So, the other day I launched my web browser and saw on the front page of Yahoo an article about how Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas hasn’t spoken for five years. I immediately thought that the title was probably misleading and if I read it there would be some “just kidding” explanation at the end. Throughout the day, the article kept popping back up on my screen through various media outlets. By mid-day, I gave in and read it. I wish I hadn’t…

Can you believe that this man, no this person that is entrusted to interpret the US Constitution has said absolutely nothing for the past five years?! It’s not like he just hasn’t had much of an opinion on ANYTHING (which is even worse);but,  even when he is directly addressed for his thoughts nothing comes out of his mouth. I heard a recording from one of the sessions and let me tell you, it’s awkward! Upon further digging, I read a theory that he is self-conscious about his speaking voice/accent because he grew up speaking Gullah. Apparently, he’s also explained that he doesn’t see a need to ask the presenting lawyers questions because a lot of that is just political posturing. Uuhh, seriously?

I’ll put aside the fact that he and his wife are mired in conflict of interest accusations. I’ll also forget all the controversy that came with his nomination. However, this one just can’t be swept under the rug. I may be exaggerating, but I think this is a pretty important job that requires some pretty important decisions. Therefore, I can’t see how he could make these decisions without asking at least one question. Maybe he reads minds…or maybe he can see into the future and already knows what the answer would be should he decide to open his mouth

Am I overreacting? What do you think of a judge who doesn’t speak?

To live anywhere in the world today and be against equality because of race or color is like living in Alaska and being against snow. ~William Faulkner

I’ve been very sad to hear about the intolerance that’s been going on in the states lately. Last week, I wrote about how being black in Venezuela has worked to my advantage in terms of crime. While there was a bit of humor to the topic, I don’t think that anyone being mistreated because of their race or ethnicity is a laughing matter.

Many of the expats here in Caracas have been asking me what the he** is going on over in the US. Why are Americans all of a sudden becoming even more intolerant? I’m not going to pretend to know the exact reason the US is seeing a surge in people being a lot more vocal about their racism. What I do know is that they’ve been given a huge stage to put on a show. And who’s providing this stage…the American media.

My theory is that there were always racist and intolerant Americans. However, there was a time (post Civil Rights Movement) when it became taboo to openly express their views on people who are different, so you almost forgot they existed. The only places they ventured to spout racial epithets were their own homes or places where like-minded people congregated. On a national level, we tried to uplift our conversations and reverting to the use of racial slurs was considered politically incorrect.

Somehow, around the time we elected the first mixed-race president, the standards shifted. So now it’s common place for media outlets to give a lot of airtime to the minority of Americans harboring a lot of hate for immigrants, homosexuals, blacks, Muslims, etc. Unfortunately, some of us have become desensitized quickly to hearing such ignorance and anger in the mainstream media. Next thing you know, we’ll be seeing television series with similar themes disguised as comedy.

I hope that before we erode any more of the progress that has been made in the last 40+ years, we’ll start to self-police and expect more from each other, as well as journalists. In the interim, I will continue to teach my children that race is irrelevant and harboring hate will destroy their souls.

N.B. The title of this post is a quote from an unknown author.