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This is just...something else. And by ”something else” I mean that family dynamics in an employment relationship can be really, really toxic. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/ginni-thomas-apology-clarence-thomas-clerks-trump-rally/2021/02/02/a9818cce-6496-11eb-8c64-9595888caa15_story.html
I cannot figure out what is served by a relationship with your former boss’s wife that means that people who are at the highest levels of their profession should back off of criticism.
I get why there is “family” talk but you’re not a fucking family, and the reasons you get called a family
(a) serve to perpetuate inequality in the legal profession as you give each other hands up, and
(b) often serve toxicity.
You all clerked for the same guy. That’s it.
(a) serve to perpetuate inequality in the legal profession as you give each other hands up, and
(b) often serve toxicity.
You all clerked for the same guy. That’s it.
You don’t...actually...owe anything to the guy’s wife.
Like. Not at all.
And especially not, like, overlooking any role she may have played in the insurrection.
Like. Not at all.
And especially not, like, overlooking any role she may have played in the insurrection.
I have been in a clerk family, and I have seen other clerk families work in operation, and it’s a protection racket.
Keep quiet about each others’ flaws in exchange for career benefits.
Keep quiet about each others’ flaws in exchange for career benefits.
It is not necessary to import these kinds of social norms into a workplace. It really isn’t.
You can have a respectful, even loving, workplace environment without hard-coding into it the expectation of allegiance.
You can have a respectful, even loving, workplace environment without hard-coding into it the expectation of allegiance.
Some notes:
* You actually should NOT try to get your fellow clerks hired at your place of employment over other more qualified candidates. That’s nuts.
* You don’t need to endorse your fellow clerks for political or judicial office!
* You actually should NOT try to get your fellow clerks hired at your place of employment over other more qualified candidates. That’s nuts.
* You don’t need to endorse your fellow clerks for political or judicial office!
* You don’t actually know whether your fellow clerk is an abuser, so you don’t need to front for them.
* To the extent that you have a close relationship with individuals who you have worked with, that’s cool, but this needn’t extend beyond that.
* To the extent that you have a close relationship with individuals who you have worked with, that’s cool, but this needn’t extend beyond that.
* You literally just clerked for the same guy for one year. That’s it.
It is human to build community around common events! That’s fine! We all do that!
But it’s super-weird to say that the community must persist even when it’s clear it does not cohere. Sometimes DND groups split over politics.
But it’s super-weird to say that the community must persist even when it’s clear it does not cohere. Sometimes DND groups split over politics.
It is 1000% okay to stop talking to people you never really knew when it becomes clear that you have nothing actually in common aside from a brief employment relationship.
Many kudos to the Thomas clerk who silently leaked this shit to the Washington Post.
