Glorious, Not-Furious RBG

For this, the second entry in the Glorious RBG blog series, I bring you Not-Furious RBG.Ruth Bader Ginsburg has lived her life and built her career fending off and disagreeing with those who would dismiss her and her ideas. I titled the book I Dissent for a reason! But with all her disagreeing, she has avoided being disagreeable. Whether by dint of personality or strategy, RBG's approach to all the stuff that has been hurled her way has been serene and charitable.Two examples of Not-Furious RBG:"Sometimes people say unkind or thoughtless things, and when they do, it is best to be a little hard of hearing--to tune out and not snap back in anger or impatience."- RBG essay in Marlo Thomas' collection of essays, The Right Words at the Right TimeAnd here is RBG's take on Supreme Court justices of the 1950s and 1960s, an era when courts viewed discrimination against women as perfectly lawful and beneficial to society:"I don't think they regarded discrimination against women as discrimination at all. These were people who thought they were good fathers, they were good husbands, and they didn't understand barriers that women faced as discriminatory. They really bought into the protective notion that if there are distinctions--women don't have to serve on juries--then it was for their benefit, for their protection."- RBG quoted in Jeffrey Toobin, "Heavyweight," The New Yorker, March 13, 2013What a great role model: Don't let yourself be provoked into being less than your thoughtful and considerate self. If you find yourself in opposition to someone, try to understand where that person's point of view is coming from--in other words, don't simply assume bad faith or stupidity.And then go do what you gotta do. Glorious, Not-Furious RBG.Next time: Not-Spurious RBG. See you next week.(Photo credit: Eric Bronson, Michigan Photography)