I do agree with you that, at heart, alot of prejudice is about power...
And I totally agree that the attitudes and beliefs are woven so far into our society, that even the most liberally minded person might exhibit unconsciously racist beliefs or behaviors. As I said at the start of my post, I'm willing to believe that my attitude towards Hillary Clinton was, at least in part, sexist in nature, though not consciously so.
But I'm not sure I agree that minorities are better equipped to discuss issues, because all issues have a number of different facets that I think takes a large variety of minds to be able to take apart and dissect and come to the best conclusion.
And.. experiencing something, such as racism or sexism, doesn't necessarily give one the.. equipment to talk about some of these issues. I think that what gives you the ability to talk about these issues is one part (and only one part) experience, but also a keen intellect, and a more scholarly disposition.
I do agree that a diverse supreme court, with both the credentials and the experience to understand a number of different situations may be the best answer, but, personally, especially given the job.. I'd sooner have someone with the credentials to take the job, than just the diversity.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2009-05-29 05:34 pm (UTC)And I totally agree that the attitudes and beliefs are woven so far into our society, that even the most liberally minded person might exhibit unconsciously racist beliefs or behaviors. As I said at the start of my post, I'm willing to believe that my attitude towards Hillary Clinton was, at least in part, sexist in nature, though not consciously so.
But I'm not sure I agree that minorities are better equipped to discuss issues, because all issues have a number of different facets that I think takes a large variety of minds to be able to take apart and dissect and come to the best conclusion.
And.. experiencing something, such as racism or sexism, doesn't necessarily give one the.. equipment to talk about some of these issues. I think that what gives you the ability to talk about these issues is one part (and only one part) experience, but also a keen intellect, and a more scholarly disposition.
I do agree that a diverse supreme court, with both the credentials and the experience to understand a number of different situations may be the best answer, but, personally, especially given the job.. I'd sooner have someone with the credentials to take the job, than just the diversity.