Comments on: Sonia Sotomayor & Ethnic Identification

By: jorgeconas

jorgeconas — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 22:14:00 +0000

Benjamin Cardozo was a Portuguese Jew(very rare by the way). Cardozo is a Portuguese name. How he is even being considered a spic, is beyond me. Portugal and Spain are two totally different countries in every aspect(language, culture,cuisine, etc…). The only thing these two countries have in common, are that of being neighbors. France also neighbors Spain and i doubt people are confusing the French of being spics. Such ignorance! I am Portuguese/American, and would be furious if someone confused me with being spic.

By: RemNov

RemNov — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:11:57 +0000

I guess having a Phi Beta Kappa key from Princeton and editing Yale Law Review means you're a C student, yes? Gee I guess I shouldn't have wasted those 4 years at SU getting an 3.2 average.

By: jwest

jwest — Wed, 27 May 2009 16:36:35 +0000

Ethnicity aside, isn’t the first hurdle to the Supreme Court having the intellectual capacity for the job?

I know little of this woman, but the liberal go-to guy for Supreme Court nominees is on the talk circuit saying she “lacks the intellectual depth” for the job.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnkRhNyaENs&eurl...

Isn’t that just a nice way of saying she’s dumb as a rock?

By: D. E.Rodriguez

D. E.Rodriguez — Wed, 27 May 2009 15:31:41 +0000

Thought-provoking post, Shaun.

While most of the media announcements have clearly said that Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic woman appointed to the Supreme Court (Cardozo, of course, was a man), and thus are technically correct, you do bring up a very interesting and contentious point.

Someone commented earlier that being a Hispanic is still a vague thing---very true.

As someone of Hispanic-Latino-Dutch-Catholic-Jewish descent, I have personally had arguments with my siblings as to wheter we are Hispanic, or Latino, or what.

Again, as some comments have indicated, "what difference does it make" in the case of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, as long as she is qualified.

Neverthless, it is an intriguing subject, makes for interesting discussions, and I will try to--for whatever it's worth--write about my personal perspective on this "Hispanic issue" shortly. But, don't hold your breath. (I know you won't)

Dorian de Wind

By: shaun

shaun — Wed, 27 May 2009 14:44:44 +0000

Bellisaurius:

Terrific point and all the more relevant as America becomes ever more the melting pot with succeeding generations of inner marriage.

Although it is somewhat the exception, my brother lives on a street in a North Jersey neighborhood where he is only one of two whites among a half-dozen husbands and wives. The others are Filipino, Indian, Russian, Chinese and Korean, all but two of the couples marrying across ethnic and racial lines.

I myself have Irish, German, English, Scotch, Welsh, Swedish, Moorish and Lenni Lenape blood, so what does that make me other than an obnoxious butthead?

By: bellisaurius

bellisaurius — Wed, 27 May 2009 14:22:01 +0000

This is why I've always liked the extended family model of ethnicity. People have no problem identifying each other as being the direct product of two families (more really, but most interactions tend to involve two to four), and may even use the last names interchangeably. The one drop thing never really seems to be an issue (at least in understanding). If one thinks about race and ethnicity in the same way, a lot of stuff is much clearer.

By: Don Quijote

Don Quijote — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:51:23 +0000

Being an Hispanic was a vague thing in those days,

And it still is...

What is the commonality between a Nuevo Mexicano and a Honduran other than language?
What is the commonality between a White Cuban and a Mexican other than language?
What is the commonality between a White Puerto Rican and a Nicaraguan other than language?
What is the commonality between a Black Dominican and a Colombian other than language?
What is the commonality between a Mexican and a Peruvian other than language (and that is not even a given)?