dichroic | there is no such thing as a default human. (Reply)

I don’t claim to be very far at all along the path of understanding / fighting all forms of prejudice. Even so, apparently there are people much farther back. I found this from Kate Elliott, who got it from Talking Points Memo:

Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK): “In the months ahead, it will be important for those of us in the U.S. Senate to weigh [Sotomayor's] qualifications and character as well as her ability to rule fairly without undue influence from her own personal race, gender, or political preferences.”

White (well, pale peach) is a color.
Male is a gender.
Conservative is a political preference.

Furthermore, the large majority of US citizens do not fall within the intersection of those three categories. There are white conservative women, white male liberals, male conservatives of color - and then you get to the large set of those who are outside two of all three of those categories.

Assuming one’s own personal categories and experiences do influence one’s judgement (and I think they must, at least to a degree) how is representing a wider swath of America not a good thing?

Mirrored from Dichroic Reflections.