US Supreme Court Justice Scalia Behaving Badly

When you're a member of the Supremes, you need to temper your public words and deeds. This past Sunday, Justice Antonin Scalia forgot that bit of etiquette in response to a question about his critics and now his reaction has been published in a photograph for all the world to see:


(Herald exclusive photo by Peter A. Smith)

Via The Boston Herald:

Smith was working as a freelance photographer for the Boston archdiocese's weekly newspaper at a special Mass for lawyers Sunday when a Herald reporter asked the justice how he responds to critics who might question his impartiality as a judge given his public worship.

"The judge paused for a second, then looked directly into my lens and said, 'To my critics, I say, 'Vaffanculo,'" punctuating the comment by flicking his right hand out from under his chin, Smith said.

The Italian phrase means "(expletive) you."

Although there's some dispute about what Scalia said, this photo lays to rest the controversy over what he actually did.

"How could your reporter leap to the conclusion (contrary to my explanation) that the gesture was obscene?" Scalia wrote.

Get real, Scalia. As a kid who used that gesture several times, I knew what it meant at age 9 and I'm not even Italian.