Home   Buzz   Chicago   Ephemera  Etsy  Politics  Pop Culture  RHBH  RHNJ  RHNY  RHOC  Sex  YouTube  WikiLeaks

REVERBERATIONS

Anita Hill

Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus, And Other Tales Told By Clarence Thomas

By Trisha B.

WHAT MADE HER DO IT?

What made Virginia Thomas call Anita Hill and ask for an apology? The testament of sexual harassment made by Hill against Supreme Court nominee Thomas evidently still weighs heavy on Mrs. Thomas' mind, even after 19 years.

Was she drunk, as Gawker alleges?

Morning talk show host Stephanie Miller insists there must have been brown liquor involved. I'd think the same, considering she called her office at 7:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning. But I think she didn't really want to talk to Hill, that's why she called when she did. She wants Hill to call her. Absolutely thinks she should come to her. And some have faulted Hill for turning the call over to the feds. But she turned it over to Brandeis University officials, where she is now a professor. And they then turned it over to the feds, who did nothing since no crime was committed.

As I told my daughter, everyone watched that trial. That it was the BP explosion of it's time, with everyone hanging on every word uttered. That Hill faced a phalanx of Senators, all men. That she remained dignified and solid. That sexual harassment was out in the open. It didn't just happen to poor secretaries being chased around desks. It also happened to law clerks. And when it was over she faded away, not seeking a 16th minute. So unlike the famewhores of today.

Now an exgirlfriend of Thomas' is shopping a book alleging that the claims Hill made on national TV sounded an awful lot like him. "He was obsessed with porn," said Lillian McEwen of Thomas. "He would talk about what he had seen in magazines and films, if there was something worth noting. It was a hobby of his."

I totally understand why Hill turned the call over to authorities. If someone asked me to apologize for a wrong done to me 20 years later, I'd think they were nuts. It’s like those Maury shows where someone was teased as a kid, grew up to be a beautiful stripper and comes on to flaunt it in front of their bully.

But here'’s what I really think. I think Thomas told wife Ginny that Anita came on to him but rejected her because his heart was really with Ginny. That's why she allowed his political opponents to use her against him. A woman scorned. Then he hoped Ginny would forget about it. Because it probably wasn't true. But she didn't, couldn't. It has eaten at her all this time. It happens. We women don’t forget as men tend to do. Especially when it comes to matters to the heart.

Virginia Thomas admits, "I did place a call to Ms. Hill at her office extending an olive branch to her after all these years, in hopes that we could ultimately get past what happened so long ago."

And what? Have lunch? Get their nails done? Is she so clueless? That Hill has gone on with her life, out of the public eye. She could've been called as an expert on sexual harassment and been on news shows whenever she wanted. But she choose not to. She’s a class act.

Thomas is an accomplished woman, wife of a Supreme Court justice and she seems very, very confident. And I think she's a lady too. But, for 19 years, she’s been eaten up by this episode. She feels betrayed, wondering what could've made her husband's trusted assistant turn on him. And it’s a damn shame. Justice Thomas, tell her the truth.




Tags: Pop Culture

Post a comment