Today, Justice Scalia Spanked Me

Justice Scalia came to our law school today. He started with some quick comments about why he is smarter than everyone else and then moved into question and answer. I was the first questioner:

Question: In reading Lawrence v. Texas and Romer v. Evans I largely agreed with your judicial reasoning, but I had trouble looking past the scathing language you used and the stereotypes you cited into the record. Mr. Justice, do you believe that, as a member of the United States Supreme Court, you have the intellectual responsibility to look past gross stereotypes of communities of people, rather than reinforcing them as you did in Romer v. Evans by stating that gay and lesbian communities are largely affluent and centered in distinct areas of the country? And if you don't (interrupted)

Justice Scalia: I think they may have been erroneous, but not stereotypes...

Me: I would contend they can be both.

Justice Scalia then proceeded to explain his judicial philosophy in Romer (which hadnt been my contention) and then insult my question as a "When did you stop beating your wife?" ... I felt a bit sore about it for about 20 minutes before I realized that I had a) managed to get a Supreme Court Justice to have to avoid a question and b) just gotten spanked by a Justice of the highest court of our land. As a second-year law student, I can walk away from that my head held high.

Part of my reasoning behind the question was less about the answer, but more about the question itself. I dont want (My School) to be seen as the place where men like Scalia can come and vent their bile without ever being challenged. When you cut through his humor, he spent 90% of the time making fun of anyone who disagreed with him. In retrospect, I am proud to be among the ridiculed.

Musical Fodder for my Writing:
"Polaris" Jimmy Eat World,
Futures

(UPDATE: Although I had more than a few people at school avoiding making eye contact with me for my perhaps brazen tactics, I also had a few who came up and thanked me for having the guts to ask the question others may have been afraid to. I have never been afraid to confront authority. Why start now?

Still feeling a little awkward about the spanking I had received, I went to into work. I love this place. As I told my story to a few co-workers, I started getting high-fives.... I went to tell my supervisor about the whole thing, and she said, "Oh, Justice Scalia is in town? I thought I felt loathing eminating from that area of the city." I then told her about my question, at which point she marched me into the Big Boss, who said, "Let me shake your hand. Congratulations for having that kind of courage." He also noted that Justice Scalia's little rip at me at the end of his answer only indicated that he felt threatened by the astutness of my question.

I love my workplace.)