Watching the Supreme Court implode is sad; where is the shame?

I can see arguments that maintain that shame is a tactic/emotion that can lead to depression, fear, lashing out, withdrawal from society, and an excuse for the self-righteous to punish the guilty/spotlighted. Cancel culture, whatever that really means, is mostly an handy way for trolls to make others miserable, which may make the trolls feel fleetingly better.

But shame, or more accurately, the threat of shame, can be the factor that stops the worst choices or actions... before they can damage society and/or individuals.

The curious case of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and the clearly unethical financial decisions he has made are the latest example of how an absence of shame, particularly among many with great power, can make those of us who still experience shame (or fear of being shamed) a bit crazy.

He and his advisers can argue all they want about the letter of the law or the lack of codes to follow or whatever other juicy excuses they can conjure, but the plain fact is that a judge looks like he is open to being "bought," and that can't be tolerated.

There is only one mechanism for removing the guy... and that isn't going to happen because impeachment is impossible in the current environment. Thomas can just shrug, hide behind the walls and costumes of the court, and go on taking money and (possibly) granting favors to those who have invested in him.

That leaves shame as the only mechanism that could change the dynamic. If Clarence Thomas has convinced himself that he need not be ashamed of accepting money from the rich and powerful and that the mere acceptance of their largess is no big deal... well, he will remain until his death.

Of course, the point of shame is that society prefers certain choices over others. Sometimes society is wrong or prejudiced or just stubborn, but that is no reason to just ban "shame" as a tool in maintaining order and restraining excess. 

Putin can't be shamed at this point, and he functions as a dictator. Trump can't be shamed and he continues to run for re-election despite being a rapist, an insurrectionist, a petty thief, and a con artist. His rabid supporters either deny all facts about him or positively revel in his "getting away with it." Those people are beyond shame as much as Trump is.

The Supreme Court has lost a lot of it credibility among Americans by reinforcing our sense that the rich and powerful play by different rules. Clarence Thomas is not the only justice who blatantly uses his position for personal gain, but his lack of caring what the "peons" think is the most public and appalling. 

He needs to resign. Then he can find out if his supposed friends among the angry but wealthy white people will stick with him. 

He has been a tool of the Angry White People Party, at least potentially. It is ironic that a Black man can be used so publicly and blatantly by white people. Turns out that race makes no difference when it comes to greed. It's good to know that we really are more alike than different.

Tucker Carlson refuses to be shamed but his employers still removed him from his top-rated cable show. He won't go away, but at least his influence is momentarily diminished. 

Even FOX News can be shamed, just a tiny bit. 

Can Clarence Thomas?