Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Hispanic isn't white?
Listening to the CNN coverage of Sotomayor choice ... Comrade Toobin says "This is a new day for America, with an African-American president appointing a female Hispanic. America's ruling class is no longer all white men." Other commentators echo the same theme, treating "Hispanic" as a special category.
Why? Scalia and Alito are both from Italian immigrant stock, which is culturally similar to Hispanic. Yet they count as plain old white, while a Hispanic from "Buerdo Rrrrrrrico" counts as non-white.
If we're really thinking about proportional representation of American groups, we should be more worried that Sotomayor would become the SIXTH Catholic on the court. Breyer and Comrade Ginsburg are Jewish; the only remaining Protestant would be Comrade Stevens, who lists himself as merely "Protestant", indicating that religion isn't exactly a major factor in his life. ¶ 8:15 AM
Why? Scalia and Alito are both from Italian immigrant stock, which is culturally similar to Hispanic. Yet they count as plain old white, while a Hispanic from "Buerdo Rrrrrrrico" counts as non-white.
If we're really thinking about proportional representation of American groups, we should be more worried that Sotomayor would become the SIXTH Catholic on the court. Breyer and Comrade Ginsburg are Jewish; the only remaining Protestant would be Comrade Stevens, who lists himself as merely "Protestant", indicating that religion isn't exactly a major factor in his life. ¶ 8:15 AM
