History Forum / General / British History / March 2006

Mr. Justice Scalia Strikes Back...

ZAAAAAAAAPPPP!!!

Viva Italia!

DSH
-----------------------------------------------------------------

"Justice Scalia Chastises Boston Newspaper"

Mar 29, 2006

BOSTON
AP

"Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, in a scathing letter to the editor of
the Boston Herald, accused the newspaper's staff of watching "too many
episodes of the Sopranos" for interpreting a hand gesture he made at a
cathedral as obscene.

The Boston Herald reported Monday 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.

But Scalia said in his letter the gesture is not obscene at all, but
dismissive. 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."

Translation From The Sicilian:  _Arsehole_ -- DSH

To back his interpretation of the gesture, Scalia in his letter quoted from
Luigi Barzini's book, "The Italians:" "The extended fingers of one hand
moving slowly back and forth under the raised chin means 'I couldn't care
less.  It's no business of mine.  Count me out.'"

Scalia said in the letter, written to Executive Editor Kenneth Chandler,
that the reporter leapt to conclusions that it was offensive because he
initially explained his gesture by saying, 'That's 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, by the way, an American jurist.)," he
wrote.

The Herald had referred to him as an "Italian-American jurist."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DSH