Your Honor:
For the record, I am an elderly white man now retired from the active practice of law. As an older white man, I would like to apologize for all white men, young or old, who refuse to recognize your competence, work ethic, empathy, brilliance, civility, and grace. Hubris aside, I believe I have earned the right to speak on behalf of all white guys, having been one my entire life. Whether or not I have standing in that regard is up to you to determine.
When I was a white boy, I often witnessed gangs of similarly hued young brats engaged in planning how they might bring down a better โ who was assigned to pushing, tripping, hair pulling, and such. The anticipation of their assault was usually much more enjoyable for them than the action contemplated, as it involved giddy giggles rather than dirt and sweat. During your time answering the โquestionsโ put to you by the Senate Judiciary Committee, it was easy to imagine the majority of the Republican senators caucusing to decide which one would yank on which strand of make believe in order to bring you โ their obvious better – down. I can even hear the giggles among the more clownish, such as Graham, Cruz, Hawley, and Blackburn. It is too bad that their emails on the subject cannot be found and read aloud in a classroom under the supervision of a strict third grade teacher.
Perhaps more to the point, I must apologize for the less clownish of my ilk โ those of reasoned mind that refuse to vote for you out of a misguided allegiance to tribalism. The Senate is supposed to be the adult body of Congress. Alas, our democracy has been so degraded that both houses are nothing more than well-aged kindergartens. Why one of us with reason who has been educated by schooling and experience is unable to doff his or her hat to a better person such as you is beyond my comprehension. One of the obligations of age is to publicly honor by example the obvious display of competence and character displayed by any younger person of any belief or color in order to teach our youngest children that character matters and comes in many different types of individuals, including those with whom we disagree.
Note that I decline to speak for white supremacists.
So, I hereby offer you an apology on behalf of all of us so-called reasonable white guys, from toddlers to octogenarians. Some of us may not wish me to apologize on their behalf but do so I must. I would do so in person if I could, but I cannot see how that might be possible. So, this forum, as poor as it may be for the purpose, must suffice.
On behalf of those I represent, thank you for embodying the American dream that so many of us tried to deny you along your way. For the record, I would vote for you to become an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court if I could.
Your humble petitioner,
Steve Ellis
