So wrote “fair and unbiased” Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley as a student at Marquette University in 1992:
After her hate-filled writings were made public, Justice Bradley issued an apology for what she wrote.
“To those offended by comments I made as a young college student, I apologize, and assure you that those comments are not reflective of my worldview,” Bradley said in a statement. “These comments have nothing to do with who I am as a person or a jurist, and they have nothing to do with the issues facing the voters of this state.”
“I am frankly embarrassed at the content and tone of what I wrote those many years ago,” Bradley said in the statement, in which she also said she wrote them as “a very young student.”
While many will defend Bradley by noting the decades that have passed since she wrote her hate-filled screeds, as JoAnne Kloppenburg noted, “There is no statute of limitations on hate.”
Ed, thanks.
Justice Bradley’s opposition to individual liberty is no surprise.
I think everyone is entitled to graceful oblivion for some of our positions or remarks in young age and I think judge Bradley deserves praise and respect. Her frank admission of being embarrassed should have been end of story, Blogger Blue.
Fredrik, the story won’t end until she clarifies her current positions. Does she want gov’t forcing birth? Does she want a homicide investigation after every miscarriage? Does she place any value on individual liberty?
I grant Bradley’s right to oppose a lifestyle or use of drugs, but I question her lack of humanity toward the afflicted..
To hate or lacking empathy for a fellow human being because of his or her faults or beliefs is a serious character flaw developed early in life, usually retained into adulthood, and not in keeping with the age old Christian teaching to love the sinner but hate the sin.
Awhile back, Marquette required a semester of “Moral Theology 101” as I recall which expressed this basic humanitarian principle. Or as Pope Francis has emphasized recently, “Dogma is not superior to love.”