Sonia Sotomayer
May. 29th, 2009 08:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hkellickI remember... just after Obama had won the nomination to be the Democratic Presidential Nomination hanging out on CC and having two people explain to me how sexism had played a role in Obama winning the nomination. And.. I couldn't argue the fact.
The expectations for Hillary, as a woman, were DIFFERENT than those for Obama, a black man. Sometimes Hillary herself wasn't sure what those expectations were, sometimes showing her "I can play with the big boys" face and sometimes showing her more sensitive female side. The final view of Hillary was.. a woman of 1,000 faces. And it's an image some of us bought.
I can't argue that Hillary was, in part, a victim of these different expectations. The same expectations any woman in power probably has to deal with. What it means to be a Woman in a "Man's World."
I didn't like Hillary. I didn't want another Clinton in office so quickly and Hillary's "I'm going to play with the big boys" attitude.. always bothered me somewhat.
Which is probably sexism on my end.
I mention this to bring up the point that Sexism.. AND Racism are not just Black and White. There's shades of grey, quite a lot of them, and the fact, for example, that I wasn't comfortable with Hillary in power might have been sexism on my part.
I'm of an "Avenue Q" point of view about the whole thing. I think we're all a little Racist, and all a little Sexist. I hear comments all the time, jokes, a certain sort of humor that, while maybe funny, are still Sexist or Racist.
So, when you hear Sonia Sotomayer's comment, EVEN IN CONTEXT, I think it's Racist. And Sexist.
For the record, her comment was the following...
Whether born from experience or inherent physiological or cultural differences, a possibility I abhor less or discount less than my colleague Judge Cedarbaum, our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging. Justice O'Connor has often been cited as saying that a wise old man and wise old woman will reach the same conclusion in deciding cases. I am not so sure Justice O'Connor is the author of that line since Professor Resnik attributes that line to Supreme Court Justice Coyle. I am also not so sure that I agree with the statement. First, as Professor Martha Minnow has noted, there can never be a universal definition of wise. Second, I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life.
You can read her entire speech, to get a feeling for the context of this paragraph here.
I think the fact that if you flipped the comment around so it says "Secondly, I would hope that a Caucasian Male with the richness of his experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a Latino Woman who hasn't lived that life."... the fact that that's a little more clearly racist and sexist, I think... shows the comment is, in fact Racist and Sexist.
I think, if she's said that "With my experience, and the life I've lived, I think I have the ability to make a better conclusion regarding race and sex discrimination cases.", she would have sounded potentially conceited, but not racist or sexist.
It was the way she said it.
I'm not here to yell at her like Newt or Rush. I'm sure she'll be a fine justice. But I feel the need to make my case heard, if only here in my personal journal. And, so far, there's two camps here.. only two.. the Left who's screaming it isn't Racist at all and how DARE those idiots on the rights suggest that Sonia Sotomayer is Racist.. and the Right who's screaming "REVERSE RACISM! REVERSE RACISM!"
If we're committed to fighting Racism, and Sexism. I think we need to be realistic here about what counts. And all the various grays of Racism and Sexism. If we're really going to end Racism and Sexism, which alot of groups claim is the right end.. the right end for Feminism and the Civil Rights movement, it has to stop, all of it.
The expectations for Hillary, as a woman, were DIFFERENT than those for Obama, a black man. Sometimes Hillary herself wasn't sure what those expectations were, sometimes showing her "I can play with the big boys" face and sometimes showing her more sensitive female side. The final view of Hillary was.. a woman of 1,000 faces. And it's an image some of us bought.
I can't argue that Hillary was, in part, a victim of these different expectations. The same expectations any woman in power probably has to deal with. What it means to be a Woman in a "Man's World."
I didn't like Hillary. I didn't want another Clinton in office so quickly and Hillary's "I'm going to play with the big boys" attitude.. always bothered me somewhat.
Which is probably sexism on my end.
I mention this to bring up the point that Sexism.. AND Racism are not just Black and White. There's shades of grey, quite a lot of them, and the fact, for example, that I wasn't comfortable with Hillary in power might have been sexism on my part.
I'm of an "Avenue Q" point of view about the whole thing. I think we're all a little Racist, and all a little Sexist. I hear comments all the time, jokes, a certain sort of humor that, while maybe funny, are still Sexist or Racist.
So, when you hear Sonia Sotomayer's comment, EVEN IN CONTEXT, I think it's Racist. And Sexist.
For the record, her comment was the following...
Whether born from experience or inherent physiological or cultural differences, a possibility I abhor less or discount less than my colleague Judge Cedarbaum, our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging. Justice O'Connor has often been cited as saying that a wise old man and wise old woman will reach the same conclusion in deciding cases. I am not so sure Justice O'Connor is the author of that line since Professor Resnik attributes that line to Supreme Court Justice Coyle. I am also not so sure that I agree with the statement. First, as Professor Martha Minnow has noted, there can never be a universal definition of wise. Second, I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life.
You can read her entire speech, to get a feeling for the context of this paragraph here.
I think the fact that if you flipped the comment around so it says "Secondly, I would hope that a Caucasian Male with the richness of his experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a Latino Woman who hasn't lived that life."... the fact that that's a little more clearly racist and sexist, I think... shows the comment is, in fact Racist and Sexist.
I think, if she's said that "With my experience, and the life I've lived, I think I have the ability to make a better conclusion regarding race and sex discrimination cases.", she would have sounded potentially conceited, but not racist or sexist.
It was the way she said it.
I'm not here to yell at her like Newt or Rush. I'm sure she'll be a fine justice. But I feel the need to make my case heard, if only here in my personal journal. And, so far, there's two camps here.. only two.. the Left who's screaming it isn't Racist at all and how DARE those idiots on the rights suggest that Sonia Sotomayer is Racist.. and the Right who's screaming "REVERSE RACISM! REVERSE RACISM!"
If we're committed to fighting Racism, and Sexism. I think we need to be realistic here about what counts. And all the various grays of Racism and Sexism. If we're really going to end Racism and Sexism, which alot of groups claim is the right end.. the right end for Feminism and the Civil Rights movement, it has to stop, all of it.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-05-30 01:15 am (UTC)I think she has the equipment to talk about it, the perspective... and the intellect/credentials. I think the fact that people are saying that she's only up there for the sake of diversity are ignoring her credentials. Is it that... as a woman, she can never be smart enough on her own, so she's only there for the sake of diversity? I don't think so. Sotomayer has worked to get where she is in life. There are plenty of people who are likely equally qualified for the position. If the matter of diversity pushes her forward a little, I see it as a good thing - because otherwise we add no new perspectives to the bench, we add no true voices --- even if we don't like what they are saying to us.