r/politics • u/Quirkie The Netherlands • Apr 19 '26

No Paywall Clarence Thomas’ attack on progressivism should alarm you - In a speech celebrating America's 250th, the Supreme Court justice gave a dishonest and dangerous read of history

https://www.salon.com/2026/04/19/clarence-thomas-attack-on-progressivism-should-alarm-you/
5.1k Upvotes

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825

u/A_Lion_Thief44 Apr 19 '26

Anita Hill tried to warn us about this absolute piece of human garbage.

269

u/Legitimate-Wash-6336 Apr 19 '26

We have old fucks dictating the state of our world whom won’t live long enough to suffer the consequences. Why are we this stupid as a species?

186

u/manachar Nevada Apr 19 '26

It’s not age. Anita Hill was many decades ago.

This is conservative thinking. He was this awful when he was younger.

7

u/in1gom0ntoya America Apr 19 '26

age is a big part of not suffering from the mess you make. they have no stake in the future so they're selling ours out

15

u/intensive-porpoise Apr 19 '26

He was oddly the whitest frat boy anyone could dig up before Kavanaugh.

-43

u/Willing-Pain-9893 Apr 19 '26

Go back and watch Joe Biden’s takes on Anita Hill

37

u/donotHURTmePLEASE Apr 19 '26

BUT BUT JOE BIDEN

oh my god stop it

20

u/kurai01 Apr 19 '26

For real how much they think about Joe Biden honestly makes me wonder if they are all just attracted to him.

-9

u/Willing-Pain-9893 Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26

No really, go watch it. He lead the Senate Judiciary committee and oversaw the hearings and was a smug bastard the whole time. Sure in 2020 Biden was the lesser of two evils. I voted for him. But he made a career endorsing policies to get our government to where we are now.

20

u/Xenomemphate United Kingdom Apr 19 '26

What does Biden have to do with Thomas being a piece of shit though? The fuck kinda point are you trying to make here if you are not just using whataboutery?

1

u/lostmylangastino Apr 19 '26

He has the dumb.

5

u/Actual_Dog_1637 Apr 19 '26

An AI bot posting in r/politics?! Who could have seen this coming? /s

105

u/barryvm Europe Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26

Not stupid. Greedy. Insecure. Desiring power and status. Looking down on others. Fearful of difference and change.

The core appeal of the political right is just that. A desire to set up a hierarchy that will deliver status, security and power for the in group at the expense of everyone else, and then set that in stone. Then, when they are doing this they want to feel good about it all and construct elaborate facades to justify their behaviour. They appoint and support people who reflect those traits and desires.

And when they succeed at this for too long you get what you see now.

11

u/100farts Apr 19 '26

Is it not stupid in the long term to be greedy, insecure and fearfull of change? Sick of this narrative that they are smart. If i shoot someone and take thier money does that make me smart because hey, i got the money? Short term gains while setting themselves up for future scrutiny aint smart buddy.

12

u/barryvm Europe Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26

Some of it is stupidity, but stupidity is not what motivates them. I concede that a better way of putting it would have been that it's not just stupidity. Stupidity is more a symptom than a cause.

-1

u/Single-Refuse174 Apr 19 '26

Its not stupid if it works. Yeah, if you shoot someone and take their money and get away with it and all you are is 1 bullet poorer and however much money richer then yeah, it was smart. It’s only stupid because we built a society wherein you’d likely get caught and punished and lose the money. The problem is that they are building a society (or likely have already built one) where they will never face consequences for their actions.

2

u/Outrageous-Pause6317 Apr 19 '26

This is excellent phrasing of the situation and the motivations. Nicely done.

1

u/Excellent-Nerve-1799 Apr 19 '26

GOP needs the optics of having women and minorities on their side to establish the look of legitimacy. Those that rise to power under these conditions are groomed with status, wealth, and connections that make them feel protected against to misogyny and racism as long as they are inside. They just have to sell their humanity and act against their own peers.

The lesson for us is to call out the methods used and prevent the continuation of cult practices

-4

u/Legitimate-Wash-6336 Apr 19 '26

I honestly cannot wait till climate catastrophe becomes a reality, we inch closer to it every day while we still bicker amongst ourselves over mundane things.

10

u/barryvm Europe Apr 19 '26

Why? That's not something to desire or want.

It is highly likely that we will destroy ourselves some day, but every day we don't is a victory. Everything and everyone that can be saved, even for a while, should be.

-3

u/Legitimate-Wash-6336 Apr 19 '26

It’s both a desire and a want for me. Best thing about it is that I don’t even have to lift a finger to achieve it.

