Last Stronghold of WASP Gentility, SCOTUS Caves to Base Human Emotions - Could This Be a Good Thing?

 My, my, how badly the Justices of the US Supreme Court have been behaving. 

As FT documents, it's everything from rude responses to opinions inside the Court to badmouthing members outside the Court in public statements. About the latter: Without naming Brett Kavanaugh, Sonia Sotomayor put the knock on him for his privileged background. 

Why this matters is because SCOTUS had been among the few holdouts for old-line WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) gentility. The august aura historically attached to SCOTUS gave raw pragmatic America a bit of class. WASP culture embedded a code of behavior in which politeness was paramount. 

That dominated, at least on the surface, institutions in America until around the 1960s. Anything less in your presentation of self would have doomed you to hourly work. Language was indirect. Conflict was avoided. Perhaps that's why so many who looped into the ethos struggled with problem use of alcohol. Old-money Greenwich, Connecticut has a large number of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. 

Now, unless Chief Justice John Roberts can restore the illusion that we-all-get-along-splendidly SCOTUS will be no different than the kind of loud-mouthed aggressive interactions of Wall Streeters and prominent law firms depicted in the 2021 expose "The Caesars Palace Coup." However, don't hold out hope. FT notes that Roberts currently can himself be openly testy, both with the Justices and lawyers delivering arguments.

But can this boorish development be something positive? 

After all, those who couldn't make it into the WASP orbits could experience severe limits on professional life. For example, top law firms excluded Jews. That's exactly why Paul, Weiss was established in 1923. It was structured to be totally inclusive. Those from a variety of backgrounds worked side-by-side. 

So, come on, let's cheer these signs of the decline of WASP culture.

The language of business, actually of myriad institutions, has become increasingly direct. You bet, you know where you stand.

Conflict is viewed as productive, if managed productively. 

Alcohol consumption is down, significantly.

The overly mannered come across as not-with-it. 

Unfortunately, the tall slim white male will probably continue to have some kind of edge. But probably less of that. The game has mutated so much that those golden boys are expected to produce results. No longer can they just show up and strut around as window dressing.

Therefore, in my coaching I urge flexible emotional intelligence, not any vestige of WASP decorum. The latter won't get you much, especially not on job interviews.

Career Paths? So Over. It’s about Earning a Good Living. No matter what.

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