CLARENCE THOMAS VS. THE BLACK ORTHODOXY

A few years ago I surprised myself by starting to feel a little sorry for Clarence Thomas. He had been in the news a lot, with renewed allegations about his honesty and attitude toward women. The truly disturbing aspect to all of this was that it appeared that Justice Thomas' troubles were complicated by the fact that he is black. But, surprisingly, racially motivated criticism usually came from blacks.

Don't get me wrong. I moaned as loudly as anyone when Thomas was nominated to the Supreme Court. Replacing Thurgood Marshall with Clarence Thomas was like the Chicago Bulls drafting me to replace Michael Jordan. Thomas' skills are exceeded by any number of black judges and attorneys. On issues of particular interest to black people, his views are generally considered backward. Nevertheless, Justice Thomas' positions, as idiotic or perhaps even racist as they are, must be considered on their merit. Instead, he has been analyzed almost exclusively in terms of racial dynamics, resulting in an apparent consensus that Thomas only espouses his conservative positions to "get over" with his white patrons. Racially based criticism of Thomas hit a low when the cover of Emerge magazine depicted Justice Thomas with a kerchief wrapped around his head, a la Aunt Jemima. Such a portrayal would have been immediately recognized as racist had it appeared in a "white" magazine, such as The National Review.

There has arisen a black orthodoxy which de-legitimizes the individual differences that we find in our community. Some would have us believe that there is a "black" view and a "white" view on every issue, and that unless a person thinks and behaves in the "black" manner, they are not truly black, whatever that means. On the "blackness" scale Thomas loses points for being raised Catholic rather than, say, Baptist; for going to predominantly white schools without an athletic scholarship; and for prominently displaying his back issues of Playboy. Everyone knows that Players is the magazine to be featured in the black bachelor pad. Playboy should be kept in the closet. Finally, Thomas earns an instant "F" by marrying a white woman. If O.J. can't get away with it, Clarence Thomas sure can't.

Clarence Thomas, O.J., and black conservatives are being labeled "traitors to their race" by those who insist on overlaying already nebulous concepts of racial identity with narrow ideological and political criteria. Ironically, this is just another form of stereotyping and discrimination. It is sort of an intellectual Jim Crow law that demands that black people stay on their side of the line regarding how they live, whom they love, and even what they think.

Clarence Thomas has been labeled an "Uncle Tom" and a "house nigger." These attacks are based upon racial identity. The fact that they are uttered by black people makes them no less racist. Such name-calling does nothing to promote a clearer understanding of the serious issues facing our society. If you disagree with Clarence Thomas, refute his logic and reveal his reasoning to be faulty. But let's leave his race out of it.