On Friday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas spoke at an event in Dallas held by the Old Parkland Conference, a group that looks to tackle issues in the black community. During his time on stage (which included a Q&A), Thomas spoke about the liberal media and how they do their jobs poorly along with the “white liberal elites” who try to keep him down and isolated from the rest of the black community, lest they hear the truth.
In a clip that has gone viral, Thomas seemed to address calls from the media for him to resign for any of the number of fabricated grievances they try to smear him with. “I will absolutely leave the court when I do my job as poorly as you do yours,” he quipped to the laughter of the crowd and his own infectious belly laugh. “And that was meant as a compliment, really,” he continued to joke. He would go on to give an example.
Towards the end of his speaking time, Thomas talked about how the right needed to hold themselves to a higher standard and be better behaved than those who aim to destroy on the left. “The most they can point to is Garland did not get a hearing. But he was not trashed,” he argued. “And it was a rule the Joe Biden introduced by the way. Which is, you get no hearing in the last year of an administration. That was not the rule before then.”
He then noted that the right would not be caught “going to other peoples’ houses, attacking them at dinner at a restaurant, throwing things on them.”
As a possible indictment of the media’s poor reporting, Thomas noted that there were very few reports of how liberal Justices Ginsburg and Kagan were assailed by radical liberals after conservative Justice Kavanaugh was confirmed:
They were throwing things – they didn’t realize it was Justice Ginsburg and Justice Kegan. They were throwing stuff on the car when they left. And you hear very little of that. They were banging at the door of the Supreme Court like it was storming the Bastille or something. But you hear very little of that and it’s underreported.
Earlier in his remarks, the Justice dispelled the idea that he was isolated from or had problems when speaking to other black people. “The only people with whom I’ve had difficulties are white liberal elites who consider themselves the anointed and us the benighted, as Tom Sowell would say. I have never had issues with members of my race,” he told attendees, which included black Americans.
Thomas explained how after he speaks with black students he asks them about how different he is from the man the white liberal elites and the media portray him as and other key questions regarding the motives:
But what they have been doing – just think of this. And this is a question I ask young people, particularly members of our race – my race, afterwards. “Now, explain to me, after three hours, one thing you heard that you heard objectionable.” And the answer is invariably nothing. And I said, “well, what is it that those people doing all this -- imprinting all this negative stuff, all this flack. What don’t they want you to hear? Because they haven’t changed me. What is it they don’t you to know?”
“I was in Atlanta giving a speech and this very tall imposing black gentleman came up to me, tears streaming down his face,” Thomas recounted, “he said, ‘Why are they lying about you?’ And because he knows it wasn’t about me, it was about people who needed to hear about that part of life they knew little about; about the court, about law.”
And giving some astute analysis of how the liberal media machine works, Thomas pointed out that when they can’t outright censor you, “they load you up with negativity and they give you challenges as for credibility to prevent you from getting to their ears.”
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
C-SPAN Justice Clarence Thomas at Old Parkland Conference
May 13, 2022
26:19 markJUSTICE CLARENCE THOMAS: People assume that I’ve had difficulties when I’ve been around members of my race. It’s just the opposite. The only people with whom I’ve had difficulties are white liberal elites who consider themselves the anointed and us the benighted, as Tom Sowell would say. I have never had issues with members of my race.
I went to the University of Georgia some years ago – and of course, people from what they’ve heard, they were a little bit upset. And then we sat and three hours later you get – you think we all grew up in the same neighborhood because in a sense we had shared experiences.
But what they have been doing – just think of this. And this is a question I ask young people, particularly members of our race – my race, afterwards. “Now, explain to me, after three hours, one thing you heard that you heard objectionable.” And the answer is invariably nothing. And I said, “well, what is it that those people doing all this -- imprinting all this negative stuff, all this flack. What don’t they want you to hear? Because they haven’t changed me. What is it they don’t you to know?”
And that’s the way I sort of take it. They – The discussions today about the police, for example. I don’t have all that data, but ask yourself: they’re not necessarily censoring you; they don’t want others to hear what you have to say. And if they do hear it, they don’t want them to believe it. So, they load you up with negativity and they give you challenges as for credibility to prevent you from getting to their ears.
And the most interesting thing I’ve heard over the years is when I meet people they say, “Well, I thought you were someone else.” As one guy told me—I was in Atlanta giving a speech and this very tall imposing black gentleman came up to me, tears streaming down his face, he said, “Why are they lying about you?” And because he knows it wasn’t about me, it was about people who needed to hear about that part of life they knew little about; about the court, about law.
Let’s just say economics. Wouldn’t you want to know the truth about economics? Why wouldn’t want to know the truth? If you Thomas Sowell’s writings, Rhetoric and Reality. He’s telling you, ‘Look, here’s what they’re saying, here’s the reality.’
(…)
56:22 mark
THOMAS: We are to conduct ourselves better than they conduct themselves. One of the things I say too in response to the media when they talk about – or especially early on about the way I did my job. I said, “I will absolutely leave the court when I do my job as poorly as you do yours.” And that was meant as a compliment really.
[Laughter]
JOHN YOO (former Thomas clerk, UC Berkley Law professor): I think we’ve neglected this side of the room. All the way over here, yes.
THOMAS: It really is good to be me. It really is.
[Laughter]
57:40 mark
THOMAS: Well, I think everybody – you can find an exception to every generalization. But I think if you look around, you will see that they have never trashed a Supreme Court nominee. The most they can point to is Garland did not get a hearing. But he was not trashed. And it was a rule the Joe Biden introduced by the way. Which is, you get no hearing in the last year of an administration. That was not the rule before then.
But at any rate, with that aside, I’m sure you can find, you can quibble but you will not see the utter destruction of a single nominee. You will also not see people going to other peoples’ houses, attacking them at dinner at a restaurant, throwing things on them – which we had when Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed. They were throwing things – they didn’t realize it was Justice Ginsburg and Justice Kegan. They were throwing stuff on the car when they left. And you hear very little of that. They were banging at the door of the Supreme Court like it was storming the Bastille or something. But you hear very little of that and it’s underreported.
(…)
