Soto's No-No
Recently, we found out about a possible new Supreme Court justice in Sonia Sotomayor. On paper, she seems to be rather fair and has had a rich history in the legislative branch. However, critics have pointed out that Sotomayer used seemingly divisive comments when she spoke at Berkeley law school in 2001, saying, “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”
(“What? Latina’s think differently! Worked for Apple...&rdquo
But other justices have had questionable remarks. In fact, Ken Rudin, Political Junkie of NPR, counters stating, “Let's also not forget -- and Sotomayor defenders are making sure we do not -- a quote by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito during his confirmation hearings: "When I get a case about discrimination, I have to think about people in my own family who suffered discrimination because of their ethnic background or because of religion or because of gender. And I do take that into account."
Lesson? Big or small, your words count. When you work with a public relations professional, listen to how they carry themselves day to day. Does it sync with what you believe in? Are you comfortable with the experience? No, we can’t monitor every last word, but key messaging and understanding roles will certainly gain you better results. Sotomayor perhaps should have consulted her speech writer because her questionable statements have come back to haunt her eight years later.
Next on my agenda:
Sending my resume to Sotomayor as her new speech writer! 