Veronica: I assume you agree with Ms. Paglia. She is absolutely one of the most hostile, aggressive women I have ever read or listened to in interviews.
Eric: You should not assume that I agree with everything I post. Paglia supported Obama. I supported an imaginary ticket. Paglia is unduly fond of Emily Dickinson. She trashed Auden in her preface to _Break, Blow, Burn_. In posting the piece, I was more interested in the harmony it established with my immediately prior post about Kant.
Veronica: My take on SotoMayor: what would you expect her to say when she is speaking to a Hispanic audience? What do conservatives or liberals say when they give speeches to their own.?
Eric: My take is that America has never been so racist. Everyone talks about post-racist America, but, like the weather, no one does anything about it. People are not held to a single standard of speech and conduct. Instead we have standards of speech and conduct tailored to each and every "group."
White men? This nominee of Obama's was presented as "a latina" not as a human being. Hence her assessment will be a "group" assessment not an assessment of her capabilities.
My Brazilian friends laugh at this. They see it as plain racism. And of course, Brazilians have a "different perspective on some things because they have had a different life experience than white men."
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