# SCOTUS Wife Virginia Thomas asks Anita Hill to apologize - WTF? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 20, 2010, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotus-wife-virginia-thomas-asks-anita-hill-to-apologize-wtf/557798 "2010-10-20T16:56:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotus-wife-virginia-thomas-asks-anita-hill-to-apologize-wtf/557798/61 "2010-10-20T18:24:18Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Why do you say that’s not an olive branch? Is there some essential element of olive branchiness that it’s missing? Yes: that the olive branch is traditionally not accompanied by an invitation for the recipient to fuck herself with it. “I’m willing to bury the hatchet and let bygones be bygones, as soon as you admit you’re a lying bitch!” ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotus-wife-virginia-thomas-asks-anita-hill-to-apologize-wtf/557798/62 "2010-10-20T18:24:55Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Whats Thomas supposed to do ,tell his wife the truth after lying in front of America repeatedly? It is good that he got on the court, so Scalia did not have to carry his own golf clubs these last few years. Out of interest, given that Ginsburg and Breyer (I think that is the pairing) voted together more often than Scalia and Thomas, is there an equivalent of “Uncle Tom” for Jews who suck up to Gentiles that we should be levelling at Ruth Bader Ginsburg? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotus-wife-virginia-thomas-asks-anita-hill-to-apologize-wtf/557798/63 "2010-10-20T18:25:04Z")
**Mr. E** : That simply restates the question to “Is it reasonable for her to hold this belief?” And, if you think so, then it becomes “Is it reasonable to consider an attempt to extract an apology nineteen years later ‘extending an olive branch’?” The answer to the last one is a laughable No, obviously. Now, let’s see **Bricker** explain why he’s exploring only one side here, while insisting he’s being neutral. Maybe, for once, it can be something different from the usual … ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotus-wife-virginia-thomas-asks-anita-hill-to-apologize-wtf/557798/64 "2010-10-20T18:25:28Z")
Sorry, but I don’t see a request to “come clean and admit what a horrible person you are for what you did to us” is extending the Olive Branch. Extending the Olive Branch would be “I know we don’t agree about what happened, and I’ll never understand why you said what you said, but it’s been 20 years and perhaps we can let it go and try to get along.” ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotus-wife-virginia-thomas-asks-anita-hill-to-apologize-wtf/557798/65 "2010-10-20T18:26:12Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > I agree. First, because whatever one thinks of Thomas’ jurisprudence (and I think he’s way, way out to lunch) - the man is a Justice on the United States Supreme Court, extremely intelligent, a fine legal writer, and he is very much _not_ Scalia Jr. He and Scalia often vote together, yes - but they come to their conclusions from very different places. Yes he is a Justice. Yes he is very intelligent. And yes he is not Scalia Jr. But he is a **horrible** legal writer. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotus-wife-virginia-thomas-asks-anita-hill-to-apologize-wtf/557798/66 "2010-10-20T18:26:31Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > **villa** , thank you. You are, so far as I can tell, the one person in this thread to this point with a reading comprehension past, say, sixth grade. I appreciate you more every day. I think we all get your point, we (or at least I) just consider your hypothetical to be so devoid of plausibility that it’s not worth discussing. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotus-wife-virginia-thomas-asks-anita-hill-to-apologize-wtf/557798/67 "2010-10-20T18:27:19Z")
Yeah. Demanding an apology - I’m sorry, “politely requesting” an apology - is not extending an olive branch, by any definition of the term. Although I’m not one of the special few that **Bricker** has deemed to have a reading comprehension level above grade six, so I guess I’ll just go back to studying for my geography test. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotus-wife-virginia-thomas-asks-anita-hill-to-apologize-wtf/557798/68 "2010-10-20T18:27:32Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Sorry, but I don’t see a request to “come clean and admit what a horrible person you are for what you did to us” is extending the Olive Branch. Extending the Olive Branch would be “I know we don’t agree about what happened, and I’ll never understand why you said what you said, but it’s been 20 years and perhaps we can let it go and try to get along.” Nor would such a genuine offer be made via an answering machine message, but in person. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotus-wife-virginia-thomas-asks-anita-hill-to-apologize-wtf/557798/69 "2010-10-20T18:31:44Z")
Whether Hill told the truth, exaggerated or fabricated her testimony about Thomas is known only to Hill and Thomas. The rest of us must accept that her confirmation hearing testimony was held to be not credible. That being the case, how is a request for an apology or an explanation unwarranted? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotus-wife-virginia-thomas-asks-anita-hill-to-apologize-wtf/557798/70 "2010-10-20T18:34:39Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > Because this is the assumption that Ms. Thomas probably holds - and so if we want to understand her behavior, it’s logical to start from that premise. That doesn’t mean the premise is _true_ - but it’s not silly to ask “is Ms. Thomas’ behavior reasonable if she holds this belief?” > > That being said - as has been established, one could go either way in answering that question. More to the point, the OP explicitly invites us to make that assumption. He does not say simply that Ms. Thomas was tone deaf. No, no – he says that no matter what you think about what actually happened, she was tone deaf. It is that assumption I attack. The OP should withdraw his claim about “…regardless of politics or one’s personal beliefs about that past event…” ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotus-wife-virginia-thomas-asks-anita-hill-to-apologize-wtf/557798/71 "2010-10-20T18:35:50Z")
