Why did Ginni Thomas make that fatal phone call to Anita Hill? Was it political opportunism to protect her husband? Doubtful, because this was the dumbest, least strategic move she could have possibly made. No advisor would have encouraged her to do the dumb thing that women do when they believe that their man is lying.
Why is Mrs. Thomas's doubting her husband worth our attention? Because if Clarence Thomas perjured himself to get on the court that gave corporations the status of people, we need to know about it.
At the time of Clarence Thomas' Senate confirmation hearings, nineteen years ago, the legal and political system may have failed to uncover what really happened. But today, anyone with a drop of emotional intelligence or a B.S. detector has some new evidence to consider.
Because this week, the judge's better half, Ginni Thomas decided to break nineteen years of silence by leaving a phone message for Anita Hill, demanding that Anita Hill apologize to her so that "we can get passed (sic) this."This being Hill's allegations of Thomas' sexual harassment.
Although Mrs. Thomas' Tea Party confederates get a free license to distract and manipulate the public with sexuality, gross incompetence, and fear, those of us with basic common sense are supposed to stifle our honest perceptions, because it would be "unfair" or too "subjective" to call out the Thomas' behavior without a search warrant, a lie detector test, or physical proof.
Yet you don't need a compendium of country western songs to decipher the psychological meaning of Mrs. Thomas' surprising phone call. She's a-hurtin'. Unintentionally, her message to Anita Hill broadcast hidden feelings about her husband, Clarence Thomas, that Ginni Thomas may not want to admit to herself.
Let's face it, if Ginni Thomas <em>truly believed</em> her husband's long ago denial of sexual improprieties towards Anita Hill, why would she feel any need to demand an apology <em>now</em>?
We don't know what a lie detector test (which Thomas refused to take) would have revealed back then. But on a gut level, we all know that Ginni Thomas would not have felt the need to make that phone call, if she believed that Clarence Thomas was telling the truth.
If her husband did indeed lie to her, and to <em>us,</em> to get his court seat, this is about a whole lot more than sexual impropriety.
What began back then has played out in the court, where Clarence Thomas has made decisions that have served to undermine the honesty, ethical conduct, and integrity of government.
Moreover, as the Justice continues to make decisions, his wife accepts money from unknown sources to oppose current legislation, that may one day be argued before the Court.
It could be argued that the failure to come to grips with the Clarence Thomas- Anita Hill- Ginni Thomas debacle was a turning point in the integrity of our public officials, our elections, our Court, and our democracy today and tomorrow.
It would be a sign of mental health to revisit the entire episode and determine what really happened.
This week, we've witnessed a clear example of how living in denial and tolerating misconduct can make a person nuts. Seen in the press this week, wearing a Styrofoam crown modeled on the one worn by the iconic symbol of America's promise, the Statue of Liberty, Ginni Thomas sadly exemplifies the reality that the more lies we tolerate, the more angry and confused we become.
Enabling spouses have covered up for errant spouses for centuries. Enabling citizens have tolerated the corruption of American ideals for the last two decades. Perpetrators and corrupt politicians have something in common: They need us to tolerate their lies and misconduct, no matter how obvious.
But that doesn't mean we should. In the upcoming elections we must vote for those who will recover the court that Thomas and his buddies have corrupted. We need strong legislators who make sure that democracy is protected when a person like Ginni Thomas uses her influence and misdirects her anger towards black people, rather than talking to the black man to whom she should direct her complaints.
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