I guess George Takei, well known to Star Trek fans, as Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu, the helmsman of the U.S.S. Enterprise, got himself into some hot water recently. In reaction to Clarence Thomas’ dissent in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), Takei reportedly said,
He is a clown in blackface sitting on the Supreme Court. He doesn’t belong there. For him to say that slaves had dignity? Doesn’t he know that slaves were enchained? That they were whipped on the back…they were raped! And he says he had dignity as slaves?
My parents lost everything that they worked for in the middle of their lives, in their thirties. Their business, their home? We’re supposed to call that dignified? Marched out of our homes at gunpoint? He is an embarrassment. He is a disgrace to America![1]
Takei later apologized for using the term ‘blackface’ but as the controversy continued, William Shatner, who played Captain James T. Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise, reportedly tweeted, “I am positive that George is not a racist. Let’s stop the spin doctoring.”[2] Read more
- [1]George Takei, quoted in Omar Rivero, “Watch: George Takei’s EPIC Takedown Of ‘Clown In Blackface’ Justice Thomas,” Occupy Democrats, July 1, 2015, http://www.occupydemocrats.com/watch-george-takeis-epic-takedown-of-clown-in-blackface-justice-thomas/↩
- [2]Douglas Ernst, “Shatner backs Takei in ‘blackface’ flap: ‘Stop the spin doctoring’,” Washington Times, July 3, 2015, http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jul/3/william-shatner-beams-george-takeis-blackface-cont/↩