Comments on: What is a wise Latina anyway?

By: Kurt

Kurt — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:30:37 +0000

Excellent! I especially like the way you call out the 2-bit sociopaths who sneer at empathy, like Tom “bug spray” DeLay.

By: Josh

Josh — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:17:28 +0000

In your piece you said:

“Our varied experiences shape us, they enrich us, they give us the ability to… empathize.”

Where exactly do you get the idea that the job of a judge is to empathize? Where is that qualification written anywhere in the constitution? A judges job (especially on the Supreme Court) is to rule on the letter of the law — not to empathize with anyone or anything. If they empathize, then they will make rulings on their feelings and their degree of empathy for an individual or groups.

There’s a reason why the statue of “justice” has a blindfold. They’re supposed to be impartial and not show a higher degree of empathy for any one group or individual.

Sotomayer is dangerous — just like Obama.

By: karen

karen — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:04:37 +0000

Excellent. The media are also completely ignoring the fact that

1) she prefaced her ‘wise Latina’ remark by saying that there is no one single way to be wise,

2) she was speaking specifically in the context of legal cases about discrimination based on race or sex,

3) her statement expressed a wish, not a certainty: she said “I would hope that…”

4) the statement did not imply that she herself is wise, nor that all Latinas are wise, and

5) she immediately followed the ‘wise Latina’ remark by saying that many people are capable of “understanding the values and needs of people from a different group.” She mentioned Brown v. Board of Ed. (unanimously decided by nine white men) as an example.

But all we get from the media is that she supposedly said she’s a wise Latina who could make better decisions than white men. And Jeff Sessions and his ilk happily propagate that deception.

By: C-Mon

C-Mon — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:52:15 +0000

thanks for the comments. i do regret not saying that her word choice was poor and that no culture has a monopoly on compassion… really though, in all of this, i’m still kinda weirdly happy to see the wise latina trope enter the culture…

@john: i’m sorry i missed your post. i’ll foward to editors…

By: Bill

Bill — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:26:38 +0000

Another illogical defense of an indefensible comment. Why not just say it was indefensible but on balance she is deserving to be confirmed, which is the truth. The comparison to Alito’s quote, which everyone seems to want to do, is so silly its beyond words. Alito DID NOT say that people of Italian descent would judge better than others. If he did, his statement would be just as wrong as Sotomayor’s. And why would she need to straddle two cultures. She was born and raised an American, and is as American as I am. There is such a thing as an American culture, influenced in part by Latin America, which more people need to acknowledge. Your views are too Plessy-v-Fergerson-like for me. We need to stop pretending we are a nation of seperate but equal cultures, and instead strive to be a nation of one culture.