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George Takei denies he’s racist
George Takei has denied he’s racist after referring to Justice Clarence Thomas as a ‘clown in blackface’.
The gay Star Trek actor and activist angered some when he delivered a stern rebuke to the African American judge after he voted against same-sex marriage in the Supreme Court ruling.
Thomas denied that same-sex couples who were unable to get married were ‘deprived of their liberty and dignity’.
‘Slaves did not lose their dignity (any more than they lost their humanity) because the government allowed them to be enslaved,’ he said in his dissent. ‘Those held in internment camps did not lose their dignity because the government confined them…The government cannot bestow dignity and it cannot take it away.’
Takei, who was a survivor of a Japanese internment camp, reacted angrily to Thomas’ dissent.
‘He is a clown in blackface sitting on the Supreme Court. He gets me that angry,’ Takei told KSAZ-TV.
‘For him to say slaves had dignity … I mean, doesn’t he know slaves were chained? That they were whipped on the back?’
Many were outraged by his comments, with many calling Takei ‘racist’.
Writing on his Facebook, Takei has given a statement explaining his comments.
He said: ‘A few fans have written wondering whether I intended to utter a racist remark by referring to Justice Thomas as a “clown in blackface.”
‘”Blackface” is a lesser known theatrical term for a white actor who blackens his face to play a black buffoon. In traditional theater lingo, and in my view and intent, that is not racist. It is instead part of a racist history in this country.
‘I feel Justice Thomas has abdicated and abandoned his African American heritage by claiming slavery did not strip dignity from human beings. He made a similar remark about the Japanese American internment, of which I am a survivor. A sitting Justice of the Supreme Court ought to know better.’
The post George Takei denies he’s racist appeared first on Gay Star News.
Joe Morgan
www.gaystarnews.com/article/george-takei-denies-hes-racist/
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