Is Sotomayor A Racist?
“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.”
Quick. Who said that? A motivational speaker? A career coach? A civil rights activist?
Nope. Those words were uttered by U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.
I’m sure she’s a wonderful woman and her professional accomplishments may merit consideration for a position on the highest court in the nation. But if the nominee were a white man saying he’d reach better conclusions than a Latina (or any person of any other race) there’s no way he’d be confirmed and he’d be branded a racist.
I don’t mean to pick on Judge Sotomayor (like I said I’m sure she’s a wonderful woman) but this is a perfect example of a statement that is often overlooked for it’s implied racism because of it’s source. Just because someone is not white doesn’t mean that they cannot be a racist or make racially insensitive remarks.
Merriam-Webster defines racism as “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race”. Isn’t that what this statement communicates?
I’m not saying that Judge Sotomayor is a racist. I honestly don’t know that. But this statement certainly is racist. This country cannot have a racist on it’s top court so this angle is definitely worth investigating.
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