Welcome to a discussion about the upcoming 5th Revolution in the US, which I’ve titled the “Revenge Revolution.” For more about the Revenge Revolution and the author, Entry #1.  Periodically I write a “sense check” to assess whether a revolution in the US is possible or whether the entire exercise is based on a statistical aberration — i.e., a roughly 50-year cycle between major upheavals in the US Entry #476 was the most recent “sense check.”

BEGIN ENTRY #483:: Some key decisions at the end of the 2022–23 term for SCOTUS were less surprising than the rationale justifying the decision. Three key decisions in particular seem to be laying the groundwork for the next opportunity to address the race issue.

Overturning affirmative action in college admissions was expected by a court that overturned Roe. The decision that negated President Biden’s Executive Order to waive a portion of student debt was another example of the Roberts’ Court stripping the authority of the executive branch that had been granted by Congress.  Another decision was allowing religious beliefs to justify being able to discriminate against another individual or group. 

Lots of ink this week and likely more next week about the impact of the affirmative action decision on college admissions, efforts by companies to diversify the workforce, etc. 

While the SCOTUS ruling effectively banned affirmative action, there was one notable exemption. Without any justification, the opinion written by Chief Justice Roberts excluded the military academies from the decision, allowing the academies to use race in selecting candidates for admission.

Why are military academies so different from Harvard, University of North Carolina, and other academic institutions? No explanation offered. But, maybe, just maybe, the service academies want the officer corps to reflect the composition of enlisted personnel. Like many claims made by conservative Republicans, no supporting data or explanation was offered.

Where do these decisions lead? In 2010, the Roberts’ Court gave corporations more rights than individual citizens in the Citizens United case. In 2013, the Roberts’ Court ruling in the Shelby Country case gutted key provision of the Voting Rights Act, allowing states to essentially restrict voting rights, especially for people of color. In 2022 to the Roberts’ Court stripped women of any rights over their bodies in overturning Roe.

See a pattern here? There are more examples of the Roberts’ Court taking away rights rather than granting rights. 

What’s the next target for the Roberts’ Court?  My bet is overturning the 1954 case of Brown v Board of Education. Overturning Brown would allow SCOTUS to reinstate Plessy v Ferguson, which established justification for having “separate but equal” facilities in transportation, education et al.

Think overturning Brown is unrealistic?  Read the language of opinions by Roberts and Thomas in the affirmative action cases.  Frequent reference to the “equal protection” clause in the 14^th Amendment claiming that the clause prevents one segment of society from being favored over another. Since Republican appointees to SCOTUS often claim to be originalists, maybe they should consider why the 14^th Amendment was written. 

The 14^th Amendment was passed by Congress in 1866 and ratified in 1868.  I guess Roberts and the originalist gang failed history in high school or conveniently forgot the 14^th Amendment was passed to protect blacks following the Civil War.  Was Roberts thinking, “Never mind history.  I need to make this decision seem rational, no matter how illogical.”

By the standards of the Roberts’ gang,  Brown effectively favors blacks by forcing the busing of children to white schools.  Brown also discriminates against whites by being bussed to what often are or were predominately black schools.  Brown discriminates against both groups by taking away rights to attend neighborhood schools.

Thus, Brown is effectively an affirmative action program for blacks, which SCOTUS ruled as unfair.  Therefore, to ensure there is no discrimination against any citizen, the only solution is to reinstate Plessy.  Reinstating a “separate-but-equal“ school system is a fair and equitable solution that allows children to attend neighborhood schools.

Reinstating Plessy seems far-fetched? No, I’ll bet the far right is preparing to file, if not having already done so, a challenge to Broun. The challenge likely will be filed in the 5^th Circuit, which includes Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, and is packed with far-right judges. These judges then will allow the case to go forward to the Supreme Court.

What is the cumulative effect of the last decade of SCOTUS decisions?  Will the decisions affect the likelihood of a more intense 5^th US Revolution, the Revenge Revolution? Constantly taking away individual rights – women’s right to choose, voting rights of non-white groups, equal protection of LBGTQ community, etc. – creates frustration and anger.  Women are angry about overturning Roe. While the affirmative action decision is less controversial than Roe, for those affected, the frustration may be comparable.

SCOTUS decisions that seem heavily weighted toward favoring a Republican base of white Christians, mostly men, plus the continued drip, drip of corruption of behavior by Thomas, Alito, and even Roberts, are intensifying the frustration.  There’s a saying I saw on an apron that seems to sum up the long-term problem for SCOTUS and Republicans – “When mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.”   

As we approach July 4^th, 2023, mama and many others ain’t happy.  And what Republicans and far-right SCOTUS justices seem to have overlooked, is their bizarre interpretation of the 2^nd Amendment has resulted in widespread ownership of firearms among the frustrated majority.  These actions increase the likelihood of a more intense Revenge Revolution, which has already started but not yet boiled over.

Other Topics. Interested in more info about climate change, what’s required to electrify a fleet of cars/trucks, what it was like to work day-to-day with Lee Iacocca and an array of other topics? Visit another page of this website, https://usrevolution5.com/jrd-thought-comments/