Do Not Read Me in Class

Before I get started, I want to make an observation: Lakoff clearly is upset about how the courts treated Anita Hill. Although, I do have to agree with her---the senators didn’t pose fair questions or show Anita Hill respect--- Lakoff’s sometimes brutish language turned me off and made me question her credibility.

I also wondered: why did Lakoff choose an incident that happened 10 years after she published a book? I have to admit I never heard of this incident that happened in 1991. I was only eight or nine. I only cared about foursquare, cats and Nickelodeon Gak. I certainly didn’t care about politics or feminism. Because of my lack of knowledge, I feel rather impotent in responding to Lakoff’s observations.

Okay, now that I’m done whining, I can talk about the chapter. When I overlook Lakoff’s harsh language, I think that Lakoff brought up some interesting issues. One example is how the senators were inconsistent with titles between Anita Hill and her opponent Clarence Thomas. While the senators referred to Clarence Thomas as “Judge Thomas,” the senators called Anita Hill “Miss Hill or “Ms. Hill” instead of using her proper title. Even more shocking is Clarence Thomas actually referred to Anita Hill by her first name.

Although I’m definitely not a fan of formalities, using a first name for a potential judge shows a carelessness or disrespect for Anita Hill’s position. Even more disturbing is that first name was only used for Anita Hill. This disrespect states that somehow Anita Hill was as qualified or equal to Clarence Thomas.

Although I do believe Lakoff brought up some interesting points, I have a few questions. The first one is: exactly how many senators referred to Anita Hill as Miss Hill? Was it two or three or a whole row of them? The second question I have is how did Hill's age affect the senators' attitudes? While Clarence Thomas was middle aged, Anita Hill, a recent graduate from law school was only 24. I have to admit, I am more leery of younger people in certain professions. I know it doesn’t make sense since I’m young myself, but I still am. For example, I know I will be more anxious if a young dentist inspected my teeth than a dentist who inspected teeth for twenty years. Sometimes the question goes through my head: does this person know what he’s doing?