I know there have been several diaries that have pointed out the hypocrisy of the "attack the empathy" meme because of it being cited as a virtue in regard to Republican appointees. This diary examines the role of empathy in one of our nation’s most important Supreme Court decisions.
I was reading the Brown v BOE decision today. Follow below & I’ll explain why and what struck me.
I teach 11th Grade US History and Government in New York State and today we did an exercise on Brown. (yes, I am way behind this year and am jamming the last two weeks)
As I was reviewing excerpts from Justice Warren’s opinion this morning, this little tidbit literally jumped off the page at me:
To separate them [children in grade and high schools] from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely to ever be undone. . . . Whatever may have been the extent of psychological knowledge at the time of Plessy v. Ferguson, this finding is amply supported by modern authority. . . . (emphasis mine)
In refusing to consider only the tangible factors in determining the equality of segregated schools-buildings, books, teacher qualifications- and citing what the Court referred to as intangible factors, such as a feeling of inferiority, it seems to me that Justice Warren took some pains to try to put himself in the shoes of the Black students who were denied the right to attend the same schools as their white counterparts.
I’m not an English teacher, but I think there is a term for the ability to see someone else’s point of view and to understand what others are feeling. Could the word be empathy ?