There's a difference between someone who's 'harsh' and someone who is 'hard.' Life was hard. You lived in the South, as my grandparents did, and you had to survive. That is hard. In order to respond to that, he had… — Clarence Thomas Copy Share Image
My job is to write opinions. I decide cases and write opinions. It is not to respond to idiocy and critics who make statements that are unfounded. That doesn't mean that people shouldn't have constructive criticisms, but it should be… — Clarence Thomas Copy Share Image
You have a number of choices. You could continue to always fight against people who are really distractions. They're people in the cheap seats… — Clarence Thomas Copy Share Image
I disagree with the prevailing point of view of some black leaders that special treatment for blacks is acceptable. — Clarence Thomas Copy Share Image
My grandfather was a man, when he talked about freedom, his attitude was really interesting. His view was that you had obligations or you… — Clarence Thomas Copy Share Image
Perhaps some are confused because they have stereotypes of how blacks should be and I respectfully decline, as I did in my youth, to… — Clarence Thomas Copy Share Image
The Constitution does not vest in Congress the authority to protect society from every bad act that might befall it…[I]f followed to its logical… — Clarence Thomas Copy Share Image
The job of a judge is to figure out what the law says, not what he wants it to say. There is a difference… — Clarence Thomas Copy Share Image
Differences in race, differences in sex, somebody doesn’t look at you right, somebody says something. Everybody is sensitive. If I had been as sensitive… — Clarence Thomas Copy Share Image
A theory deeply etched in our law [is that] a free society prefers to punish the few who abuse the rights of free speech… — Clarence Thomas Copy Share Image
I don't know one of my friends who is considered a conservative who has not had to go back and thoroughly think through everything.… — Clarence Thomas Copy Share Image
I' been very partial to Malcolm X, particularly his self-help teachings. — Clarence Thomas Copy Share Image
When you look at where the real problems are among minorities in our society, particularly blacks, it's at the bottom. It's the people who… — Clarence Thomas Copy Share Image
The only people who have quick answers don't have the responsibility of making the decisions. — Clarence Thomas Copy Share Image
![“The Constitution does not vest in Congress the authority to protect society from every bad act that might befall it…[I]f followed to its logical extreme, [this approach] would result in an unwarranted expansion of federal power.” quote by Clarence Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f68/clarence-thomas-7661_approach_the-constitution-does-not-vest-in-congre_86587.jpg)
![“A theory deeply etched in our law [is that] a free society prefers to punish the few who abuse the rights of free speech after they break the law rather than to throttle them and all others beforehand.” quote by Clarence Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/939/clarence-thomas-7661_abuse_a-theory-deeply-etched-in-our-law-is-tha_407519.jpg)
