Clarence Thomas's nephew tasered for being suicidal -- teachable moment?

What Happens When It's One Of Your Own?

by digby

Via Raw Story, here's another sad example of something that happens every day in America:

Derek Thomas was admitted to West Jefferson Hospital in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, Thursday, after a possible suicide attempt, reports ABC affiliate WGNO.

When [the patient] refused to put on a hospital gown and said he wanted to leave the hospital, doctors ordered security to restrain him.

Security guards "punched him in his lip, pulled out more than a fistful of his dreadlocks and tasered him to restrain him," a statement from Thomas' family said.

Shortly afterwards, family members say, Thomas suffered a "massive epileptic seizure."

This particular case of malicious torture of a mental patient is a little bit different, however. Derek Thomas is Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas's nephew. And Thomas and his family are reported to be outraged and heading down to Louisiana to personally intervene.

One of the hallmarks of the right is that they have no empathy (indeed, they scoff at the very notion) so they can't understand something like injustice until they personally experience it. But maybe this will raise Clarence Thomas's conscience a little bit and draw attention to this scourge among his elite peer group. Perhaps Thomas will even share some of his outrage with his ideological soulmates on the Supreme Court when one of these cases finally make their way to them.

By the way, there are other cases of these torture devices being used against epileptics. This one is the most horrific.

Update: No, I am not holding out a lot of hope for Clarence Thomas who has shown a remarkable ability to avoid feeling empathy, even for people in his own family. But hope lives eternal.

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h/t to JRC