Sonia Sotomayor

By now you have all read it: "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." (Sonia Sotomayor, in a speech seven years ago)

This one sentence has raised the ire of white males from all walks of life - not just congressmen. I realize we are talking about interpreting the law - at least I guess we are. No one bothers to share the whole, in-context speech she made. I will have to find that for myself. And - if I were to tell you that my husband makes a better decision than I do about where and what friends coming to visit might see because he has visited and lived here years longer than I have - you would agree it was nice to have his experience to draw on. 

I am a 66 year old white woman whose father told her when she was 13 that "the law was no place for a woman." By the time I was in my early 20s, he had women lawyers in his firm and was telling me I could be the first female president of the US if I so wanted. The idea that a woman just might be able to bring knowledge and experience to an important job like interpreting the law is a relatively new one. 

Only in the hallowed halls of Congress when voting for a new Justice is it assumed that a person needs to be so neutral that he or she will interpret the law without any reference to how they feel, what they know from experience or have witnessed for themselves. I imagine that once in a while, they do look at the law and choose to interpret it beyond their own personal feelings. Remember "separate but equal"? Some Justices looked at that and at the Constitution and realized "separate but equal" was not constitutional. Was that a neutral opinion? Or did they draw on their experiences as they thought through this momentous decision? 

I have no idea if Sonia Sotomayor has what it takes to be a good Justice or not. She needs to be vetted. She needs to be questioned. And Surely we can find questions to ask and issues to probe beyond One Sentence in a speech made Seven Years Ago. Please, I will Never be judged by anyone for one sentence I said in 66 years of life ~ and nor I hope will you ~ blessings