Antonin Scalia represented to me the worst kind of tyrant. His decision on the Gore V Bush election issue was obscene. His failed attempts to overthrow Roe V Wade would have set women's reproductive rights back fifty years. His racism was verbalized more than once while on the bench. His prejudice toward gays was blatant.
He interpreted the Constitution strictly, as "a dead document", meaning not to be interpreted in / or adapted to today's societal realities, but only by its original words in its original time period. But his point of view, his decisions were, by my observations, equally if not even more driven by his devout Catholic beliefs. He was just as dedicated to the dead document perspective / literal interpretation of the law as he was to the literal interpretation of the Bible . He was theocratic. He lived in the past on virtually every social issue that came before him. His objective was to maintain the status quo, and suppress societal growth and advancement. If he ever decided in favor of human rights and progressive thought, it was tantamount to a blind squirrel finding a nut now and then...rare. My guess is he bemoaned the fact that he was born too late to serve as a church appointed prosecutor during the Spanish Inquisition.
There's my obituary for him.
"How disrespectful! How dare you speak ill of the dead. What about his family?"
The above is typical of the comments I received in response to comments I posted to facebook. Yes, it's disrespectful. And is intended to be.
Why should I be respectful? Because he's dead? Because his brain ceased to function and his heart has stopped? Because his body is in decomposition? Why should the state of nonexistence garner respect for a person who commanded none from me in life? I've said this before: I'm not John Donne - every man's death does NOT diminish me, and certainly not the demise of a tyrant.
This mentality hearkens back to nonsensical religious superstition. "Do not speak ill of the dead, lest they haunt you from the grave." Thanks. I'll take my chances.
As for his family: I doubt any of them are on my facebook friend list, or are readers of my blog. If they are surfing the net at the hour of their beloved's death, they have bigger issues than worrying about my words of contempt.
No, this phony piousness for the dead that we must supposedly feign even though we despised them in life is hypocrisy... religiously inspired archaic hypocrisy. I don't do hypocrisy. If you didn't honor him in life, but think the end of his bodily functions requires some sanctimonious false respect... take your hypocrisy elsewhere.
I'll have none of it.
Reminds me of Hitch after Falwell's death.
ReplyDeleteJim,
ReplyDeleteAh!! the old "Give him an enema and you could bury him in a match box" line.
Yes..classic. My obit pales in comparison. ;)
Speaking of Hitch, I suspect they were not so respectful of him after his death. How were/are they to Hitler, Stalin, or Bin Laden after death? I'll leave it to Pat Robertson to explain the cause of death in this case.
ReplyDeleteLuWeeks...
ReplyDeleteIndeed. They tend to only get their noses out of joint when it's one of their own being called out for their trespasses on humanity. More hypocrisy.
Pat would probably say that God struck down Antonin for being a papist,an adherent to the "Great Whore" as the protestants call Catholicism.
We'll have to wait and see.
Once again you come through as a man of integrity who speaks his mind.I too have no tolerance for hypocrisy and give no reverence or respect for the dead unless they earned it in life. I did not know much about the supreme court judge but since his death what I have learned about him is not good at all. As I stated on Google plus it seems like he was an ignorant asshole.
ReplyDeleteWhen Christopher Hitchens passed away all I saw online from the faithful were many variations of I hope you burn in hell! Luckily for all of us heaven, hell, and all that other superstitious dark age nonsense does not exist in reality. Your obituary to this monster was well written and apparently well deserved.
Chatpilot..
ReplyDeleteSo nice to hear from you.Been a long time.
Thanks. Yes. I've already been told on facebook I'm going to burn for an eternity for my dissing of Scalia. Considering it's -16 degrees(f) here that sounds pretty darn good.
Stay well.
It's great to see Chatpilot over here. And I couldn't agree more with your sentiments, Hump. One's ill deeds in life aren't suddenly cleansed by dying.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Paul.
ReplyDeleteIt's a really silly social convention that needs to fade away...like when a person says "bless you" when an atheist sneezes.
I would *almost* be willing to give Westboro Baptist Church gas money to go picket Scalia's funeral.
ReplyDeleteMomma Moonbat...
ReplyDeleteHahah!!! Alas, they'd probably be giving him a respectful send off. After all, he was everything they love: religiously fanatic, homophobic, and ...well.. that's all they care about
Well said, Hump! Listening to his childish antics reported on Nina Totenbergs's supreme court review used to make my blood boil. Finally, the possibility of enlightenment within SCOTUS.
ReplyDeletetiNstAg,
ReplyDeleteThanks. I just hope Clarence Thomas doesn't take Scalia's death as a challenge to become an even a bigger religio-jerk than he already is.
Interesting that those in the Senate who worshiped Scalia, a jurist who professed to be a strict adherent to the Constitution, now want to ignore the Constitution and not even consider appointment of a replacement until President Obama is out of office.
ReplyDeleteJeez Humpp
ReplyDeleteI don't know why you don't believe in God. I prayed for years that Scalia would die, and, see? The power of prayer.
TommE,
ReplyDeleteI don't think anyone is surprised that their dedication to the Constitution only goes so far. It goes right up to the point where the Constitution doesn't directly support their personal interests and political agenda. It's called hypocrisy. They are famous for it.
Neale,
Sorry to abuse you of the notion that it was your prayers to "God" that rendered this wonderful windfall. Over the past many years I personally sacrificed at least 15 buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken to Moloch in the hopes of His delivering this outcome. FYI...they passed through my digestive tract first... Moloch prefers just the bones.
Good to know you aren't full of $$it
ReplyDeleteNeale
Neale,
ReplyDeleteIndeed. ;)
Look, say what you like about Antonin Scalia... no really, say what you like - he's dead.
ReplyDeleteWell said, there may be hope to slow the march towards theocratic of domination of our imperfect founding legal document.
ReplyDelete