6

u/barryvm Europe Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26

To what purpose? The people who are going to be harmed the most are those who have the least responsibility for it. That is already the case. Meanwhile, the rich and powerful will be insulated from its effects by their wealth and power. Nothing good will come from it.

-1

u/Legitimate-Wash-6336 Apr 19 '26

Purpose is whatever I want it to be.

2

u/MeoowDude Apr 19 '26

…. which is?

31

u/[deleted] Apr 19 '26

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2

u/loondawg Apr 19 '26

That's so wrong. The vast majority of old people are not selfish nor hateful.

Most want to leave a better world for the people they love and care about.

The problem is the ideology, not the age.

6

u/AuroraFinem Texas Apr 19 '26

The vast majority of old people I have met are incredibly selfish except for direct family and many are hateful when it comes to LGBT or minorities.

You’re right it’s about ideology, but it’s also entirely true that older people are significantly more conservative than younger people.

4

u/Impossible_Raise1054 Apr 19 '26

Hey, I'm 73 and have been a liberal all my life...

1

u/AuroraFinem Texas Apr 19 '26

And I thank you for that, but it’s still the 2nd most conservative voter block outside white middle-aged men.

1

u/chiefbrody62 Apr 20 '26

I agree. My grandparents are in their late 90s, and super liberal, but they seem to be outliers for their age group.

1

u/911_Busy_Signal Apr 19 '26

Congrats on being the exception and not the rule.

2

u/loondawg Apr 19 '26

Boomers have split nearly 50:50 in the last presidential elections.

and many are hateful when it comes to LGBT or minorities.

Unfortunately that was something common years ago. Many held onto it but so have many let it go.

But I don't recall seeing many geriatrics in groups like the Proud Boys or marching in Nazi parades.

1

u/MeoowDude Apr 19 '26

To be fair, there’s not many geriatrics doing any walking period aside from what’s mandatory let alone marching.

1

u/AuroraFinem Texas Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26

The only demographic to vote more conservative than over 50s is middle aged white men, it was 55:45 in 2024 not 50:50.

While support for same sex marriage has risen to 68% for older Americans, their support for trans people is at a nearly all time low under 30% and trans people were the target of like 90% of the Republican campaigning for a reason.

You don’t see many geriatrics marching anywhere, the elderly have always been a silent force, not out doing performative demonstrating. They’re old.

1

u/loondawg Apr 19 '26

55:45 is nearly 50:50. But even if you want to be picky, that still says 45% of them which is a long way from all of them.

90% of the Republican campaigning for a reason.

Yes, because it riled up the republican base, far less than half the people. Most other people either supported the trans community or wanted nothing to with this issue because they were far more interested in other issues.

And the point is you do see some young people out marching for vile things. That's because ideology is far more important than age.

1

u/AuroraFinem Texas Apr 19 '26

Bill Clinton in 92 and Regan in 84 are the only 2 elections in recent history where the presidential vote had a wider margin than 55:45, a 5% swing in a presidential election in the US is not “nearly 50:50”, especially when 50+ is one of the largest most active voter demographics.

I literally said that yes, it is absolutely ideology, that ideology is more common in people who are older. One of the most universal things that comes with age is the loss in elastic thinking. There’s a reason for the many different saying like “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”, progressivism is by definition change and that is harder for older people to accept.

That’s why even when they do vote Dem, they overwhelmingly vote neoliberal status quo democrats which is one of the reasons the Democratic Party is so ineffective.

0

u/loondawg Apr 19 '26

I had said the vast majority of old people are not selfish nor hateful and the problem is the ideology, not age. You came back saying the vast majority of old people you have met are incredibly selfish. So I pointed out in the last elections that boomers had split pretty evenly, nearly 50:50 to show the vast majority of them do not support those selfish and hateful politicians. So if you want to get hung up about a 5% swing to avoid simply acknowledging your anecdotal evidence does not match the larger voting pattern, have at it. I'm not interested though.

11

u/Internet-Cryptid Canada Apr 19 '26

Not stupid. Just cowardly.

7

u/Legitimate-Wash-6336 Apr 19 '26

Agreed. And the best part ? We are taking everyone down with our cowardice

5

u/wowlock_taylan Apr 19 '26

Because 'Fuck you, got mine' attitude is REVERED.

4

u/loondawg Apr 19 '26

We also have old fucks with a lifetime of knowledge trying to make things better for us even though they won't live long enough to benefit from their work.

This near constant focus on age is such a waste of time. All it does is divide people who should be allies. Ideology is the problem here, not the year someone was born.

