It is not inaccurate to say the climate of the 1780s in the US was inhospitable to the out-groups the Court is as well. I think they have their history down just fine. Of course that is a big problem, and why law shouldn’t be interpreted through a pure historical lens.
The new originalism favored by Thomas and his fellow originalists has embraced judicial activism on steroids. Indeed, the court’s current use of originalism more clearly resembles an act of ventriloquism in which old texts are pressed into the service of modern agendas with little regard to how they were read at the time they were written. The new originalism, including the Bruen decision, turns historical actors into little more than stage dummies for the justices to project their own modern values and ideas onto the past.
2 Likes
Newest Chapo is spot on re: the inability of the Dem establishment to actually enact any meaningful policy except the continuing expansion of the police state.
https://soundgasm.net/u/BlackWolfFeed/641-Fourth-Meal-Reich-63022
Yeah was a good one. Thought the uplifting ending was a bit eye rolling but I guess we need some of that.
Listened to a recent podcast about Thomas’ worldview and it was pretty interesting. No idea how accurate it is but they argued he believes white racism is so deeply rooted in American culture that it’s pointless to try using the law to rectify it. The extension of this idea is his animosity to things like voter suppression laws and affirmative action. He thinks African Americans should tap out of the whole political system and rely on capitalism to build small niches where they can flourish.
It’s a twisted idea of how the world works but I feel like I at least sort of understand him a little at least.
That’s giving him way too much credit.
Sure maybe. I didn’t know he was essentially a black panther though, for example.
No idea.
Again the point isn’t it’s some rock solid intellectually-rooted worldview. It’s terrible. The podcast explained it as terrible and mentioned a bunch of other awful implications like his hatred of black women. It is still useful to understand how he thinks and I found it interesting his root belief is similar to the lefts. He has just taken the idea to it’s objectively worst conclusion.
It’s this if anyone is interested.
which is exactly why he’s decided to be right at the fucking center of it
Longing for the days of thriving small black businesses in black communities can be just another way of saying that he wants the Jim Crow era back. When blacks are segregated formally or informally into racist ghettos, yeah you end up with black owned businesses because they have no choice. It’s easy to romanticize those days but it is, at best, highly dubious to try to build better lives for black Americans by doing more segregation.
Interestingly that is exactly what he wants!
There are some interesting parallels in the notion that the system is utterly fucked and past saving which it would seem many left nihilists would be fully on board with. They support that worldview in many respects (e.g., capitalism), but on race and social issues there is suddenly this belief in the same entrenched institutions to solve what are in fact far more intractable problems.
There was an interesting Champagne Sharks episode about Thomas, sounds like it was more sympathetic to his worldview than the podcast your referencing.
Late to the party on Cruz v. FEC 5-4. Maybe their best episode, so good.
1 Like
Very good three-part You’re Wrong About “book club” episode where they go through Go Ask Alice. I had never heard of this book but apparently it’s a long-time bestseller in the US. If you’re not familiar, it was published in 1971 and is allegedly the diary of a 15-year old girl as she ruins her life with drugs, a cautionary tale. It’s not spoiling anything to say that the diary is not genuine.
The first two eps are Sarah and this writer Carmen Maria Machado reading through and discussing parts of the book and then the third up they are joined by Rick Emerson, author of Unmask Alice, a book where he investigates the truth behind who wrote Go Ask Alice and where the material came from.
If you’ve ever enjoyed You’re Wrong About in the past I totally recommend this one, it was fascinating.
2 Likes
I’m only through 1 of 3 but this book was required reading for me in 8th grade so it’s pretty interesting
They even made a terrible made-for-TV movie to brainwash the kids too stupid to read.
And the title apparently came from some lyrics in White Rabbit
That is unreal! Would be so awesome if he worked for a firm with lots of SCOTUS work. Lol