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it<u+2019>s been a quarter-century since supreme court justice clarence thomas made history by becoming only the second black judge ever to serve on the nation<u+2019>s highest court. 




but you won<u+2019>t see celebrations, recognition, or even acknowledgement of this feat <u+2013> in fact, the <u+201c>thomas-derangement,<u+201d> as the daily caller calls it, has not abated one bit. 




this despite the fact that the impact thomas has had is unequaled. thomas is one of the nation<u+2019>s most influential lawmakers and has admirers from all legal corners. 




yet, he is ridiculed, belittled, and assaulted with the type of disgusting comments usually reserved for common criminals and deviants. 




writing in the new york times , maureen dowd referred to the justice as <u+201c>the creepy guy who acted pervy toward [anita hill] and won. 




this barrage of insults is not just among his legal and intellectual peers, either. thomas has been completely wiped clean from any mention in the new smithsonian national museum of african american history and culture. 




his accuser anita hill, however, is given prominent display. the exhibit features testimonies trumpeting her courage and the surge of women<u+2019>s activism that ensued, while making only peripheral reference to thomas. 




despite these slights, thomas continues to speak out. at a speech at the heritage foundation, the justice warned that we are <u+201c>destroying our institutions.<u+201d> 




<u+201c>at some point, we are going to have to recognize that we are destroying our institutions,<u+201d> he said, acknowledging that the court might also partially be at fault. <u+201c>what have we done to gain their confidence?<u+201d> he asked. <u+201c>perhaps we should ask ourselves what we have done to not earn it or to earn it.<u+201d> 




the court<u+2019>s lone african-american justice also defended his view that even prior supreme court precedents must be bent or broken to comply with the constitution <u+2014> something most of his colleagues don<u+2019>t believe. 




<u+201c>you<u+2019>ve got lots of precedents out there that have been changed,<u+201d> thomas said. <u+201c>i believe we are obligated to rethink things constantly.<u+201d> 




thomas ended with some positive words about former justice antonin scalia, who he affectionately referred to as <u+201c>nino.<u+201d> 




the court has become evenly divided between liberals and conservatives, a change that could become even more pronounced if hillary clinton wins the presidency and controls who will replace scalia. but thomas chose to dwell more on his friendship with <u+201c>nino<u+201d> than ponder the future without him. 




<u+201c>he was from the north, and i was from the south, but we wound up at the same place,<u+201d> he said, referring to their views on the paramount importance of the constitution and individual freedoms. scalia, he said, fretted over big principles as well as smaller things such as punctuation and syntax.
<u+2018>tolerant<u+2019> liberals show nothing but contempt, hatred toward nation<u+2019>s only black supreme court justice
robert gehl