An Open Letter to Latinas Everywhere
By Robert Waddell, August 24, 2009
This may be tantamount to a rant, a rave and the ramblings of someone who got bad news about two weeks ago right before Judge Sonia Sotomayer’s confirmation. I was accused of being a Machista by a friend, someone I truly respect and admire.
This is someone I hold in high regard, which gave me pause. I had to first feel angry at the highly self-righteous and judgmental proclamation from a friend, however, for myself, I needed to see if there was something to what she said.
In others words, I had to check myself.
In my self diagnosis, what happened was this? I wrote an opinion piece several months ago for VirtualBoricua.org, stating basically that being Puerto Rican, a woman who grew up in the Projects wasn't enough to make Judge Sotomayer a good Supreme Court Justice. While I admire Judge Sotomayer’s achievements and her over coming the obstacles of poverty, racism and sexism, just because she’s Puerto Rican isn't enough for me.
For the record, I highly respect Judge Sotomayer. I'm glad she’s on the Supreme Court and I know she is a truly wise choice to the Supreme Court. She will do her job and be as an advocate for the Constitution. History will show, I believe, this as one of President Obama’s greatest achievements.
My friend, who must remain nameless, read an article about Puerto Rican’s pride in the New York Times by David Gonzalez. She posted on her Facebook page that she wanted to yell that she’s a proud Boricua. I responded with something like, “Don’t you always want to do that?” (I should have added LOL so she wouldn't have misunderstood.)
Pa' Que Fue Eso!
I received several emails and messages from this friend saying that I wasn’t a fan of Judge Sotomayer, which is not true and that many people read my opinion piece on her and were highly offended. First of all, I am grateful to “All” those people who read my article. And frankly, if a reader is offended by that, this or anything I’ve written. Please feel free to email me, call me or write a rebuttal.
First, if it’s Puerto Rican or Latino, this does not always make it good. The people who tortured Don Pedro Albizu Campos, under orders from the United States, I’m sure were Puerto Rican. Were they worthy of my respect? So many politicians, especially in the Bronx, are corrupt and they’re Puerto Rican. Do they deserve my highest esteem? When two Puerto Ricans recently hijacked the New York State legislature, should I have applauded? In reality, there are Some Latinos who do engage in unlawful and illegal activities. Should they be praised just because we share some of the same genetic coding?
I don’t think so.
When I was growing up, the most profound lesson I learned from the Civil Rights Movement was Martin Luther King’s statement that all of us should be “judged by the content of our character and not the color of our skin.”
I support Judge Sotomayer because I like her politics and who she is regardless of race or gender. I voted for President Obama because I like what he represents. I would never vote for Colin Powell, from the Bronx, because his politics are different from my own. I’d never vote for someone based solely on ethnicity, gender or any of those other superficial things we love so much in America: How someone looks or that she looks like us!
As for being a Machista, well, that’s my friend’s opinion. She’s known me, or should I say based on her comments, known of me for nearly 10 years. I guess she doesn’t know me at all. (As you can see, this really got under my skin.)
I would love to see a woman a in the White House. In the primaries I voted for Hillary Clinton because of her politics. I’d like to see more women in the NBA, in the NFL, more doctors, lawyers, engineers, CEOs, professionals of every stripe, more women graduate college, and if they’re Puerto Rican or Latina all the better. And equal pay for equal work should not be some throw away phrase left over from the women’s movement. It should be the law.
With that said, how can I disprove my friend’s negative assertion? Everyone is innocent until proven guilty, right? But this I am guilty of – and I’m not ashamed to say it --whenever I see an attractive woman, I react, how shall I say, positively. She’s my equal in every way under the Constitution and if she’s attractive, well, whatcha gonna do?, I’m a healthy red blooded American Puerto Rican male and for this I have nothing to apologize. I do not objectify any woman. If anything, in one respect, and I do believe in respect, I treat women I have dated or relationships like I’d want my mother or sister to be treated. Why should I apologize for that?
Like anyone else I am full of contradictions, desires, hopes, dreams, emotions and thoughts. I write because I love to write, which is why I write. I don’t owe anyone anything or any explanations.
This June I was happy to read a letter I had written for Linda Nieves Powell’s Ultimate Latina Theatre Festival held at the Nuyorican Poets Café where I humorously spoke about being a middle aged man who liked women but one day those women who have rejected me will get older and I too would grow older and become more distinguished. I was only stating a fact of nature. I didn’t invent this or create the social construct. After, some women came up to me to say how offended they were by what I had read but they also said how I spoke the truth. “Epistles” will be available on You Tube this fall.
Well, this is me putting all my business out in the street: As for my friend, I can only think of Norman Mailer, a great writer, who years ago was verbally attacked by a group of women at a PEN Writers Conference. These irate women wanted Mailer to do something that he was adamant against what they proposed. He flatly, loudly proclaimed so that all could hear, “I refuse to be … whipped!.”
And I refuse to compromise my ideals, integrity or journalistic ethics just because someone else doesn’t like it.
As for my friend, I can only echo Mr. Mailer’s sentiments.
This story was developed through the Education Beat Writing Fellowship at the New York Community Alliance. The opinions represented above are not reflective of VirtualBoricua.org or NYCA. |
