Unshocking Revelations: Not All Latinos Feel The Same Way About Sonia Sotomayor
11 June 2009, 5:00 PM. By Alex Alvarez
A poll conducted among Latinos across the United States showed that we are not all of one mind when it comes to Sonia Sotomayor becoming our country’s newest Supreme Court Justice. Which is fascinating, we guess, if you’ve been living in a bunker for the past 50 years.
But, seriously, why is it so hard to grasp that Latinos, like any other mass of people more or less wrangled together by a label on a census form, don’t act like one person with one set of opinions and many fabulous, enviable faces? We don’t blame media representations of Latinos so much as the fact that people are generally uninterested in finding out anything at all about other people.
Anyway, if you’re interested, here’s how the poll broke down:
48% of those surveyed considered Sotomayor a good choice, 31% had no opinion, 12% said she a pretty average choice (many could have been better, many could have been worse), and 8% thought her a poor choice.
What’s interesting to us is the 31% who were like, “Whatever.” Because, and maybe this is a stretch or a projection on our part, it’s not as if a huge chunk of this nation’s population follow politics or really understand what it is that the Supreme Court does to begin with. So why suddenly become super invested in a nominee for Supreme Court Justice in terms of her ability to perform that job? For all that people have been focusing on Sotomayor as a Latina and her comments about her upbringing and ethnicity, there are myriad other factors at play here and for many people - Latinos included - her being a Latina is not enough of an impetus to suddenly become invested in her or in politics in general. Again, maybe we’re just projecting, but such is our inclination.
What do you guys think? And do you think there will come a time where we can discuss Sotomayor and her politics beyond her ethnicity? …Can she? Or would it be a positive if her Latinosity forever goes hand in hand with her career?
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Her past comments, whether in context or not, does not help. She is an American and that is what counts, no room for hyphenated Americans. Hopefully she can interpret the law and not become an activist judge in the supreme court. That is, if confirmed by the senate.
Her past comments in context don’t help? What planet do you come from where those who have never experienced bigotry directly (i.e. straight, Christian white men) will empathize with groups who have in discrimination cases? Please. She has said nothing more inflammatory than Alito discussing his immigrant or Italian background, but all of a sudden she’s the suspicious, hyphenated one.
And anyone who knows anything about her career know she’s anything but an activist judge. Read up on SCOTUSblog. She’s actually a conservative in terms of her philosophy.