I’ve been having some fun on Twitter abusing Rep. Ryan Winkler, who called Clarence Thomas an “Uncle Tom.” Mr. Winkler, who holds a degree in history from Harvard, says he did not know that “Uncle Tom” was a racist slur. Incredible as it is that a literate American, let alone a Harvard grad, would not know this, let’s give him the benefit of the doubt.
But that leaves us with a question: If Ryan Winkler did not think that “Uncle Tom” was a racist slur, what, exactly, did he think it meant?