Justice says law degree 'worth 15 cents' (Clarence Thomas says because of Affirmative Action)

Yahoo News / AP ^ | October 20, 2007 | JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN

[Intolerant in NJ]

Coleman's Yale roommate, Bill Clinton, appointed him general counsel...perhaps Coleman can't understand Justice Thomas's "grudge" because he's never experienced being passed over for a good position - having friends in high places is an even better way than affirmative action to end up climbing the ladder when you just might not be the best-qualified candidate......

[RinaseaofDs]

One thing that really pisses Thomas off is any suggestion that he is the ‘black’ SCOTUS justice, or represents the ‘black’ community.

Some idiot at some university I forget now did this about ten years ago as Thomas was being introduced at a commencement speech. He rolled his eyes and shook his head as the introduction was being read.

[Puddleglum]

No, you can tell a writer's bias by who they give the last quote to. In this case, it was the anti-Thomas guy. I am a big Thomas fan myself.

[SuziQ]

Thomas has declined to have his portrait hung at Yale Law School along with other graduates who became U.S. Supreme Court justices. An earlier book, "Supreme Discomfort," by Washington Post reporters Kevin Merida and Michael Fletcher, portrays Thomas as still upset some Yale professors opposed his confirmation during hearings marked by Anita Hill's allegations that Thomas sexually harassed her.

So they jumped on him like the Duke 88 did on the lacrosse players, assuming he was guilty. In his case, because they opposed a conservative on the Supreme Court. In the Duke 88, it was because the alleged perps were white and the alleged victim was black. Both times it was liberal knee jerk response.

I'm glad he didn't give Yale a portrait. The school doesn't deserve to trade on Justice Thomas's good name for their own purposes.

[SuziQ]

This guy needs to leave the status of victim, that he clings to as a minority, by becoming an American.

It seems to me, he's recounting his experience so as to comment on the difficulties that he, as a black man, had as a result of the social experiment of affirmative action. I have no problem with someone letting others know of his experiences, and, according to the article, those of some other black men in similar situations.

Of course William Coleman didn't have a problem; he was keyed into the top jobs because of his relationship with Bill Clinton; the old 'it's not what you know, it's WHO you know'. It' helps a lot when your old roommate is first the Attorney General, then Governor, of Arkansas, then President of the United States.

[monkeycard]

It seems to me...

Having read this again, I agree with you. Thanks for the feedback.

[Shade2]

This seems strongly to be a case of Thomas blaming something else besides himself for his initial failures. Maybe interviewers simply were not impressed with him and gave no consideration to AA. What was Thomas’s GPA coming out of law school? Would he have even made it into Yale if not for AA?

[Terrence DoGood]

Have you read his book? I just finished it over the weekend and Thomas never really had any “failures” in his life other then personal (divorcing his first wife, and leaving the seminary as he said he did). He greaduated somewhere in the middle of his Yale Law class. He’s been completely successful in everything he’s done in his professional life.

[toddlintown]

“which culminated in a Black Panther Party trial in New Haven that nearly caused a large-scale riot.”

With that bit of hyperbole, I quit reading. Why not simply "a riot?" How about "3 people protesting on a corner?" Nope. We almost had a "large-scale" riot.