Read the Most Brutal Paragraph From Clarence Thomas’ Same-Sex Marriage Dissent

[DonViejo]

Justice Clarence Thomas has a fervent dissent of the Supreme Court’s historic decision to invalidate same-sex marriage bans. His argument, joined by Justice Antonin Scalia, quibbles with the definition of liberty itself. “Since well before 1787, liberty has been understood as freedom from government action, not entitlement to government benefits,” Thomas writes. Working from this principle, Thomas insists that the petitioners in the case “have in no way been deprived” of their liberty. “They have been able to travel freely around the country, making their homes where they please. Far from being incarcerated or physically restrained, petitioners have been left alone to order their lives as they see fit.” And yet he takes the argument even further—because human dignity “has long been understood in this country to be innate,” here’s who else Thomas thinks hasn’t been deprived of it:

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http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/06/26/clarence_thomas_same_sex_marriage_dissent_slaves_did_not_lose_their_dignity.html?

[notadmblnd]

1. One has to wonder how such stupid people obtain such positions of power.

[mythology]

16. He was nominated by a Bush

The family isn't exactly known for requiring intelligence from their lackeys. Rumsfeld, Quayle, Gonsalves, Wolfowitz. Not exactly a group known for being competent much less of being towering intellectuals.

[Live and Learn]

2. Logic is obviously not one of Thomas' strengths. nt

[Raster]

7. No, Thomas' greatest strengths are: (1) balancing pubic hairs on soda cans; and

(2) dry humping Scalia's leg.

NEVER FORGET: Anita Hill WAS RIGHT!!! Thomas does NOT belong on the SCOTUS.

[panader0]

3. Unrelated--but I wanted to express my admiration for your work with children.

The OP about you the other day was inspiring. We have some very good people here at DU!

And Clarence Thomas is an idiot.

[DonViejo]

6. Thank you!

[Boomerproud]

4. Thomas doesn't know the difference between "dignity" and "rights"?

Evidently not. No words.

[Live and Learn]

9. He has no dignity.

How could he be expected to understand it?

[wendylaroux]

5. Not only stupid,

but just down right cruel.

How do people end up like this?

[Spitfire of ATJ]

18. "How do people end up like this?"

$

[RKP5637]

8. It is frightening he is on SCOTUS. What an abrasive unfair fool! n/t

[arcane1]

10. This confirms something I have long suspected.

Thomas is an idiot unfit for duty.

[stevenleser]

11. It's easy to claim what someone living as a slave or concentration camp inmate should feel

if you never had to live it or try at all to understand it and are completely lacking in empathy.

As others have noted its completely sick of Thomas to try to use slavery as a justification for trying to deny LGBT equality. And I would bet that if we could ask people who lived as slaves, they would completely contradict his assessment.

Of course many contemporary folks who minimize the experience treat slavery as if it was merely people compelled to work. As if they lived in a nice house, woke up at 7, had a nice breakfast with their family, and an alarm clock rang at 8:30 and the person said, oh, I need to go to that job, and then worked in good conditions until 5pm when they returned to their house with their family.

They willfully don't take into account the beatings, whippings, forced separation of families, rapes, mutilations and murders and all kinds of other depravities. Thats the only way you get to Thomas' twisted opinion here.

[HassleCat]

12. I'll buy that

From a strictly libertarian point of view, it makes sense. Government should have nothing to say about marriage, which should be left entirely up to religious institutions to handle as they see fit. Government merely has to recognize (or not) what the churches have done. As long as all citizens are treated the same, Thomas is right. Of course, he's not in favor of that. He is simply lying when he says gays and lesbians had the same freedoms as other Americans.

[bigtree]

13. he speaks

...and betrays just how ignorant he actually is.

What does this Scalia toady know about dignity?

[G_j]

14. So?

what have you been smokin"?

[handmade34]

15. what a sad little man

he has no clue about real life

[BrotherIvan]

17. UGH!

That just makes me sick.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

19. Am I the only one who realizes other countries read this shit too?