What she said.
For a less gut-wrenching take on the rampant racism and misogyny surrounding Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearings, check out this clip from The Colbert Report:
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| The Word - Neutral Man's Burden | ||||
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I love this clip for two reasons:
(1) It takes Sotomayor's opponents' argument to its logical conclusion to expose how completely ridiculous it is. Everyone's life experiences influence their decisions--as Colbert points out, it's our past experiences that tell us not to touch a hot stove. But when it comes to making decisions for the highest court in the U.S., it's only white males who can be considered "objective" or "neutral." Sotomayor as a woman of color is "other" and is therefore incapable of making objective judgments by this standard.
(2) They juxtapose footage of Alito talking about how his life experiences influence the decisions that he makes on the court, especially in cases of discrimination. But it's never called into question for him, because he is the Neutral White Man.
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