Openly-gay actor George Takei went on a shocking and often incoherent rant in an interview with a Phoenix TV station, calling Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas “a clown in blackface sitting there on the Supreme Court.” Thomas had written a dissent with the Supreme Court’s decision in favor of gay marriage in all 50 states.

Oh my.

https://youtu.be/SE8NXAMKfcM

Takei’s racist tirade was largely ignored by liberal websites. A search by Sean Davis of The Federalist into sites The Huffington Post, Think Progress, Vox, Mother Jones, and Talking Points Memo yielded no results for the Takei harangue. None. Nada. Nothing to see here, kids, move along.

But on social media the rant was trending. On Thursday night, Takei decided to attempt some damage control. But did he apologize? No, he doubled down and tried to excuse his comment at Facebook:

A few fans have written wondering whether I intended to utter a racist remark by referring to Justice Thomas as a “clown in blackface.”

“Blackface” is a lesser known theatrical term for a white actor who blackens his face to play a black buffoon. In traditional theater lingo, and in my view and intent, that is not racist. It is instead part of a racist history in this country.

Twitter followers weren’t buying the excuse.

@DerekActual @MZHemingway Yes. Mostly just stop.

— Sarah Kate (@SarahKate26) July 3, 2015

@SnappyKyle @MZHemingway I think you just state that "bucktoothed savage" is a lesser known term, whether true or not, and all is forgiven

— Eustace I Was (@Eustace_I_Am) July 3, 2015

But while social media was agitated at Takei’s racist labeling of Clarence Thomas, most had overlooked how he completely misconstrued the Justice’s remarks on human dignity.

The second part of Takei’s explanation for his outburst says the following:

I feel Justice Thomas has abdicated and abandoned his African American heritage by claiming slavery did not strip dignity from human beings. He made a similar remark about the Japanese American internment, of which I am a survivor. A sitting Justice of the Supreme Court ought to know better.

That is at complete odds with how Justice Thomas — and the Framers — use the term ‘dignity.’ In the Constitution, all persons have inherent dignity, simply because they are human beings, no matter their station in life. It is given them by their Creator. Dignity is not granted by government, which is what the Left — and apparently Takei — erroneously believe. Dignity is not dependent upon whatever fiats or laws are handed down by a manmade institution. Thus, Justice Thomas was correct: slaves — which included his ancestors — held inherent dignity given them by God, even though freedom was not granted by the government of the time. Likewise, George Takei’s parents, held in an internment camp for Japanese in World War II, also retained dignity.

Constitutional attorney and radio host Mark Levin pointed this out on his radio show, blasting Takei for his racist remark and his ignorance about what Justice Thomas meant about dignity.

https://youtu.be/BaJW-os9LsQ?t=1m7s

Levin concluded his comments by asking if Takei is now going to be banished by the media elite. Will figures and images of his Star Trek character, Lieutenant Sulu, be removed from the public square for Takei’s racist comments and his wild accusations against the only sitting African-American Supreme Court Justice?

I think we know the answer to that question. Censuring of speech is only for Republicans, conservatives, Christians, or others deemed by progressives to be unworthy of respect.

Beam me up, Scotty. There is no intelligent life here.