Justice Alito Cracks a Racist Joke
You do see a lot of Black children in Ku Klux Klan outfits, right?’ Alito then joked. ‘All the time.’
— The Recount (@therecount) December 5, 2022
Frankly, there are too many things wrong with this joke to list. But, notably, Justice Samuel Alito told it during oral arguments at the Supreme Court.
The appearance of impropriety
Telling this joke in any setting is improper. But telling it in this setting exacerbates the impropriety.
This joke makes a mockery of the judicial principle that “Justice must not only be done, but must also be seen to be done.” Frankly, you’d be hard-pressed to cite a more egregious violation of that principle. After all, Alito cracked this joke in a case where the rights of a protected minority (a same-sex couple) are at issue.
Of course, a sense of immunity and entitlement comes with lifetime appointments. That would explain Alito’s joke. But it’s self-evident he couldn’t care less about his judicial integrity or impartiality.
Republican hacks in judicial garb
All Republican-appointed justices appear to share Alito’s contempt for judicial propriety. They act more like the Republican politicians who have abandoned their principles, common sense, and even decency. Their only interests seem to be hurling snark and propagating memes to “own the libs.”
That’s why conservative ideology now amounts to little more than racist, antisemitic, and homophobic rhetoric and tropes. It’s also why conservative users are replacing liberals on Twitter. And that’s because Elon Musk has turned that platform into a hellscape of right-wing hate.
Of course, Alito would have you believe he would never tell a racist joke in this serene setting. But this is just a Trumpian form of reverse psychology.
It presumes that the more fearless your racism, antisemitism, or homophobia, the less likely people are to think you are being racist, antisemitic, or homophobic. But the effect would be to normalize your racism, antisemitism, or homophobia.
That’s what Alito’s joke was all about, folks. It’s really that simple and cynical.