There's a new judge in the courthouse. Her name is Sonia Sotomayor and she is the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice. She was sworn in on August 9th and is now seated along with 7 males and one other female, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Justice Sotomayor's has been a very controversial road to being elected as a justice. With her remarks about how one's ethnicity and sex "may and will make a difference in our judging", people think of her as a believer of stereotypes and whatnot. But her opinions do not stop there.
“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 what Sotomayor said in a speech in 2001. I personally couldn't agree more with her. Really, most of the white justices have had to endure what? Nothing. Maybe I might be being stereotypical here, but c'mon, what has an upper-middle class man had to go through to get to become a Supreme Court Justice? Maybe beat out other white males to earn their spots. On the other hand, let's take a look at what Justice Sotomayor might, and probably had, to go through in order to get to her prestigious position. For one, stereotypes: a Latina in the Supreme Court? Oh no. Maybe a Latino, but surely not a woman. Secondly, economic struggles: her family was a low-income Puerto Rican family who struggled to send her to college, and, clearly, it paid off. Honestly, those two are the general things that created problems for Sotomayor.
Although maybe her statement was a bit stereotypical, my being Latina helps me see her point exactly. Her experiences are totally different than that of a white man, totally opposite in every aspect. But different is good. Different is what we need, especially in our leaders. Many different opinions can lead to one big compromise, making everyone happy in one way or another. One thing's for sure: Justice Sotomayor is a great role model not only for Latinas, but for white males, black females, any ethnicity, anywhere.
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i agree with you. the supreme court needs to be able to make decisions based on the points of view of all the people they represent. not just the views that the middle class white guy represents
ReplyDeleteWhat surprised me here was that she backed off from her statement (because politicians had the gaul to imply that she was being racist). I agree with you and Joshua; everyone brings the entirety of his/her experiences when making judgments. This doesn't make a person biased--instead, it allows for understanding.
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