A Judge Who Knows That the Dogs Need to Eat Too

"I would hope that 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."

This statement was made by Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor in 2001. The reaction to it reveals how long the road ahead of us is in race relations in this country. 

Whether or not Judge Sotomayor should explain her remarks is up to her. I can tell you however that this is not a racist comment. In order for it to be racist, she must be in a position of social power over others. As a Latina and a woman, this is inherently impossible. Any white man can quickly and easily dehumanize her by using racist or sexist language. She does not have that power and thus cannot be considered racist.

More to the point, and taking her comment in context as opposed to the knee jerk reaction of Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh, she's absolutely right that a person of her life experience cannot possibly come to the same conclusions in all matters as a white man "who hasn't lived [her] life". The lives we lead matter when it comes to our judgment - whether we're sitting on the bench of the Supreme Court or deciding who to sit by on the subway. If we have been privileged to live in ignorance of our race because we're in the dominant culture, we lack a great deal of understanding as to how people of color survive in a racist world. My guess is RNC Chair Michael Steele knows this, and thus is arguing against the Gingriches and Limbaughs of his party because he knows they are coming from a privileged position.

I understand why people might be angry about Sotomayor's comment. I've been there. But if an essential part of my faith is questioning the powers that be, then I have to also question the powers that give me rights and privileges I neither earned nor deserve. I have to open myself up and listen to voices that I may not initially understand. In Mark 7:24-30 and Matthew 15:21-28 a foreign woman approaches Jesus and asks him to heal her daughter. At first, Jesus rudely dismisses her, but after she appeals to his better nature, Jesus changes his mind and the daughter is made well. 

If we claim to be followers of Christ, perhaps we should learn from his example and listen to those who've been traditionally excluded. The ones who are healed might just be ourselves.

Fear Factor

For the past few months, I have been in conversations with churches about how they and I might be in ministry together. So many of our churches in the UCC (and probably outside of the UCC too) are struggling with various levels of anxiety. I myself have had a certain amount of anxiety about my future and the future of my family about our unknown future!

To what extent are we Christian communities willing to be led by our fear? Do we want the most fearful of our members to be in positions of leadership? In my experience, the more anxious someone is, the less capable they are of effective leadership. And yet, anxiety can be as much of a motivator for someone to participate in leadership as avoid it. For an extreme example of this, look at former Vice President Dick Cheney. His fear led him to run off to an 'undisclosed locations', take his home off of google maps, break international laws about torture, and ignore the Constitutional protections around Separation of Powers. His fear is now leading him to the Sunday morning talk shows criticizing the sitting administration, an unprecedented act of disrespect so soon after leaving office.

Again, Dick Cheney is an extreme example, but last fall, American voters said 'no' to being ruled by fear, and 'yes' to hoping for a better future. Christians can draw from 1 John 4, where the letter writer talks about how love, coming from God, has the power to cast out fear. Do we want to be led by fear or by love? Whether that fear is in the world around us, or even if that fear is in the hearts of church members, my hope is that we have the courage to show love in the face of fear, confidence in the face of anxiety, and be a beacon of grace in a world of judgment.

"God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them." 

     -1 John 4:16b