Monday, October 01, 2007

So last night, in between football games, I made it a point to catch Clarence Thomas' interview on 60 minutes. I met Mr. Thomas back in '94 at a Borders bookstore in Fairfax, VA and my father was with me. I remember Thomas saying that most black people up to that point shunned or berated him in public, so he was pleasantly surprised at the behavior of my father and I. My father did most of the talking, but I was just struck on how calm and attentive he was when he really didn't have to be. Well last night I earned even more respect for the man, because all of his views, whether I agreed with them or not, were not only well thought out, but they were said with conviction. He didn't back down or vacillate because the cameras were on him. I still think Clarence gets a bad rap not so much for who he is, but for who he is not. He is not the type of black man who will overtly champion causes for the black race(whatever that means these days), and given that he presides over the highest court in the land he can't do that anyway. There are some who will argue that BECAUSE he's in the Supreme Court, he SHOULD be vigiliant in defending "us". But if that's not in his heart to do, we certainly can't hate on the man. And the second thing(or person) that he is not is Thurgood Marshall. Before Thurgood even got into the Supreme Court, he was known for his role in the Brown vs the Board of Ed case, which led to desegregation(although some of "us" will argue that was a mistake). Thurgood never hesitated to voice his liberal views, and I think because Clarence seems to be the exact opposite, he gets a lot criticism..some of it justified, some of it now. I respect that man regardless. He needs a wife upgrade though. She's the one on the left.

Just to follow up yesterday's entry on my friend's retirement dinner. This morning, while watching Sportscenter, I noticed that Craig Biggio, a second basemen for the Houston Astros, received his farewell standing ovation. He could barely keep himself from crying, because the entire crowd took time to show their appreciation via ovations, signs, and cheers. But the final straw was when his kids gave him personal thank yous on the big screen, and then he really lost it. It was just one of those special moments in sports, and I should be so lucky to receive such an ovation when I retire or move to another job, etc.

The Gift - Roy Hargrove

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

After watching Thomas last night, he pushed himself further away from my heart. Especially his, "I'm a male first comment". Not to mention he did a terrible job answering the question directly related to race. I believe he forgets that although he had a grandfather who was tough on him, today's kids don't have that...their lucky to even have a grandfather around.

I would love to see you write more about this....

Unknown said...

Thomas needs to lay off the cheeseburgers. They don't have a fitness center in the chambers?

Anonymous said...

Wow all I can say is that you are a great writer! Where can I contact you if I want to hire you?