Sotomayor: Maybe a Racist. Definitely an Egomaniac.

The BBQ Pit
81

Actually, I’ll go on record as saying that if a white Republican ever states the following:

“I would hope that a wise white male with the richness of his experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a Latina who hasn’t lived that life.”

Or even:

“I would hope that a wise white male with the richness of his experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a black man who hasn’t lived that life.”

…I will classify it, too, as a racist remark.

So now you can substitute actual reality for your apparent one.

82

Saying a" wise latino woman" does not necessarily mean her. If you say a middle class white is likely to be a democrat ,are you talking about you? Are you suggesting she is the only wise latino woman?

83

Except that Sotomayor was talking about discrimination cases. If there’s a case about anti-male discrimination, then a male justice will be able to understand what happened a little better than Sotomayor would.

84

Seriously dude, you right wingers are barely entertaining aht this point. Either come up with real arguments or just admit you’;re being dickheads becausev you don’t want the lefties to win.

85

And my point is that her experience would allow her to better appreciate ONE aspect of the case.

86

Oh, please. She was using herself as an example. And even if she wasn’t, implying that any wise Latina, or Asian, or African American, or albino, would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male is a racist statement. Period.

87

I will look forward to your implementation of this in practice, on this board.

But I’m really looking for, is for you to honestly acknowledge racism from Republicans when it appears, instead of constantly defending it.

88

I’m sure I won’t be as quick to attribute someone’s remarks or actions to racism as many on the left. But whether that will be due to a reluctance on my part or a rush to hurl the accusation on the part of others, will probably be difficult to assess objectively. But feel free to send me a PM in the future if you’d like to get my assessment.

89

Holy goddamn fucking shit.

Shodan, you probably don’t know me from Adam, but I have read a lot of your stuff over the years. I don’t often agree with you politically (though I do from time to time), but I usually can understand and appreciate your thought process. You (typically) seem intellectually honest, and I (typically) respect that about you even when the opinion you’re expressing is something with which I disagree.

Sometimes I do think that you deliberately try to tweak the oversensitive on the left. Please say this is one of those times. Please say that you don’t actually believe the silly, unnuanced, interpretation of Sotomayor’s statement that you’re saying here that you believe. Because, look: it is perfectly obvious on even a cursory reading of her speech in its entirety what she is trying to say - that different people, with different experiences, will judge in different ways. She is trying to say that in some cases and in some settings, Person X will have a better, more informed ability to judge than Person Y; and, of course, that in other cases and other settings, Person Y will have a better, more informed ability to judge than Person X. The argument is that because of this, ethnic and gender diversity in the judiciary should be welcomed and encouraged, because people of varying backgrounds will bring strength in varying areas.

It’s obvious that this is her intent, and that the reading you’re promulgating was not her intent.

Come on, man. You’re better than this. Your party is better than this. This is such bullshit - mining someone’s speeches for a sentence that, if you take it completely out of context and ignore the obvious intent underlying it, sounds like something you can convince someone is offensive. What the fuck has happened to the discourse in this country lately? It’s driving me fucking crazy. Come on, Shodan. You don’t believe this. You’re not magellan, whose grasp on the nuances of the English language roughly approximates that of my five year old daughter; you have to know that this is stupid.

And please, please, don’t tell me that the liberals did it to George Bush or whoever the fuck. It was stupid and counterproductive when the left played semantic gotcha games and it’s stupid and counterproductive when the right does it.

I mean, fuck me, but this stuff is just so stupid.

90

Like this, for instance. Come on, you don’t believe this. You’re tweaking, right? You don’t honestly believe that Sotomayor’s statements - taken in context and in their entirety - reflect the same mindset as the stuff your grandmother (and hell, my grandmother and even my father) “used to say?”

91

Which might lead to a better ruling. Which is all she’s saying.

92

This is what you leads you to have a lower bar for a Latina than for white GOP guys.

93

A “wise X” will certainly make better decisions, on average, than a “Y.” It isn’t “wise X” versus “wise Y” or, worse, “X” versus “wise Y.” It’s “wise X” versus “Y.”

I’m betting on the wise one.

For a really freaking long time, our culture has discounted the existence of “wise X,” whether X is women, blacks, Latinos, or anyone who isn’t exactly damned Y. Those of you arguing that she’s wrong are saying that Y, a simple Y is equal to “wise X”–“wise X” is superior to “Y.” And guess what? “Wise Y” is superior to “X.” It doesn’t matter what values you plug into these statements. Wise is better than unwise.

94
  1. individual opinion
  2. more often than not
  3. than a white male

I can’t believe anyone is actually trying to defend her words. I can see trying to defend her in spite of those words, but the words are racist and inappropriate for a judge to utter.

95

Let me see if I can parse this. First, here’s what you responded to:

So, I said that I’d be less reluctant than a person on the left to attribute someone’s (generic) remarks to racism. And from that you deduce that I have a lower bar for a Latina than a white GOP guy. Huh?!?! You’ll have to take me through that logic.

How does my having an overall higher threshold to cry “racist” equate with me having a lower bar for Latinas and a higher one for white GOP guys?

96

They have? Or is that more like the way you phrase it in order to make an effort for justice appear ridiculous?

97

No, after the hearings even less republicans swallow that.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/07/18/2009-07-18_back_from_dc_hearings_sonia_sotomayor_tells_news_shes_happy_to_be_home.html

98

:rolleyes: Did you really need to post the same thing—which has nothing to do with what I’ve been saying—in two threads? Go read my answer in the other one. And try paying better attention to what I say if you are going to respond to me, please.

99

It has nothing to do? :dubious:

It shows only that she already defended herself and even some republicans were impressed.

So yes, believe it, she and other people will defend her words as it is clear the effort to discredit her is getting silly.

100

Heck, I’ll defend her words because of this little thing called The First Amendment!

Of course, God knows what’ll happen if a bunch of wise Latinas get their hands on it.