It was 16 years ago when we were sitting on the edge of our seats watching the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings. This was an extraordinary thing. Nobody actually watched confirmation hearings like this. Here we were, ordinary Americans, lawyers and laypeople, staring at the TV. And no pop celebrity anywhere on the screen. It was a great day for democracy.
How strange to find Clarence Thomas on the telly as the new term opened. Opening the wounds of his youth, and finally coming out of seclusion to prove that he wasn’t the wasted seat that everyone thought he was. He wanted to emerge from Nino Scalia’s shadow, and even tell how Nino sat in his shadow on occasion. But mostly, he wanted to use the 16 years of accumulated clout to club his archenemy to death. Finally, Clarence Thomas could put brush the public hair off the coke can and rip Anita Hill.
Anita Hill was a whistleblower. She took up arms against a person who had been nominated for the Supreme Court of the United States. How much crazier can one be? To attack a man who was about to ascend to one of the most powerful positions in the Nation, and one that he could hold for life (assuming good behavior). This was not a good bet on her part.
Sure, there were Democrats who sought a weapon to use at the confirmation hearings, but who wants to be the spent bullet shot in earnest, but missing its mark? While every eye is on the bullet as to flies through the air, gleaming, flashing and deadly, it’s forgotten the minute it passes by the target. Then, it’s just a piece of trash to be tossed out.
Anita Hill took a monumental chance by coming forward to speak publicly about what happened between her and Judge Thomas. Sixteen years later, can anyone remember what happened to Anita Hill after Clarence Thomas was confirmed? But we are now treated to a post-hoc view of Justice Thomas’ fond memories of his time on the Hill, and given the free rein available to a Supreme, his retaliation against his former employee who made his life miserable way back when.
Was Anita Hill telling the truth 16 years ago? We made up our minds back then. I’d be hard pressed to revisit it all today and gain a new perspective based upon an artfully crafted book or some facile interviews. But then, I can remember how it all played out in the first place.
For those too young, or too obtuse, to have followed the Thomas confirmation hearings, perhaps this book and its embedded smear campaign will turn you around. Perhaps Clarence Thomas was able to rehabilitate his reputation these many years later to make some believe that he was indeed qualified to sit on the big bench, though no one says (even today) that he was the best choice for Supreme at the time.
But my thoughts turn to Anita Hill, the woman who took the risk. She had nothing to gain by standing up and exposing herself for every arrow that could be flung her way. If her word was accepted, she wouldn’t get the Thomas seat. There was nothing she said that would make her America’s darling. It was an act of dedication to democracy, a selfless act. Perhaps a foolish act, to challenge authority at its highest levels. But she did it. And she did it for us.
Anita Hill took one for the team. As a member of the team, I thank Anita Hill for her bravery and selflessness. The team didn’t win, but without Anita Hill, we would have had no chance of challenging the enormous might of the power elite of America. Whether we need more Clarence Thomas’ is a question for debate. But there is no debate that we need more Anita Hills.
If there is any lesson for Anita Hill to learn now, 16 years later, it is that we have not forgotten what she did for us, and that the passage of time has not dulled the importance of her sacrifice.
How strange to find Clarence Thomas on the telly as the new term opened. Opening the wounds of his youth, and finally coming out of seclusion to prove that he wasn’t the wasted seat that everyone thought he was. He wanted to emerge from Nino Scalia’s shadow, and even tell how Nino sat in his shadow on occasion. But mostly, he wanted to use the 16 years of accumulated clout to club his archenemy to death. Finally, Clarence Thomas could put brush the public hair off the coke can and rip Anita Hill.
Anita Hill was a whistleblower. She took up arms against a person who had been nominated for the Supreme Court of the United States. How much crazier can one be? To attack a man who was about to ascend to one of the most powerful positions in the Nation, and one that he could hold for life (assuming good behavior). This was not a good bet on her part.
Sure, there were Democrats who sought a weapon to use at the confirmation hearings, but who wants to be the spent bullet shot in earnest, but missing its mark? While every eye is on the bullet as to flies through the air, gleaming, flashing and deadly, it’s forgotten the minute it passes by the target. Then, it’s just a piece of trash to be tossed out.
Anita Hill took a monumental chance by coming forward to speak publicly about what happened between her and Judge Thomas. Sixteen years later, can anyone remember what happened to Anita Hill after Clarence Thomas was confirmed? But we are now treated to a post-hoc view of Justice Thomas’ fond memories of his time on the Hill, and given the free rein available to a Supreme, his retaliation against his former employee who made his life miserable way back when.
Was Anita Hill telling the truth 16 years ago? We made up our minds back then. I’d be hard pressed to revisit it all today and gain a new perspective based upon an artfully crafted book or some facile interviews. But then, I can remember how it all played out in the first place.
For those too young, or too obtuse, to have followed the Thomas confirmation hearings, perhaps this book and its embedded smear campaign will turn you around. Perhaps Clarence Thomas was able to rehabilitate his reputation these many years later to make some believe that he was indeed qualified to sit on the big bench, though no one says (even today) that he was the best choice for Supreme at the time.
But my thoughts turn to Anita Hill, the woman who took the risk. She had nothing to gain by standing up and exposing herself for every arrow that could be flung her way. If her word was accepted, she wouldn’t get the Thomas seat. There was nothing she said that would make her America’s darling. It was an act of dedication to democracy, a selfless act. Perhaps a foolish act, to challenge authority at its highest levels. But she did it. And she did it for us.
Anita Hill took one for the team. As a member of the team, I thank Anita Hill for her bravery and selflessness. The team didn’t win, but without Anita Hill, we would have had no chance of challenging the enormous might of the power elite of America. Whether we need more Clarence Thomas’ is a question for debate. But there is no debate that we need more Anita Hills.
If there is any lesson for Anita Hill to learn now, 16 years later, it is that we have not forgotten what she did for us, and that the passage of time has not dulled the importance of her sacrifice.
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I always kind of assumed she was telling the truth. It just made sense. But it was apparently a mistake he made only with her (no one else ever came forth that I know of) and at a difficult time in his life.
More to the point, I don’t think it was a useful subject to bring up at his confirmation hearings. He should have been confirmed or not based on his judicial record, his writings and speeches, and his answers at the hearing…or lack thereof.
While I generallty agree that personal life should not be aired at confirmation hearings, I can’t agree in this case. Sexual harrassment in the workplace is relevant to his record. That he was underwhelming as a candidate for the Supreme Court was otherwise a good reason not to confirm, but his violating the law in his professional conduct was worthy of a public airing.