17 Rich Old White Guys Concerned That Self-Made Woman of Color is Prejudiced?

[Honeycombe8]

I watched some of the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on Judge Sotomayor. Quite a few of the Republican questions to Judge Sotomayor were about her "wise Latina" comments. Again and again, they came back to the subject. One answer wasn't enough. Two answers weren't enough. Day after day, committee member after committee member. They were VERY concerned about her "wise Latina" comments.

They were also concerned about her "temperament" (code-speak for...girly-emotional)

In the course of watching those questions, the picture of the grilling struck me: There in the distinguished room, sitting above the fray on high benches, was a line of wealthy, white, middle aged or older men, looking down on a woman of color who had risen on her own merits from the Bronx projects to a federal judgeship, and interrogating her about whether she is prejudiced.

My brain and eyes took it in, disbelieving. The irony of it all. It made for an odd picture, to say the least.

I predict we'll see photographs of that sight in the future, as a look-back to the way things used to be way back in 2009, and how far we've come since then. I hope.

[av8rdave]

1. What a great description of what really went on

Sometimes we get so immersed in the minutia of what's going on that we don't stop and think about the big picture.

Thanks for the perspective!

[Honeycombe8]

5. Thx! My favorite Q&A, tho, was when Sessions asked her about the Justice salary...

I think it was Sessions (might've been Graham, but I think it was Sessions). He said that Justices aren't paid much, and asked her whether she was prepared to live on a Justice's salary. He looked a bit embarrassed when she answered and reminded him that she'd been living on a judge's salary for 17 years.

He then blustered in response, "Well, hmphh, since the country's about to go into bankruptcy because of all this spending, the country might not be able to pay her a salary at all in the future!."

hahahahaha.

[av8rdave]

7. I think that says it all about the intelligence of some of those people!

[Enthusiast]

25. Sessions is the worst of the worst.

He is so far immersed in his bigoted ideology that he doesn't even recognize the absurdity of his words.

[bettyellen]

10. it showed he sort of assumed she must have a privleged $$$ life to get this far... idiot!

[enuegii]

23. On a side note, I've noticed that several people have...

confused Sessions with Graham, and understandably so-- they do look alike.
In fact, I was rummaging around and found this old photo, which is apparently of one of the two, but I'm not sure which one:

Could somebody help me out?

[lunatica]

27. I can see the family resemblance

Does that must mean that Sessions and Graham are related?

[Honeycombe8]

32. LOL! LOL! This absolutely CRACKED me up!! I wasn't expecting that at all!

I wish I were that clever to think of things like that. Kudos!:headbang:

[defendandprotect]

37. I can't tell them apart until they start to talk .....

and ... even then . . .

[defendandprotect]

26. Maybe we'll have to cut Session's health care benefits?????

[Honeycombe8]

33. You know, posts like yours are one of the reasons why I love DU so much.

What a funny response, and how on earth does someone link the one thing with the other very timely thing, and have it be so funny? Must be the way some people's minds work.

Very funny!:rofl:

[mix]

2. great observation

It is sickening, isn't it?

[CatWoman]

6. it is a most excellent observation

K&R!!

nail on the head!!

[lapfog_1]

3. I refuse to let anyone named "Jefferson Beauregard" lecture me on racial prejudice. - n/t

[POAS]

4. When are they going to accuse Sotomayor

of playing the "race card"?

[Fearless]

8. When are they going to ask for her birth certificate?

:eyes:

[POAS]

28. We can speculate all we like BUT

I'll bet we'll say "WTF I never saw THAT coming" at something(s) said on the Senate floor before the vote to confirm Sotomayor!

[stevenleser]

9. K&R. Beyond crazy, but the Repugs WILL pay for this...

Latinos will NOT forget this.

[MadMaddie]

13. Agreed but I don't think it will be limited to only Latino's

I think it goes beyond that group.

I think that for any American that has a daughter that they want to send to college viewed this as an attack on intelligent, career oriented and successful women. This was an outright attack on women and Sotomayor also happened to be Latino.

