If ever a picture told a story of 1,000 words it’s this one. The reporters are dutifully working behind the firefighters to parse the meaning of the Sotomayor confirmation hearings, when they story is right there in front of them in all its starched white male glory.
The Latina federal judge finds in New Haven’s favor when the city is troubled that not a single African-American passed the promotion exam. Only white males passed and were eligible to be promoted. Imagine the chutzpah of Sotomayor being troubled by that outcome. Troubled by the fact that no African-American would be promoted in the city’s fire department. Troubled by the fact that the fire department officer corps would trend white while the city was largely minority.
And these white males dressed in their starched, pressed uniforms want the world to know that Sonia Sotomayor had the temerity to stand in their white male way. Imagine. Let the world pay attention to the injustice of it all, they seem to be saying.
Well, bollocks to that, I say. White males don’t own this country and they shouldn’t own the officer corps of New Haven’s fire department. I don’t think their interests will be significantly harmed if one or two African Americans are promoted each year.
Who brought these guys to the hearing? White male Republican senators of course. This is the way the Republican party is going to win back control of Congress. By parading a bunch of white guys for whom the world should feel sorry. Gimme a break. Nice try fellas. But you’re only fooling yourselves if you think this is a strategy for recovery.
GOP motto: White makes right!
I get what you mean, but there sure must be a less oxymoronic way of saying it 😉
The more important point (Glenn Greenwald made it over and over) is that the right wing’s contention of Sotomayor’s rulings being based on empathy for minorities is entirely bogus. Not only isn’t there a shred of proof for this, there’s also a certain Sam Alito on the record openly voicing empathy for his fellow Italian Americans. That was not remotely an obstacle to his confirmation, nor should it be.
And the assumption underlying the smears against Sotomayor, that a judge must be no more than a mindless echo chamber for the law as written is absolutely laughable on its face.
Great foto, thanks for posting it.
Sotomayor’s record shows her to be a conservative jurist in the mode of David Souter.
If there had been anything slightly liberal in her record you can bet the Republithugs would have hit on it.
But there isn’t, so all they could do is express their astonishment that a “wise Latina” would have the chutzpah to appear before them, and moreover, be entirely at her ease.
I am happy to have a wise Latina on the Supreme Ct, I would be happy to have a Supreme Court which looks like America, but I do not confuse diversity with liberalism.
There is no indication that Sotomayor will step out of the legalistic mainstream when it comes to civil liberties and death penalty cases. In fact there is plenty of evidence to the contrary.
Otoh, there certainly have been judges who surprised once they got on the bench. Hope she is one and hope it is a pleasant surprise.
New Haven City is 63% white.
Echoing fiddler’s point, if anyone out there thinks they can find a Supreme Court nominee who is a ‘Mr. Spock’ that views the world through a lens of cold logic 100% of the time, I hate to break the news to you, folks, but there ain’t no such person.
Some years ago when I lived in San Francisco, I recall being in line at the post office when I heard a couple of off-duty white male firefighters condemning the idea of women being in their profession. They didn’t say anything about Blacks, Latinos, or Asians but I’m sure that they felt the same way. Today San Francisco has a female Fire Chief who is Joanne Hayes-White. Obviously there are some white males who don’t get it that they don’t own the country anymore.