Judging Sotomayor

soundoff (5 Responses)

1. Larry
   

   She'll be approved. She's highly qualified and a good pick for the court.

   The hearings just gave me more reasons never to vote Republican again.

   July 19, 2009 at 8:41 am |
2. michael armstrong sr.
   

   Judge Sotomayor may make a terrific judge on the suppream court the only worry I have is her past history on affirmitive action all supervisery or managment positions need to go to people who make the grade.

   July 19, 2009 at 9:26 am |
3. Paul
   

   Imagine if a wise white man was substituted for wise latino woman, the outrage would go on forever. While she is judicially qualified, her public statements on several occasions indicate a possible bias. Why would someone state this if they didn't feel that way? I think the Republicans tossed her a few softballs and gave her a pass.

   July 19, 2009 at 10:48 am |
4. Robert Hahn
   

   Judge Soutomayor is Right:  Hierarchy Fosters Ignorance

   The meaning of Judge Soutomayor's statement, "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" is being subjected to intense scrutiny and interpretation.  If I interpret her statement correctly, I believe she is right. 

   Our society, like many others, still carries historical hierarchies of status, resources, and power: men over women, whites over diverse minorities, heterosexuals over homosexuals, wealthy over poor, formally educated over less educated, able-bodied over disabled, young over old.  Hierarchies exist not only within but also among nations.  For each of these divisions those on the "top" have assumed power, often backed by force, and have established rules which maintain their power.  They accumulate wealth and opportunity and they make more decisions.  However, along with their wealth and power comes a distance from the majority they dominate–the women, the minorities, the homosexuals, the poor, etc.  Those powerful on the "top" do not mingle with those below them; they do not know the worlds of those "inferiors" they dominate and from whom they profit.  Thus, for each hierarchy in which the powerful partake, they are blind and ignorant of the reality of those who are "beneath" them.  And, since the dominated are by far the majority of the nation's and the world's population, the dominant are likely to be ignorant of the real world of those they dominate.  A white man does not have to think about those he dominates.  A Latina woman, a black man, a homosexual, a poor woman face this reality of domination daily; they have little choice. 

   I am not saying that white, heterosexual, educated ... men are necessarily blind to the world in which most people live. Some have chosen to know those worlds and to work to right injustice and exploitation and hierarchy. I believe they are enriched by their actions. But white, educated ... men do not ordinarily make this choice.

   Thus, it is reasonable to expect that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience is more likely to reach a judgment reflecting the reality of the world and its injustices than a white man who hasn’t lived that life. 

   Robert
   (white male)
   Atlanta, Georgia

   July 19, 2009 at 12:52 pm |
5. Nanci Romberg
   

   https://www.electricpercolatorcoffeepot.com/10-top-coffee-bloggers/

   March 4, 2021 at 10:07 am |