Judge Sonia Sotomayor has displayed admirable self-control and patience throughout this Senate hearing process. I, on the other hand, found myself yelling at the television screen more than once during the question periods from some of the senators.
The first time was when they characterized her statement about a “strong Latina woman” as a clear indication that she would rule on cases solely on the basis of her ethnicity and gender.
I shouted, “Hurray! I’m glad that you are a strong Latina woman! It’s about time that women like you had a voice on the Supreme Court.”
Time and again she had to slowly and patiently explain that the purpose of her talk, from which the quote was lifted, was to inspire students to follow her path. Time and again, she had to reassure these questioners that her only guidepost was not her personal experience, but the rule of law as defined by the Constitution.
But what made me raise my voice to a shout was that the more hostile senators could not stop interrupting her time and again, hardly ever letting her finish a sentence. How many women have experienced the same thing?
Interrupting women is considered normal. Perhaps men are not even conscious that they are doing so, and are not aware that they are treating female witnesses differently from male witnesses. I would love to replay the Roberts and Alito hearings to see how many times they were interrupted.
When a man interrupts a woman in mid-sentence it reveals much about him.
First it shows he hasn’t been listening to what she is saying and secondly, it indicates that he doesn’t want to listen to what she will say. Her views are not important. His are clearly more important and that is why he is more interested in listening to himself than to her.
Fundamentally, interruptions are just plain rude and a sign of disrespect. How she kept her cool through these constant interruptions, without once saying, “Please let me finish, Senator,” I don’t know. I can’t help but admire her for her self-control, knowledge, and yes, amazing judicial temperament.
This post was originally published on ChelseaGreen.com.
Madeleine M. Kunin is the former Governor of Vermont and was the state's first woman governor. She served as Ambassador to Switzerland for President Clinton, and was on the three-person panel that chose Al Gore to be Clinton's VP. She is the author of Pearls, Politics, and Power: How Women Can Win and Lead from Chelsea Green Publishing.