Parallel lives – Thomas and Sotomayor

There’s not much new to learn about either Clarence Thomas or Sonia Sotomayor from the New York Times’ mini-Plutarchian parallel lives, although it does set Clarence Thomas in starker relief.

To me, it confirms what I’ve already held — much of Thomas’ anger and bitterness is partially self-inflicted. That, in turn, was partially from reacting to new situations and problems with old, stereotypical behavior patterns.

It’s like he took his Ayn Rand reading and ran it through the sausage grinder of aggrieved minority, fully recognizing the two didn’t mesh while determining to pretend he could create some Hegelian synthesis out of that.