It Doesn’t Take a Wise Latina to Know…

“They Got Some ‘Splaining to Do”




Ricky (T. Coburn)Ricardo: How do you spell s'perience?
Lucy (S.Sotomayor) Ricardo: E-x-p…
Ricky(Coburn) : E-x? You're kidding.


Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball avoided ethnic jokes. Arnaz recalled that the only exception consisted of making fun of Ricky Ricardo's accent, and noted that even these jokes worked only when Lucy, as his wife, did the mimicking. That, of course, implies a sense of connection and compassion not often found in congressional committee hearings. It is, moreover, amazing that Senators like Sessions and Coburn – both of whom are notable for their ethnically questionanle comments and for being “caught” in hypocritical statements and positions, saw fit to criticize Sonia Sotomayor using what could be considered an ethnic slur. The senators seemed to have no idea they were using ethnic stereotypes when they tried to use culturally relevant but humorous expressions to both soften their approaches to Sotomayor and to indicate that they were somehow in on the “joke”.

Most of the viewers wound up thinking that it was Coburn who had some ’splainin’ to do. In spite of the fact that we learned that the “Wise Latina” remark Sotomayor had made at an event some years ago belied the judicial record she has compiled over an entire career, we spent the week listening to hours of questioning that made her inquisitors sound more empty-headed and prejudiced than the “Jim Crow” generation of legislators that were around when the brilliant producer/writer Desi Arnaz first used the phrase. As his daughter, Luci Arnaz, has said, most people often forget the fact that he succeeded in learning a second language as well as the intricate workings of show business in order to achieve the American Dream. And, as an American woman and a mother I am inspired by Sonia Sotomayor’s mother, who raised both an eminent jurist and a prominent doctor in spite of hardship and economic deprivation.

Arnaz was also patriotic. In his memoirs, the first object of his thanks is the United States itself: "I know of no other country in the world", he wrote, in which "a sixteen-year-old kid, broke and unable to speak the language" could reach the success he had. His foresight in filming and retaining post-broadcast ownership of shows had a huge impact on the future of television syndication. You might even call him a “Wise Latino”. As Frank Rich said in the New York Times, “Even those viewers who watched the Sotomayor show for only a few minutes could see that her America is our future and theirs is the rapidly receding past”.

Thank heavens. Our esteemed senators sound like the characters the “I Love Lucy” writers wrote for all those years ago:
Lucy Ricardo: Ricky, we're revolting. Ricky Ricardo: No more than usual.