As I read the opinion by Thomas, he was saying that even in these more horrible circumstances (slavery and internment) the people involved maintained, or at least had the potential to maintain, their dignity. Because that dignity was inherent to being human.
I’m still unclear why Takei and other object to this POV.
Perhaps it’s because it’s the concept behind Uncle Tom’s Cabin, in which Tom is shown as having great dignity even as he’s being tortured to death.
BTW, internment, while a violation of civil rights, was orders of magnitude less horrific than slavery.
I wonder if Takei was molested at Gila River. Their living conditions were not good. Curtains separated families from one another. I hadn’t thought about it until the last few days.
If I spit on and curse at a homeless person, does that reduce his dignity, or mine? The answer to that question tells you how right Justice Thomas was in his dissent in regard to dignity. He was dead right.