Come for the Politics, Stay for the Pathologies



Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Questions I Would Ask at Sotomayor’s Congressional Confirmation Hearings

NOTE: this was originally posted 5-30-09 but bears repeating.

“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,” said Sotomayor, whose parents came from Puerto Rico.

Based on the much reported statement that Sonia Sotomayor made in a speech in 2001, here are a couple of questions I would ask if I were on the Judicial Committee:

“Judge Sotomayor, would you say that a wise black woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a Latina woman? How about a wise black man? Where might he fall in your spectrum of ‘good conclusions’? What about a wise Latino man? And I guess I’m also curious as to how you think an Asian woman might stack up.

“Also, among wise Latina women, is there a distinction between the wisdom of a Latina from Puerto Rico and one from Mexico? Or Cuba? And what about Guatemala?

“We assume, Judge Sotomayor, that white males would come in dead last, but I’m just wondering if perhaps, for future appointments to the bench, you could share with us some of your Latina wisdom and help us rank the full spectrum of color and gender combinations. That way we could ensure that all subsequent appointments will go only to those that are capable of reaching the wisest conclusions.”