How Judge Sotomayor's Second Language Does Make Her More Qualified Than the Average White Guy (And I'm Not Talking About Spanish)
As I said during a recent appearance on CNN's Lou Dobbs the GOP members of Congress tasked with thwarting Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court nomination certainly have their work cut out for them. The woman not only appears to be lacking serious skeletons in her closet, but hers is so squeaky clean that it makes those of us who don't color coordinate our underwear drawer feel wholly inadequate.
The one flicker of hope Sotomayor critics see -- the lone straw they are still grasping for is in challenging a brief line in a 2001 speech that she gave. (I happen to believe that context is everything, so for that reason I would encourage those of you who have not done so, to read the speech in its entirety, which can be found here.)
But the allegedly controversial remark in question was this: "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." Though President Obama has since said that Sotomayor would likely acknowledge her word choice as "poor" that does not make the sentiment behind her words any less valid.
I was surprised the comments caused the commotion that they have (although much of it appears to be faux commotion generated by a few conservatives) when her statement merely reflected the reality of any racial or ethnic minority anywhere who has worked, strived, struggled and eventually succeeded in predominantly white environments, myself included.
Unlike many of her white classmates, and colleagues, Sotomayor has had to be fluent in multiple languages to make her way in the world. The languages I am referring to are not English and Spanish. I am referring to the additional cultural languages that those of us who are minorities learn to speak at our Ivy-league universities, or in the workplace or at a cocktail reception or on the golf course or at the country club. For some minorities making the transition from their ethnically, racially and economically segregated communities at home, into their predominantly white, predominantly middle and upper class colleges and universities, can feel a lot like heading to a foreign country. (I can imagine that going from a Bronx housing project to Princeton like Judge Sotomayor did, would be enough of a culture shock that one might feel the need for a Frommer's travel guide).
For my white buddies who don't know what I'm talking about, or didn't know what Sotomayor was talking about in her allegedly controversial speech, bear with me for a minute and consider the following question or two.
How many of you reading this know who Tracee Ellis Ross is? I'm assuming that a lot of you are scratching your heads or possibly doing a quick Google search.
Now how many of you know who Sarah Jessica Parker is? I'm assuming most of you know her as the star of Sex and the City. Well Tracee Ellis Ross was the star of Girlfriends a sitcom often described as a black Sex and the City, that chronicled the professional, personal and sexual escapades of four black girlfriends in L.A. Before you dismiss Girlfriends as something you probably never heard of because it probably wasn't on that long, or didn't have much of a fan base, consider the fact that it aired for eight years, approximately as long as Sex and the City. But as I pointed out during a recent conversation with a white friend, the reason they (and plenty of other white Americans) don't know what Girlfriends is, is because they don't have to.
Here's what I mean. If I was at the office water cooler and a white, female, thirty-something colleague made a passing reference to "Carrie and Big" and I looked at her blankly, and asked "Who's Carrie and Big?" or later asked "What's Sex and the City," she would probably look at me like I was from another planet, or maybe Amish. The same goes for if I didn't know whom Larry David is (even though I've never seen a single episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm) or if I couldn't name a character or two from Seinfeld (even though it's not really my kind of show.) My point is there are certain cultural touchstones and references that one has to be adept at discussing in order to fit in to advance in the office and in the world at large. Though you may think my Sex and the City example is somehow shallow or glib, these types of personal and cultural connections ultimately determine who college classmates connect with, who professors prefer, who supervisors promote, who clients trust to work on their accounts, who bosses select to join them on certain business trips, etc. In other words these cultural connections help determine what type of personal and professional network you develop for the long haul. If you are a minority, particularly one from a socio-economically disadvantaged background, learning to navigate the culture you are striving to succeed in is often akin to mastering another language. So just as one can confidently say that speaking two languages, as opposed to one, gives you an advantage career wise, being culturally multi-lingual -- as Sotomayor pointed to in her 2001 speech -- gives you just as much of an advantage over your mono-lingual colleagues.
That's not to say that every single one of our country's predominant cultural references is white, especially today. They're not. If someone didn't know what The Cosby Show was, or who Michael Jackson was, they would probably get the "You must be Amish" look at the water cooler as well. As I noted in my essay in the forthcoming book The Speech: Race and Barack Obama's A More Perfect Union, younger people, particularly those in Generation Y and those even younger than us, the Millenials, are increasingly being defined by a racially and ethnically diverse culture -- so diverse that some of us have labeled them "Generation Obama" like our multi-ethnic president that they helped elect. As a result, there are plenty of white kids today who raised on hip-hop, The Cosby Show and with biracial parents and friends, are growing up "culturally multilingual." But while not all of our predominant cultural references today are white, historically most of them have been, and a number still are, which is why if I made a reference to "Joan and Brock," my white, thirty-something colleague at the water cooler would probably have no idea what I was talking about. (For those wondering, Joan was the Carrie-esque character on Girlfriends and Brock was the one who got away). My colleague at the water cooler would not know what I was talking about because she doesn't have to. She doesn't have to worry about speaking multiple cultural languages to get by, the way President Obama, Justice Sotomayor, and in some instances, I have, over the years.
