Could the notorious RGB be any cooler (you should probably ask yourself that out loud, Chandler Bing style). From busting gender barriers in the United States government to her sweet neck-wear, we’re just smitten with this highly impressive lady—oh let us count the ways! Seriously, let’s count’em:
1. She always keeps her wits about her.
The 81-year-old justice keeps it coming with common sense and witty comebacks, and sometimes provides us with a two-in-one: When asked how many women would be an ideal number in the Supreme Court position, Ginsburg replied, “Nine… Well, there’ve been nine men for a long long time, right? So why not nine women?
2. She never stops working for what she knows is right.
Say what you may about her age; RBG has no plans to retire, and she isn’t showing any signs of slowing down, either. In October, she worked well through the night to complete her dissenting opinion on the Shelby County voter identification case so that it could be issued before dawn the next morning.
3. She always comes back with a bang.
Ginsburg has had her fair share of struggles, including a 1999 battle with cancer. All throughout the treatment process, she never missed a day on the bench. And when she had a heart surgery in 2013, she went right back to argument hearing just five days later. Yep, our valentine is kind of invincible.
4. She never beats around the bush.
Her opinions are candid, direct, and 100% true-to-self. We don’t want a valentine who’s afraid to say what’s up, and her dissent to the Shelby County Supreme Court ruling to do away with preclearance in the Voting Rights Act is a perfect example: “Throwing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.”
5. She is the sweetheart and the badass, at the same time.
That’s right – we don’t have to choose between the classic types with RBG. From her policy decisions, it’s obvious that she’s willing to pick a fight with a bunch of guys any day – but she also gives some amazing hugs:
6. She’s quite aware of her fame.
She stated in an interview that she’s scrolled through the famous Tumblr dedicated to her, and that she keeps a bunch of the Notorious RBG shirts to give out as gifts. It’s important for our valentine to understand that sometimes her words just hypnotize us.
7. She has a sense of humor.
And that humor is often revealed in truth. In Ginsburg’s work as a Supreme Court Justice, she knows exactly how to deal with the difficulty of her work (or perhaps more truthfully, the difficulty of the people she works with). She attributes this to her mother in law’s very truthful advice: “Every now and then, it helps to be a little deaf.”
8. She never makes excuses.
Was RBG dozing off a little during the State of the Union? She sure was. And she has the best reason for it: she’d had a little bit to drink beforehand: “…Before we went to the State of the Union, Justice Kennedy brought in… very fine California wine, and I vowed this year, just sparkling water, stay away from the wine, but in the end, the dinner was so delicious, it needed wine.” Does this valentine have expensive taste? Apparently so. But she definitely deserves it.
9. She supports same-sex marriage.
Ginsburg knows that love is love no matter the category, and she knows that marriage will remain marriage no matter who has the right to it. She recently reported to Bloomberg that she is quite sure that a nation-wide ruling legalizing gay marriage will be accepted.
10. She has been and always will be an unflinching, uncompromising champion of women’s rights.
This above all else is enough to make her our valentine. RBG has been a constant supporter of the feminist cause from the very beginning, and she shows no signs of quitting that battle.
Image via The Notorious RBG
