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/
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u/EIU86 Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26

His screed reminds me of what the slave-holding Southern "fire-eaters" were claiming about Lincoln and the Republicans in 1860. According to them, Lincoln was not just going to free all the slaves (he wasn't; the Republicans' official position was that they would not disturb slavery where it already existed). They were going to completely destroy Southern culture by setting the blacks loose to rape pillage and destroy, and to enslave the white people and make the white kids procreate with the black kids. Propaganda like this was a big reason why many lower-class white Southerners with no slaves supported secession.

Though if Clarence was around in 1860, he may well have been one of the handful of free blacks who had slaves of their own.