Back when Sonia Sotomayor was first making her way in the world, there was no The Cosby Show and Barack Obama was a long way from becoming president. So when she said, "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," she was simply acknowledging a lifetime spent living a multilingual existence and how that has imbued her with a more well-rounded perspective than most of her predominantly white and male colleagues.
She was simply speaking truth to power.
Follow Keli Goff on Twitter: www.twitter.com/keligoff
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1) Judge Sonia Sotomayor's comment had nothing to do with 'qualifications' it had to do with 'reaching a better conclusion - regarding the LAW'.
2) Differences culture have nothing to do with 'what the U.S. constitution says or what the law states'.
Although I just love Sonia Sotomayor bunches, think that she will make a great Supreme Court Justice, and hope that she is confirmed ASAP -- her 'culture' has nothing to do with her ability to hear the issues that are brought in from the the SC, her review of the issue and the law, or her reaching a conclusion of how the law applies to the issue.
I understand the points that Keli Goff was trying to make in the article, but they have nothing to do with 'judging' in our legal system were all plaintiffs that bring an issue in front of the Supreme Court are considered to be 'equal under the law'. Empathy is a good thing for all human beings to have, it makes for a better person in their individual life, but empathy is not something that a judge should use in coming to a conclusion in a legal matter - the only thing that matters is what the law states.
htaylor1 --- I don't think I'll be allowed to respond to your post to me. They do that whenever I get dressed down no matter how misguided. But I never stated I didn't like white people. That wasn't in the post you responded to and it wasn't in any of my other comments. I know you're trying to be magnanimous here and that's great. But it would help if your characterizations actually fit the post you responded to. I'm just saying MANY of the people responding here, who happen to be non-black given their assertions or admittances, are practicing willful obfuscation because this article drives to the core of their misgivings. That's all I'm saying.
Thank you for your provocative and thoughtful post. It has seemed to me for a long time that communication requires shared experiences, and that broader experience permits communication to be shared more broadly. You were using hypothetical encounters at a water cooler as examples of how differing backrounds pose limits to communication. That is a valid point, but I have found that even when there is not a lot of mutual background, that just because we are humans we have so much in common anyway, and that there are vast areas of shared understanding, both intellectually and physically, so that important mutual understandings can usually be identified by sensitive people, regardles of ethnic backgrounds.
While I am not being a member of an ethnic or racial minority (yet!), I agree that minority people have had to try harder to succeed in the US, and that those who have succeed have had to become multilingual and multicultural, as you say.
I was just thinking about this today - excellent post.
But I took on a more narrow view - a Latina will be wise to the behavioral and cultural intricacies of the average Hispanic person. She may be able to understand motives, actions, etc. that the white or black or Asian jurist would not understand.
As would the asian or black jurist can understand movies, actions, etc. that latinos don't understand. Hasn't that been obvious since blacks have been the largest minority for so long. What's your point?
I'm white, but if it makes any difference I didn't know SJ Parker was in Sex in the City OR who TE Ross was. Just don't watch much TV. But you're right... Some of it's race, but a lot of it is income. Personally, I think anyone who wants to hold public office above county level should be required to live for 6 months on minimum wage -- and I mean working a minimum wage job -- with no credit cards or help from friends & family. These trust-fund babies wouldn't know real life if it bit 'em in a personal area.
I'm glad to see your column--subtle things need to be explained. A lot of what is perceived as racism is ignorance, not deliberate insult. In many cases, we don't know what we don't know. I didn't realize, for example, what a political issue hair texture could be until a black friend explained it to me.
As far as Judge Sotomayor is concerned, this Inquisition -- pardon me, "hearing" -- has demonstrated that a wise Latina has a lot more patience, courtesy, and common sense than the entire GOP contingent put together.
Regarding hair texture, watch the wide-eyed fear that envelopes from whites if a black woman wears a natural afro, or a if black man wears braids, dreadlocks, or cornrows. And there's nothing more terrifying than a young black man with a full beard (even in "liberal" CA). Trust me. People have been FIRED over this because it unnerves white co-workers and bosses.
you are so busy creating theories and future fictional scenarios in order to ridicule white people. you'll take an incident and apply that behavior to a whole race.
guess what? if white people do it it's called r@ ci sm, what is it called when YOU do it?
