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Scalia in Letter-to-Editor Denies Making 'Obscene' Gesture Editor & Publisher | March 30 2006 Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has accused staffers at The Boston Herald of watching "too many episodes of the Sopranos." A reporter for the paper on Monday interpreted a hand gesture he made at a cathedral as "obscene." In a strongly-worded letter to the editor of the paper, Scalia said the gesture was merely "dismissive." The Herald reported the justice made "an obscene gesture, flicking his hand under his chin" in response to a question about whether lawyers might question his impartiality in matters of church and state. The incident occurred after he attended Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. It said Scalia had also asked a photographer not to publish a picture. The account was cited by many publications and Web sites, including E&P. A Reuters account initially described the justice as giving the "finger." Scalia said he had explained the gesture's meaning
to no avail to the reporter, whom he referred to as "an up-and-coming
'gotcha' star." Scalia said the reporter leapt to conclusions because the justice initially explained his gesture as something Sicilian. "From watching too many episodes of the Sopranos, your staff seems to have acquired the belief that any Sicilian gesture is obscene -- especially when made by an 'Italian jurist.' (I am, but the way, an American jurist.)," he wrote. The Herald had referred to him as an "Italian-American jurist." The reporter was Laurel J. Sweet. --------------------------------------------------- Please help our fight against the New World Order by giving a donation. As bandwidth costs increase, the only way we can stay online and expand is with your support. Please consider giving a monthly or one-off donation for whatever you can afford. You can pay securely by either credit card or Paypal. Click here to donate. |