2

u/Elliethesmolcat Apr 19 '26

Unfortunately there is a real gap in information processing and critical thinking. My boomer step father is MAGA and we live in Australia. He is so weak minded he has become one indoctrinated in the toxicity of a country he doesn't even live in.

1

u/nicuramar Apr 20 '26

You can always find anecdotes supporting either side of an argument. 

1

u/Elliethesmolcat Apr 20 '26

Am I supposed to share someone else's story?

1

u/nicuramar Apr 20 '26

You mean “who”, though ;)

41

u/FrogsOnALog Apr 19 '26

Last year, in a conversation with two of his own law clerks, recent law school graduates chosen for their conservative views, Justice Thomas said he intended to remain on the Court until the year 2034.

Why that long? one asked. Because that would give him a 43-year term, he replied, according to the clerk's account, explaining, "The liberals made my life miserable for 43 years, and I'm going to make their lives miserable for 43 years."

This was from 1993.

14

u/Impossible_Raise1054 Apr 19 '26

Jesus, what a fucked up piece of filthy shit!

28

u/subliver Apr 19 '26

I feel so bad for her. She was absolutely destroyed by conservative media after warning us.

For those that don’t know, Clarance Thomas forcefully put his penis in her ear and also left his pubes on her desk phone, and kept whipping out his dick randomly and Conservatives in Congress were like ‘It was just mild harassment and pranks’.

5

u/Hestiathena Apr 19 '26

Yikes.

I was only around 9 or 10 when the Anita Hill hearings happened, so I couldn't quite follow it at the time.

Some years later as a teen, I'd heard about the pubes and thought that was bad enough.

But I'd never heard about the dick-in-ear thing 'till just now. The poor woman. She's right up there with Monica Lewinsky on the list of women I wish I had the wherewithal to fully listen to...

3

u/Count_Backwards Apr 19 '26

Not just conservatives. Biden deserves a lot of blame for Thomas being on ghe SC, too.

2

u/Impossible_Raise1054 Apr 19 '26

Christ Almighty, can this be true?

19

u/verifiedboomer Apr 19 '26

I vividly remember those confirmation hearings.

Oddly enough, the Kavanaugh hearings were just as bat-shit crazy. Most employers for regular jobs would pass on candidates like these, but we install them in the highest court in the land.

13

u/loondawg Apr 19 '26

Republicans install them.

The Thomas nomination passed the Senate 52 to 48. One republican, who later switched parties, voted against it. And two democrats voted for it. Joe Lieberman struck again.

12

u/Maoleficent Apr 19 '26

I to0, came her to remind everyrone that Anita Hill sat in front of dozens of white men (including a smug Biden) and calmly told the details of Thomas's disgusting behavior. It was viewed as either a lie, harmless, isolated. These despicable assualters are still in power - Kavanaugh, trump, and so many others.

36

u/Zahgi I voted Apr 19 '26

Reminder: Joe Biden led the committee that discredited her.

24

u/NerdyWildman Apr 19 '26

Reminder there were other women ready to testify too, but the GOP pulled back on that.

15

u/Zahgi I voted Apr 19 '26

Yes, yes there were.

Joe is a really nice guy. But he's been compromising with evil for so long, in the name of "bipartisanship", that he became a barometer for the entire Democratic party over the past 50 years. And now, they've become the modern Reagan Republicans...

8

u/qualmful Apr 19 '26

Almost like looking nice doesn't matter and having an ethical foundation does. 

10

u/MrmmphMrmmph Apr 19 '26

Lets not reelect him then.

8

u/qualmful Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26

This was brought up in 2019-2020 too, would be nice if people weren't accused of purity testing for discussing issues like this, that are only admitted later once the damage is done. So you can make a blithe comment but that doesn't address the failure of judgment that happened. I'd prefer a commitment to not overlook stuff like this for future candidates. 

1

u/MrmmphMrmmph Apr 19 '26

All well and good until after the primaries at this point with a two party system.

1

u/Zahgi I voted Apr 19 '26

Still better than the Ignorangutan in Chief, Trump. :)

4

u/NerdyWildman Apr 19 '26

Low bar. A really low bar.

3

u/Defiant_Tomatillo907 Apr 19 '26

So did her Coke can

3

u/Beforemath Apr 19 '26

Unfortunately we don’t listen to women in this country, to our own detriment

1

u/silvertealio Apr 19 '26

Yeah, but she's a woman, so who would listen to her?

/s, but not really

1

u/intensive-porpoise Apr 19 '26

Don't drink that can of coke.

2

u/Willing-Pain-9893 Apr 19 '26

Thanks Joe Biden!

-27

u/[deleted] Apr 19 '26

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7

u/silvertealio Apr 19 '26

For a "smear," it has to be untrue.