Digby: Not Your Grandfather's Bigotry

Liberals who follow politics closely are no doubt disoriented to see someone as accomplished as Sonia Sotomayor attacked for being a bullying racist by a bunch of racist bullies, but I think we should probably get a grip and understand that this is what racism looks like in 2009. The assertion of white male privilege through whining victimization is one of the main ways it will be manifested going forward. And it's quite effective --- it appeals to people's own hidden prejudices in a way that doesn't socially embarrass them and allows them to use fairness as a weapon, which is a great relief to bigots who have been on the defensive for decades.