I know that debating ACB is a trap but I am haunted by the invocation of her "civility"& kindness. It reflects so many of the dangers of law as a system and the legal profession. The framing of this conversation is central to the maintenance of structural supremacies and power.

"Civility" itself is the operation of social norms designed to maintain white supremacy. And it is truly horrifying to face opposing counsel who will shake your hand, look you in the eye & then proceed to tell the court why you shouldn't be protected by law or exist at all.

It is not kindness as I understand kindness to feign respect while using the mechanisms of power to seek to deprive people of their humanity. And as a litigator, I would prefer Justice Scalia's disposition to say, Judge Duncan. I prefer the direct contempt. It is safer in court.

This discourse-as @ElieNYC has pointed out over and over-is the very thing that pushes so many people of color, queer people, trans people, disabled people, immigrants out of law. We are told to appreciate the intellectual sparring of law. Told to compartmentalize our humanity.

It takes a profound toll to fight in court when the arguments are about whether you are a person, whether you deserve to live, whether the state should control your body & your movement. But we are told how kind & civil all the players are. That we are the ones with the problem.

The implied or more often explicit message is - "to thrive in this place you must show up equally dispassionate and robotic to be hailed as intellectually fit". This is not possible for most people defending their existence, their families, their children, their ancestors.

And so, people choose out of the profession or they are eternally cast as advocates and unfit for the "impartiality" of the judiciary. Where of course, advocating for one's white maleness is seen as neutral and everyone else is an advocate for disruption.

The more we allow this type of discourse, the more we legitimize these ideas of dispassionate intellectual superiority, the more we entrench the power that has always existed. We are all capable of both reinforcing and disrupting this.

I for one am going to keep holding myself and others to a standard of disruption. This system is designed to destroy so many, so we have an obligation to destroy it before it succeeds.