This is the achilles heel of the Repugs they live so in the moment that they cannot foresee future implications of their actions.

[stevenleser]

16. And of the internet's use of their actions...

which is something I have been saying a lot over the last year. Before the internet graduated to what it has become with Youtube and the like, you could possibly get away with this if the election was far enough removed. Not so with Youtube videos. A video instantly makes it news again once election time comes around.

[discopants]

11. "17 Rich Old White Guys" ...?

Russ Feingold, Sheldon Whitehouse, Al Franken ... shouldn't that be 14 Rich Old White Guys?



:D :

[Honeycombe8]

29. Oops. I actually should've counted ONLY the Repubs. That's what I meant.

I guess there are about 8 of 'em.

[cali]

39. Wait a minute: Pat Leahy is the most liberal of all of those mentioned and the least wealthy

not to mention that there are two women on that panel. DUers too often don't know what they're talking about.

[SeattleGirl]

12. It was disgusting. As I was watching it, I kept thinking, "Are you

kidding me? You racist pieces of shit!"

It was a perfect example of how entrenched white male supremacy is in this country.

[tomg]

14. As a white, middle-aged ( or older) male

I would like to publicly apologize for being in anything even resembling the same demographic as those fucking idiots.

[fortyfeetunder]

15. You don't have to apologize!

I recognize these are some extreme cases in that demographic. I see them as individual dip$hi!s and not representative of the entire group.

[tomg]

18. Thanks, and I do agree. Still, you have to admit

that my particular demographic has more than its fair share of complete loons.

[BlooInBloo]

21. No more loons than any other demographic. It's just that our loons are in power....

So their effect is exaggerated.

[Honeycombe8]

34. Nah. We can discern who's who and what's what. You white older guys aren't

"all the same," to steal a phrase from our sorry history.

:pals:

[lunatica]

17. This is what we were really watching

[sarah553807]

19. ha!

[Honeycombe8]

30. That's about right! It was just a show. nt

[BlooInBloo]

20. Yes, you have a correct understanding of the situation.

[lunatica]

22. I found a cartoon of what you're saying

[BlooInBloo]

24. Bingo.

[Honeycombe8]

31. LOL! That's it! Thx! nt

[Flying Dream Blues]

35. The blatant racism is over the top, and I can't help but believe it is

so much WORSE because she is a Latina WOMAN. The sexism is in the background, but still obvious when you think about it. Do you think a Latino man would have been quite so badgered? Would he have had lots of "'splainin' to do?"

It seemed to me they felt very empowered to show their racism because she is also a woman; that they felt there would not be as much outrage at their blatant lack of respect. This goes double for the Hannitys and Buchanans and the rest of their ugly ilk.

[Honeycombe8]

36. That's part of it, I think. Esp. when Graham grilled her on her temperament.

It was a vague reference to her being "bitchy," or "typically emotional like women are," seemed to me.

I've watched a number of the S.Ct. Justice hearings. She was as calm and measured in her responses as anyone else, and more so than a couple of men. (Clarence Thomas, Bork of course, Alito may have gotten a bit tiffed a couple of times as I recall.)

She was calm in her responses, deliberative, thoughtful, and humorous a couple of times. Just like you'd think a judge would be. After all, she's been on the bench almost 2 decades.

[glowing]

41. Speaking of Lil' Bitch, if Graham isn't the most "bitchiest" GOPer, I don't know what is.

At one point I thought he was going to cry...

[Number23]

38. Yep! lol You nailed it!

Boggles the mind, doesn't it?? :)

[glowing]

40. It made me want to elect more empathetic women to the Senate who wouldn't

be stupid enough to accuse her of being a racist in the first place. White old men with outdated ideas who barely understand how the internet works and pretend twitter is just something followed by their friends and admirers.

[CrispyQ]

42. ...

[phoenixriz]

43. I certainly hope the voters in the states

that these old windbags represent take note and vote them out in the next election.
They need to start packing and be sent out to pasture.