> [@Raygun99](#): > > I think we all get your point, we (or at least I) just consider your hypothetical to be so devoid of plausibility that it’s not worth discussing. _sigh_ And the OP’s line about “…regardless of politics or one’s personal beliefs about that past event…” What about that? You ignore it? ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotus-wife-virginia-thomas-asks-anita-hill-to-apologize-wtf/557798/72 "2010-10-20T18:36:05Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Whether Hill told the truth, exaggerated or fabricated her testimony about Thomas is known only to Hill and Thomas. The rest of us must accept that her confirmation hearing testimony was held to be not credible. That being the case, how is a request for an apology or an explanation unwarranted? Not so. The vote was not on the veracity of the testimony, but on whether Thomas should be a SC Justice. The vote was a narrow “Yes.” Speaking for myself only, I thought both Thomas and Hill were really shading the truth so that i didn’t believe either of them fully. I would’ve voted no. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotus-wife-virginia-thomas-asks-anita-hill-to-apologize-wtf/557798/73 "2010-10-20T18:36:30Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Why do you say that’s not an olive branch? Is there some essential element of olive branchiness that it’s missing? Extending an olive branch means that you offer a concession to the other party to encourage reconciliation. The ‘olive branch’ itself is symbolic of this concession. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotus-wife-virginia-thomas-asks-anita-hill-to-apologize-wtf/557798/74 "2010-10-20T18:36:47Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > No, she wouldn’t. > > Because in fact she has the dick, in this hypothetical. And, in fact, it would be rude to request to see it. Even under the guise of “extending an olive branch” to your auntcle. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotus-wife-virginia-thomas-asks-anita-hill-to-apologize-wtf/557798/75 "2010-10-20T18:36:56Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > The rest of us must accept that her confirmation hearing testimony was held to be not credible. By a 52-48 vote, and that’s the best way you can support that assertion. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotus-wife-virginia-thomas-asks-anita-hill-to-apologize-wtf/557798/76 "2010-10-20T18:37:18Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Sorry, but I don’t see a request to “come clean and admit what a horrible person you are for what you did to us” is extending the Olive Branch. Extending the Olive Branch would be “I know we don’t agree about what happened, and I’ll never understand why you said what you said, but it’s been 20 years and perhaps we can let it go and try to get along.” That’s a pretty detailed definition about olive branches. To me, the phrase simply refers to peace, and I still fail to see why an offer of peace cannot be predicated on a request for an admission of the truth. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotus-wife-virginia-thomas-asks-anita-hill-to-apologize-wtf/557798/77 "2010-10-20T18:37:58Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > _sigh_ > > And the OP’s line about “…regardless of politics or one’s personal beliefs about that past event…” > > What about that? You ignore it? No more than you have. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotus-wife-virginia-thomas-asks-anita-hill-to-apologize-wtf/557798/78 "2010-10-20T18:39:07Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > That’s a pretty detailed definition about olive branches. To me, the phrase simply refers to peace, and I still fail to see why an offer of peace cannot be predicated on a request for an admission of the truth. There was no offer of peace in the message as you transcribed it. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotus-wife-virginia-thomas-asks-anita-hill-to-apologize-wtf/557798/79 "2010-10-20T18:39:19Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > _sigh_ > > And the OP’s line about “…regardless of politics or one’s personal beliefs about that past event…” > > What about that? You ignore it? To that, I throw in with the people that say “fess up for the stuff you said about my husband” is not an olive branch. She may (although, as stated, I find that possibility to so remote as not worth discussing) be right about Hill, but it is not an olive branch. ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotus-wife-virginia-thomas-asks-anita-hill-to-apologize-wtf/557798/80 "2010-10-20T18:39:30Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Here is the message she left: > > [QUOTE=Virginia Thomas to Anita Hill’s answering machine] > Good morning, Anita Hill, it’s Ginni Thomas. I just wanted to reach across the airwaves and the years and ask you to consider something. I would love you to consider an apology sometime and some full explanation of why you did what you did with my husband. So give it some thought and certainly pray about this and come to understand why you did what you did. Okay have a good day. That doesn’t strike me as a demand, but a request. Why do you say that’s not an olive branch? Is there some essential element of olive branchiness that it’s missing? [/QUOTE] It may have been phrased as a request, but stripped of semantic sleight-of-hand, I honestly think the content is demanding. And insulting – as if Hill would have apologized by now if she’d ever thought about it (or prayed about it), and needs to be prompted to think. The missing essential olive-branchiness is intent. What of “goodwill” is there in suggesting Hill needs to publicly apologize for lying, however nicely put? It might have been olive-branchy, if still deluded, if Virginia had said something like “I called to say that I forgive you for lying all those years ago.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotus-wife-virginia-thomas-asks-anita-hill-to-apologize-wtf/557798.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotus-wife-virginia-thomas-asks-anita-hill-to-apologize-wtf/557798.md?page=5)