Doubting Thomas, Praising Norsemen

An exchange between WaPo op-ed columnist Eugene Robinson and a participant from San Diego in an on-line chat session about Robinson's column excoriating Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas:

San Diego: Mr. Robinson, you mischaracterize Justice Thomas as having "a persecution complex of Norse-saga proportions." That is not fair -- the old Scandinavians honored both stoicism in the face of adversity, as well as the sense of duty to challenge adversity. What made Norse morality remarkable was the lack of resentment, of the bitterness that seems to consume Justice Thomas in the most unseemly way.

Robinson: I abjectly apologize to ancient Norsemen and Norsewomen for the unintended slur. I was just thinking of Norse sagas as being tremendously expansive and somewhat over the top.

Click here for the column and here for the chat.