at the issue at hand – the fight for reproductive rights, which these peaceful protesters have rallied about – anti-abortion advocates have never been known to act “properly,” as Thomas points out.
Violence, intimidation, harassment and grossly inappropriate acts have always been part of the anti-abortion movement. Thomas should go to a clinic and see what patients and providers have to deal with.
People who are upset about Kavanaugh’s protesters will lose their minds as they learn what has been happening outside of Planned Parenthoods for decades and why there is such a thing as a “hospital escort” to get terrified 19-year-olds from the parking lot to the hospital to bring building.
— Bess Kalb (@bessbell) May 9, 2022
Not these people who are mad at people who protest peacefully at Kavanaugh’s house when abortion providers have to wear body armor to work, change routes to their workplaces, and hire private security guards because antis would post their photos, home addresses, and phone numbers. With crosshairs!
— A Shady Lady from Seville (@SorayaMcDonald) May 8, 2022
As NARAL writes:
Between 1977 and 2015, anti-choice extremists committed more than 7,200 reported violent crimes against abortion providers. These included 42 bombings, 185 arson attacks, and thousands of death threats, bioterrorism threats, and assaults. In addition, more than 234,300 disruptions were reported, including bomb threats, hate mail and harassing phone calls.
In addition, people’s right to protest outside private homes – which Thomas finds so distasteful! – upheld by the Supreme Court, specifically to protect the right to protest outside the homes of abortion providers.
In the 1990’s the court (Madsen v. Women’s Health Center) ruled that protests outside of people’s *private homes* were protected under the First Amendment. These happened to be the homes of people who work in abortion clinics. It’s worth remembering now for no reason
— Freyja Katra Valentine 「ENVTuber」 (@FreyjaErlings) May 9, 2022
Clarence Thomas was notoriously a taciturn person. As the LA Times puts it, “The Supreme Court judge who once went 10 full years without asking a single question at hearings — the judge who sits so still and stares blankly at the ceiling that in 2013 he passed statewide Made headlines when he nearly cracked a hilarious nine-word joke – suddenly can’t keep quiet.”
I’d love to go back to those days when he wasn’t telling us those kinds of opinions, but even more I’d like to fast-forward to the day he’s no longer in a position of power.
(via: HuffPost, Washington Post, Image: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
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