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.

You Have to be Seen to be Heard

-Hello. – Do you remember me?
- No, I’m sorry.
- I was in here yesterday. You wouldn’t wait on me.
- Oh.
- You work on commission, right?
- Uh, yes.
- Big mistake. Big. Huge!
- I have to go shopping now. Bye!

Julia Roberts,
Pretty Woman

If you remember this scene from the 1995 film, you remember that the saleswomen in a tone-y Beverly Hills boutique refused to wait on Ms. Roberts because she did not fit the profile of a valued and valuable customer. This scene prompted a lot of “head-nodding” among minority movie-goers. After all, it represents an experience similar to one (or more) many of us could recount. In effect, it renders a person invisible – a condition Ellison wrote about in his landmark book. Strangely enough, whether it’s in a retail environment, a career or job-search situation, or any one of several areas in which appearances can drive a response, I am beginning to have to question whether it’s my race or my age (and gender) that’s having the biggest impact. And while, like most African-Americans, my insistence on my rights is second nature by now, I am surprised to say that it’s only lately that I have begun to heat up my response when I suspect that I am being dismissed because I am perceived as a “woman of a certain age”. But, shopkeepers, interviewers and bureaucrats of all stripes should be aware (beware?):

Justifying your old, musty reactions to any group is, well…
A Big Mistake.
Big.
Huge!


Why?

Because in our 21st century, post-Obama world, this country is undergoing what could be called a “paradigm shift” or a change from one way of thinking about a diverse society to another. This shift has already begun to change the way we see many kinds of “difference”. It often involves seeing people you think you know for the first time. For our sakes and for our country’s sake, we need to take everyone seriously: young, old, native-born, immigrant, enabled, disabled, black, white, red, yellow, multi-racial, etc.

Miss this moment and you risk making a “Big Mistake. Big. Huge!”

This kind of mistake has the same potential impact that not understanding that baseball after Jackie Robinson was a different game...that women earning the right to vote would work, mother, love and live differently…and that, as Satchel Paige used to say:

“Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it don’t matter.”

It means understanding that recognizing the value (real or potential) of everyone we encounter, also constitutes a different game – one in which, because everyone matters, “our team” has a better chance to win. There is a whole universe of difference that makes diversity a rich and rewarding topic I want to continue to talk about. And before you say that I’m preaching to the choir, think of an instance in which you were either taken for granted or in which you felt invisible. Then, think of one in which you actually (or almost) missed noticing or “seeing” someone else. And then, think why.
Ask yourself, when it comes to diversity, are we still making mistakes? Oh, yeah.

Big Mistakes?
Big.
Huge!