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IN CONTEXT, Sotomayor's remarks that have caused all the controversy were made while she was speaking at a symposium on the role of minority judges in race and gender discrimination cases ---IT WAS A SYMPOSIUM ON THAT SUBJECT.
And in context she was answering back and refuting a comment that had been made by Sandra Day O'Connor that 'wise men and women judges will rule the same way" on court cases. Sotomayor is arguing in the context of this quote that NO, a person's background and experience often ARE a factor in the conclusions they come to. And when a person of minority background
rules on a gender and discrimination case, if it is a woman in this case, she will be influenced differently from white judges by her minority background experience when deciding this kind of cases.
All she was doing was refuting Sandra Day O'Connor's statement to the effect that judges all rule according to the same instincts no matter what their gender or background.
Sotomayor, at this forum,argued that, to the contrary, judges' minority gender and race will influence them naturally (as a human being) in the conclusions they come to in interpreting evidence in cases ABOUT THIS SUBJECT of discrimination and gender.
When talking about race discrimination and gender discrimination, she was saying she "would hope that [in such a context] "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" (bells and whistles go off here: "hasn't lived that life":aka the life of a minority person who has experienced as part of her background, such gender and race discrimination).
What is 'racist' about that? She was just stating the fact that people ARE influenced by their background when deciding cases as a judge in areas where they have experienced what is being ruled on. She wasn't making any invidious comparisons about the quality of white vs. minority judges, she was talking about how their expericience will give them different ways of perceiving information in relevant cases because of their life experience in that area. This speech was about minority and gender cases at a symposium.
The GOP is really good at cutting and pasting and leaving out context so they can cherry pick their agenda. I hope this brouhaha backfires on the Republican party and they finish alienating the hispanic vote. That will be the kiss of death on them ever winning national elections without the hispanic vote.
