THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 11, 1996 TAG: 9609110458
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 96 lines
Citing his grandfather, who toiled in cornfields without a complaint about segregation, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas praised the value of ``self-responsibility'' and deplored the ``rise of victimhood'' in a talk before about 500 people at Founders Inn Tuesday.
``Today, victims of discrimination, racism, poverty, sickness and societal neglect abound in the popular press; there are few, if any, heroes,'' Thomas said to an audience primarily made up of law and government students from Regent University, which sponsored his visit.
``Often it seems that those who have succumbed to their circumstances are more likely to be singled out than those who have overcome those very same circumstances.''
But Thomas, 48, said, ``Success, as well as failure, is the result of one's own talent, decisions and actions. Accepting personal responsibility for victory, as well as for defeat, is as liberating and empowering as it is unpopular today.''
Thomas blamed lawyers and politicians, seeking to gain special rights for victims, for the decline in personal responsibility. That, in turn, has led to the ``expansion of the welfare system'' and of legal defenses such as ``black rage,'' he said.
``How often have you heard proponents of these programs lull the poor into thinking they are hopeless victims incapable of triumphing over adversity without the benevolent intervention by the state?'' he asked.
But Thomas, who has sparked controversy for his stance against affirmative action, also criticized ``angry white males'' for taking up the mantle of victimhood: ``For some white men, the preoccupation with oppression has become the defining feature of their existence. They are falling prey to the modern ideology of victimology that they deplore.''
Thomas held up his grandfather, who helped raise him in Georgia, as an example of a quiet hero who never blamed his problems on others. In his office, Thomas said, sits a bust of his grandfather inscribed with one of his favorite sayings: `` `Old man can't' is dead. I helped bury him.''
``Though barely able to read and saddled with the burden of segregation, he worked hard to provide for his family,'' Thomas said. ``. . . .In all the years I spent in my grandparents' home, I never heard them complain that they were victims.
``No, they did not like segregation or think it was right. But there was work to be done.''
Thomas' 40-minute speech was the only public event during his visit to the Christian university Monday and Tuesday. He also visited law and government classes.
Thomas, appointed to the nation's highest court in 1991, survived a grueling confirmation hearing during which Anita Hill accused him of sexual harassment while she was his personal assistant in 1981 in the Department of Education and later when he chaired the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. During the confirmation hearing, he declared himself the victim of a ``high-tech lynching.''
On the court, he has maintained a low-key presence, rarely asking questions of lawyers arguing cases, and has generally sided with the court's conservative wing in opinions. Thomas did not vote in the court's June decision declaring Virginia Military Institute's all-male policy unconstitutional because his son Jamal is a cadet there.
Five years after his appointment, he remains a controversial figure, particularly among some African Americans, who feel he has betrayed his roots by taking a hard line against affirmative action.
In June, he was invited to speak at an eighth-grade awards ceremony in Prince George's County, Md. The invitation was first canceled by the school superintendent after the threat of a widespread protest and later reinstated. The day Thomas spoke, about 80 protesters gathered at the school, holding signs saying, for example, ``Uncle Thomas is a traitor.''
At Founders Inn, however, he received a rousing welcome - a 90-second standing ovation - when he walked into the ballroom with Pat Robertson and other university officials.
Administrators and students also spoke glowingly of Thomas. In his introduction, law dean Nelson Happy said he ``reflects the highest level of professionalism that a Supreme Court justice could possibly project. . . .
``Justice Thomas, we are proud of you for standing up for your convictions and for sticking with the truth in the confirmation hearing instead of bowing to pressure and saying what was politically correct.'' Happy's remark drew a strong round of applause.
After the speech, law student Heather Spon said: ``I was very glad to see him come. He certainly embodies the moral stand that Regent students hope to bring to the legal field.''
Another law student, Traci Coleman, added, ``It starts in the family, and I think he expressed that well.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Bill Tiernan/The Virginian-Pilot
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, left, received a 90-second
standing ovation when he walked into the Founders Inn Ballroom with
Regent University founder Pat Robertson.Thomas spent two days at the
Christian University.
Marsha Fink, left, Trish Lawler, center,and Layla Davey wre among
the Regent students who made up most of 500 audience members at
Clarence Thomas' 40-minute speech. by CNB