Brilliant, brilliant post!!
Cultural currency matters. And, every social environment has a predominant cultural currency. If you go to an inner city school, perhaps knowledge of sports and street slang would take you farther (in terms of social acceptance) than knowing, say, French. The problem is that at the very highest levels of power (be they economic or political), the cultural currency is overwhelmingly male (and white).
This reminds me of one of the early primary debates when at the end, just as a light-hearted thing, candidates were asked about their favorite sports team. Being the super-prepared person that she is, Hillary of course had a cute answer all ready. But, it occurred to me then that for women to compete at this level, they need to be fluent in male experience and the male habitus.
Maybe this is a really insignificant example, but it doesn't diminish the larger point, which is that places of power in this country are still spaces of male privilege. Talk to the small number of women who make it into investment banking, and how much pressure they feel to be fluent in sports-speak, or to not be offended by sexist comments, and so on.
"My colleague at the water cooler would not know what I was talking" - not only would they miss the reference, but the topic or subject contained within the reference, and the whole cascade of relevant nuances that follow. Basically, out of the loop. Sounds like a certain political party to me, which, because of the extreme redundancy of the statement, shall remain unnamed
Minority as a second language. Nice!
Sotomayor is being talked down to and erroneously castigated by those who can't hear let alone speak the 'languages' she has at her command (female, working class, racial, ethnic, etc). I would really love to see her take this on in a more confrontational manner; take these high powered white men to task for twisting this matter of fact truism into some sort of hackneyed, bass ackward racial witch hunt. Would that be bad?
Barbarians at the gates indeed. Excellent article.
. I've seen "Girlfriends" and it's at the level daytime soaps in terms of script and acting- NO WAY does it meet the level of HBO quality, so that's a bad example to use.
Anwya, the point is is that WASPY rich country clubs and Princeton are not MAINSTREAM for anyone. Rural poverty is crushing, and the few fairly poor people I know who went to Villanova and Princeton had a very hard time adjusting to the level of wealth and spoiled attitudes.
"To do justice, you must be superior."
Pleas excuse the above typos.
Does any of this really matter on the Supreme Court? I simply want a candidate who's committed to the US Constitution and the principle of equal justice under the law.
I agree!
Another great article, Keli !! I could relate personally to every single point you made -- every. single. one.
Thanks for writing and sharing your experiences and perspectives -- it truly reflects and
gives voice to mine as well.
Every professional field has its own lingo. Sonia Sotomayor rightly knows legal argot. Lindsey Graham, meanwhile, doesn't know anything.
Interesting comments to this piece. Many people will fight the uncomfortable truth until their last breath no matter how it's stated. Many of the dissenting comments show a lack of intelligence to actually read and comprehend the full article OR a willful attitude to be argumentative while raising obscure white ethnic factional comparisons to avoid a veracity they can't admit to.
Thank you for this article - it is absolutely correct. Taking off the blinders of white privilege and acknowledging the lived experiences of minority cultures is a difficult and painful thing to do, and white people have the privilege of not having to do it.
Some commenters in this thread have clearly been reading http://www.derailingfordummies.com.
"white people have the privilege of not having to do it."
THAT is just not true. A huge sweeping generalization that is just FALSE. See my post below.
Very interesting, but as some posters have commented, as well as being about race, it is also about gender, class, etc. A woman would refrain from talking about Sex and the City around the water cooler if she was trying to fit in with an old boys network. And regarding class, presedential races seem to feature some obligatory posing to appeal to working class voters...Obama bowling, however badly; Hillary knocking back shots; and G.W. Bush being considered the candidate voters would most like to have a beer with. I won't even go into Palin. Just as some have to "speak the language" of the power elite to get ahead, politicians seem to have to "speak the language" of the common man or be labelled elitest.
with all due respect, Girlfriends was a trite, unwatchable show with uninteresting wardrobe choices.
You had me. I instinctively knew what you were writing about. I have had to assimilate to make myself more accommodating to the "group" I was trying to join to further my cause. I appreciate the cultural differences. I do. But, understand as a white woman I too have had to learn about things that otherwise would not have interested me so that I could network. Without any kind of reciprocation from my male counterparts.
I have learned to golf, skeet shot, play broom ball, gotten up a 5 AM to join the boys at the club down the street from the office for basketball, I tried to understand fantasy football, baseball, I joined football pools all to get myself a little further in a male dominated profession. Never once was I asked about my last horse show or about the last musical I might have seen.
I looked at this as necessary baby steps to change. I also noted along the way there were plenty of non-athletic white men participating in this networking who probably had a desire to be at the airplane field flying their remote control airplanes. But, weren't... they were networking...to further their cause.
It is the game. A bigger game for some, granted. But, none the less we are all playing it.
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